BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 
•«• 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


EIGHTY  YEARS'  PROGRESS 


OP 


THE  UNITED  STATES: 

A  FAMILY  RECORD 

OF  AMERICAN  INDUSTRY,  ENERGY  AND  ENTERPRISE: 

SHOWING 

THE  VARIOUS  CHANNELS  OF  INDUSTRY  AND  EDUCATION  THROUGH  WHICH  THE 

PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  HAVE  ARISEN  FROM  A  BRITISH 

COLONY  TO  THEIR  PRESENT  NATIONAL  IMPORTANCE; 

GIVING,  IN  AN   HISTORICAL  FORM, 

THE   VAST  IMPROVEMENTS  MADE   IN  AGRICULTURE,  CULTIVATION  OF   COTTON,  SUGAR, 

COMMERCE,    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION,   STEAM    ENGINE,   MANUFACTURE    OF 

COTTON,   WOOLEN,    SILK,  PAPER,     FIRE-ARMS,    CUTLERY,   HATS,   CARRIAGES 

AND   COACHES,  PLATED  WARE,  LEATHER,   BOOTS   AND   SHOES,   CLOCKS 

AND  WATCHES,   PINS,    REFINED    SUGAR,    GLASS,    INDIA    RUBBER, 

FISHING    BUSINESS,   FUR  AND    FUR     TRADE,    HUMANITARIAN 

INSTITUTIONS,   ETC.,    ETC. 

WITH  A  LARGE  AMOUNT  OF  STATISTICAL  INFORMATION, 

SHOWING   THE    COMPARATIVE   PROGRESS    OF   THE    DIFFERENT    STATES  WITH   EACH    OTHER,    AND, 
TO    SOME   EXTENT,    THIS    COUNTRY   WITH    OTHER   NATIONS. 

BY  EMINENT  LITERARY  MEN, 

WHO    HAVE   MADE   THE    SUBJECTS   OF   WHICH    THEY   HAVE   WRITTEN    THEIR   SPECIAL   STUDY. 

EXTENSIVELY  EMBELLISHED  WITH  STEEL  AND  ELECTROTYPE  PLATE  ENGRAVINGS, 

EXECUTED  BY  THE  FIRST  ARTISTS  IN  THE  COUNTRY,  ILLUSTRATING  THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  VARIOUS 

INTERESTS  TREATED  OF. 


BY  A.GrKNTS  ONLY. 


HARTFORD,  CONN.: 

PUBLISHED    BY    L.    STEBBINS. 

1868. 


THE  BEARER  rf^ 


Six  _. 

HP  HIS  Bill  entitles  tlie 
A      B?3fep  "to  Tecc.'ive 
SIX  SPANISH  MILLED 
DO  LLAKS ,  .OT^tVye 

thereof  in 

..  ^..JVEB,- according  t 
^Resolution  of  COA/i 
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THIS  ENGRAVING  SHOWS   THE  BEST 


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in 


to  0f  %  g 


THB  FANCY  TITLE   PAGE  ENGRAVED   BY 


THE  NEW  YORK  BANK  NOTE  COMPANY,  50  WALL  STREET,  N.  Y., 

SHOWS  THE  PERFECTION  TO   WHICH   THE  ART  HAS  ATTAINED. 

THIS  IS  ONLY  A  PAIR  SAMPLE  OP  THE  GREAT  IMPROVEMENT  IN  NEARLY  EVERY  BRANCH 

OP  INDUSTRY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- six, 

BY    L.    STEBBINS, 

In  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


SUBJECTS  AND  AUTHORS. 


PROGRESS  IN  AGRICULTURE: 

Giving  an  account  of  the  early  settlement  of  this  country,  with  the  attendant  hardships 
and  privations  ;  early  modes  of  cultivating  the  soil  ;  rapid  advance  of  settlements  ;  im- 
provements in  Agricultural  Implements  ;  in  breeds  of  Stock,  as  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep, 
Swine,  Poultry,  and  Bees;  Cultivation  of  Wheat,  Corn,  Rye,  Buckwheat,  Barley,  Po- 
tatoes ;  various  kinds  of  Grasses  ;  Hops,  Flax,  Hemp,  Tobacco,  Silk,  Fruits,  &c.  ;  the 
Lumber  Business,  together  with  a  large  amount  of  statistical  matter. 

By    CHAKLES    L.    FLINT, 

Secretary  Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture  •  Author  of  "Grasses"  "Forage 
Plants"  "Milch  Cows  and  Dairy  Farming"  c&c.,  &c. 


CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON: 

Its  importance  in  Commerce,  Cheap  Lands,  Labor,  &c.,  &c. 

By  PROF.  C.  F.  MoCAY,  late  of  Columbia  College,  8.  C. 


STEAM  ENGINE 


]    Its  invention,  various  improvements,  manufacture,  and  uses,  with  reference  to  its  influence 
upon  the  industry  of  the  country,  in  its  application  to  manufactures. 

By  J.   C.   MERRIAM, 


Editor  and  Proprietor  of  the  "  American  Engineer" 


COMMERCE   AND  TRADE, 

Colonial  Trade,  Imperial  Restriction,  Emancipation  of  Inhabitants,  Changed  Interest, 
Manufactures,  Course  of  Trade,  Speculation,  Revulsion,  Bankrupt  Law,  English  Free 
Trade,  Revolution  in  France,  Farmers,  Gold,  Ships,  Tonnage,  Navigation  Laws,  &c. 


IMPROVEMENTS   IN  THE   MEANS   OF  TRAVEL  AND 

TRANSPORTATION, 

Including  Common  Roads,  Turnpikes,  M'Adam,  Plank,  and  Railroads,  River  and  Ocean 
Steamers ;  giving  a  history  of  their  origin,  progress,  and  influence  upon  the  growth,  of 
the  country ;  their  extent,  construction,  cost,  &c. 


IV  SUBJECTS    AND    AUTHORS. 


MANUFACTURES 

Of  Cotton,  Woollen,  Paper,  Leather ;  Boots  and  Shoes,  Fire- Arms,  Cutlery,  Carriages  and 
Coaches,  Clocks  and  Watches,  Electro-plated  Ware,  Pins,  Refined  Sugars,  Silk,  Fire- 
Proof  Safes,  Bank-Locks,  Glass,  India-Rubber,  Sewing  Machines,  Musical  Instruments : 
showing  the  various  improvements  made  by  machinery  and  other  means  of  manufacture, 
the  extent  of  operations  and  value  of  productions,  <fec.,  &c. 

BUILDING,    BUILDING    MATERIALS,    FISHING    INTERESTS,    AND    FLOUR 

MILLS. 

By  THOMAS   P.  KETTELL, 

For  many  years  Editor  of  Hunt's  "Merchants'*  Magazine"  and  Author  of 
various  Statistical  Works,  '-'•History  of  the  Great  Rebellion"  &c. 


PREFACE 


IT  has  been  said  that  history,  as  generally  written,  is  but  an  account  of  the 
wars  and  contentions  by  which  dynasties  have  striven  for  the  mastery  of  na- 
tions. It  imparts  little  or  no  information  in  respect  to  the  social  condition  or 
material  progress  of  the  people  themselves.  It  is  true  that  the  means  of  pre- 
serving such  information  have  never  before  existed  in  the  shape  of  those  print- 
ing facilities  which  at  this  day  place  every  variety  of  intelligence  within  the 
reach  of  the  poorest  classes.  These  facilities  are  themselves  among  the  won- 
ders that  have  attended  the  progress  of  the  American  people  during  the  past 
eighty  years.  In  that  period  a  nation  has  been  born,  and  grown  to  unexam- 
pled power  and  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Inasmuch,  however,  as  that  the  nature,  the  institutions,  and  the  administration 
of  the  American  nation  are  different  from  all  others,  so  must  its  history  be  in 
an  entirely  different  style.  If  there  are  no  regal  intrigues  to  chronicle  or  mili- 
tary exploits  to  recount,  there  are  more  lasting  triumphs  in  every  useful  science 
to  record.  If  we  have  no  Alexander,  or  Csesar,  or  Bonaparte,  or  Wellington, 
to  shine  on  the  stormy  pages  of  our  history,  we  have  such  names  as  Franklin, 
Whitney,  Morse,  and  a  host  of  others,  to  shed  a  more  beneficent  lustre  on  the 
story  of  our  rise.  The  means  by  which  a  few  poor  colonists  have  come  to  excel 
all  nations  in  the  arts  of  peace,  and  to  astonish  the  people  of  Europe  with  their 
achievements  through  the  development  of  their  inventive  genius,  are  true  sub- 
jects for  a  history  of  the  United  States.  Such  a  history  is  now  for  the  first  time 
presented  to  the  American  people.  In  its  preparation  no  pains  or  expense  has 
been  spared  in  the  view  of  making  it  perfectly  reliable,  and  it  is  believed  that  a 
work  has  been  produced  which  will  be  standard  on  the  subject. 

When  the  War  of  Independence  was  finished,  the  American  people,  free  on 
their  own  soil,  turned 'their  quick  intellect  and  undivided  attention  to  the  great 
object  of  improvement,  material  and  mental,  and  they  have  wrought  out  re- 
sults that  have  become  not  only  the  admiration  but  the  exemplar  of  all  nations. 
The  great  genius  of  the  people  manifested  itself  in  the  invention  of  labor-saving 
machines,  because  labor  was  scarce  and  dear.  The  steam  engine  was  adopted, 


VI  PREFACE. 

improved,  and  applied  to  every  branch  of  labor.  It  was  applied  to  navigation, 
to  locomotion,  and  to  manufacturing  in  all  its  branches,  great  and  small.  In- 
ventions were  introduced  in  all  possible  branches  of  manufacturing  by  which 
labor  was  saved.  It  is  probable  that  one  man  now  produces  as  much  by  the 
aid  of  machines  as  one  hundred  did  formerly.  In  other  words,  that  inventive 
genius  has  increased  manufacturing  production  a  hundredfold.  At  the  same 
time  a  vast  continent  has  been  settled ;  and  here  again  has  inventive  genius 
supplied  machinery  as  a  substitute  for  farm  laborers,  and  one  man  may,  by  their 
aid,  harvest  a  large  surplus  above  his  family  wants.  These  machines  have  be- 
come the  models  for  Europe.  This  vigor  of  production  has  enabled  the  con- 
struction of  as  many  miles  of  railroads  as  all  Europe  put  together. 

The  telegraph  has  been  invented  for  transmission  of  intelligence,  and  more 
miles  of  it  used  than  in  all  Europe. 

In  ship-building,  the  American  improvements  have  outstripped  the  boasted 
wooden  walls  of  old  England,  and  given  the  model  to  the  world.  Their  active 
enterprise  has  won  the  foremost  rank  in  foreign  commerce,  and  covered  the  in- 
land waters  with  more  steam  tonnage  than  all  other  nations  possess. 

The  cities  of  America  have  sprung  up  with  magic  growth,  and  increased  with 
marvellous  vigor.  There  is  no  example  in  history  where  so  many  large  cities 
have  been  built  in  a  similar  period. 

In  producing  a  carefully  written  history  of  all  these  events,  a  vast  amount  of 
labor  and  research  has  been  gone  through  to  collate  reliable  statistical  matter. 
Every  effort  has  been  used  to  place  the  results  in  a  clear  and  attractive  view,  so 
as  to  make  the  reader  master  of  every  branch  of  the  subject,  and  enable  him  to 
speak  understandingly  of  his  country's  triumphs.  To  this  end  a  great  expense 
lias  been  incurred  for  engravings  illustrative  of  the  various  industries; 

It  is  believed  that  the  work  now  offered  to  the  public  is  the  most  complete 
history  of  a  nation's  progress  ever  written. 

The  reader  should  ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  work  does  not  come  down  later 
than  1860,  except  in  a  few  cases,  it  may  cover  a  portion  of  1861.  There  is  also 
a  brief  description  of  the  Iron-clads  and  Monitors  of  a  later  date. 


CONTENTS. 


AGRICULTURE. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS 19 

First  Settlers 19 

James  River  Settlement,  Virginia 19 

Plymouth  Colony 19 

Stock  of  early  Settlers 20 

Introduction  of  Clover  in  England,  1633 20 

Beef  and  Mutton,  same  date 20 

Early  Agricultural  Implements 20 

Customs  of  the  Indians 21 

Indians'  method  of  clearing  Forests 21 

Indians  instruct  the  English  how  to  cultivate 

Corn 21 

Indians'  mode  of  storing  Corn 21 

First  sight  of  Ships 22 

Low   condition    of  Agriculture    before  the 

Revolution 22 

Raisings  and  Huskings  of  early  times 22 

Early  Settlers  manufacture  their  Garments. .  22 

Courtship  and  Marriage 23 

Number  of  Newspapers 23 

Prejudice  against  housing  and  milking  Cows 

in  Winter 23 

Emigrating   "West   meaning   Western   New 

York 24 

ASSOCIATED  AND  LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT 24 

Letter  of  Washington  to  Sir  John  Sinclair. .  24 

South  Carolina  Agricultural  Society 25 

Massachusetts          do              do     25 

First  Agricultural  Exhibition  in  1809 25 

Effects  of  Agricultural  Societies 26 

FARM  IMPLEMENTS 26 

Jack  at  all  Trades. 27 

Ploughs  in  Virginia  in  1617 27 

Thirty-seven  Ploughs  in  Massachusetts  in 

1637 27 


Wooden  Forks 27 

Description  of  Ploughs 30 

Modern  Improvements  in  Ploughs 30 

Ten  Millions  saved  in  Ploughing 30 

First  Patent  for  Cast  Iron  Ploughs 31 

Thomas  Jefferson  on  Ploughs 31 

Massachusetts  Plough  Manufactories 31 

The  Harrow,  Cultivator,  Grubbers,  Ac 32 

Sickle  and  Cradle 32 

Reapers  and  Mowers 33 

Horse  Rake 36 

Malthus  on  Population 36 

Trial    of    American,    English,  and    French 

Threshing  Machines 36 

RAISING  OF  STOCK 37 

First  Stock  imported 37 

Crossing  of  different  Breeds  of  Cattle 38 

Fodder  for  Cattle  in  Virginia 38 

Cattle  in  Illinois  in  1682 39 

Stock  Raising  in  England 39 

Large  Prices  for  Improved  Stock 40 

Hereford  and  Devon  Breeds 40 

Methods  of  improving  the  Breeds  of  Cattle. .  41 

Milch  Cows 42 

Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  Cattle.  47 

18,378,907  head  of  Cattle  in  1850 47 

Animals  slaughtered  in  1850  worth  $111,703- 

142 47 

Importing  Choice  Stock 48 

Ohio  Company  for  importing,  Capital  $9,200.  48 

Short  Horns,  Jerseys,  Ayrshires 49 

Value  of  Cattle  hi  Ohio  in  1857,  $11,315,560  50 
Average  number  Ibs.  Butter  per  Cow  in  differ- 
ent states 51 

Average  number  Ibs.  Cheese 51 

Number  of  Cows  per  inhabitant 51 

Stock  Raising  in  Southern  States 52 


via 


CONTENTS. 


PAG  I 

HORSES 52 

Roads,  Mails  at  four  miles  per  hour 52 

Speed  desired  in  Horses 52 

First  Horses  imported  by  Columbus 53 

"Wild  Horses  Descendants  of  Spanish  Breeds  53 

Demand  for  Fast  Horses 53 

The  Morgan  and  Black  Hawk 54 

Horseback  Riding  in  the  South 54 

Number  of  Horses  m  1850, 4,336,719,  not  in- 
cluding Cities  and  Large  Towns 54 

SHEEP 59 

First  Imported  Sheep 59 

"Wool  Two  Dollars  per  pound 59 

The  Dog  Law 60 

Tennessee  "Wool  takes  the  Premium  at  the 

"World's  Fair 60 

Great  Britain  produces  275,000,000  Ibs.  Wool 

annually 60 

Wool  of  the  South,  West  and  North 63 

SWINE  AND  PORK , . . .  63 

First  Swine  imported 63 

Improvement  in  Breeds  of  Swine 64 

Native  Hogs  of  the  West 64 

Swine  of  the  South,  West  and  North 65 

Manner  of  killing  Hogs 65 

Pork  Packing 66 

Lard  Oil 67 

Quantity  of  Pork  packed  in  Cincinnati  for 

twenty-seven  years 67 

Number  of  Hogs  killed  hi  Western  States. .  67 

PRODUCTS  OF  THE  SOIL 68 

Indian  Corn 68 

Indian  Mythology 68 

Early  Exports  of  C6rn 69 

Increased  Exports  of  Corn  since  1820 70 

Corn  produced  in  France  and  Russia 70 

1,000,000,000  bushels  Corn  in  1855 70 

Corn  exported  from  1851  to  1858 71 

England  imports  $225,000,000  worth  of  Gram  71 

WHEAT 72 

Samples  of  Wheat  sent  to  Holland  in  1626 . .  72 

Damage  to  Wheat  by  Blast,  Insects,  &c 73 

Raising  Wheat  in  New  England 73 

Exports  of  Wheat  and  Flour 74 

French  Settlements  in  the  West 74 

Soldiers  of  the  Revolution  settle  in  Illinois. .  75 

Chicago  Grain  Depot '  75 

Grain  Store-houses  of  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road    76 

Agricultural  Products  Sixteen  Hundred  Mil- 
lions annually 76 

Agricultural  Interests  four-fifths  of  Taxes  in 

New  York  State 77 

Wheat  produced  South,  West  and  North. . .  77 


Wheat  in  California 77 

PRODUCTION  OF  OTHER  GRAINS 77 

Rye,  Oats,  Buckwheat 78 

Buckwheat  raised  South,  West  and  North. .  78 

Clover  and  Grass  seed 79 

POTATOES 79 

PEAS  AND  BEANS 79 

GRASS  AND  HAT  CROP 79 

Timothy  found  by  Mr.  Herd  in  a  Swamp, 
taken  to  Maryland  and  Virginia  by  Timothy 

Hanson 80 

Value  of  Hay  Crop 80 

Hay  consumed  per  head  of  Cattle  in  differ- 
ent States 80 

CULTURE  OF  FRUIT 81 

First  Apples  in  this  Country 81 

First  Horticultural  Society 81 

The  Nurseries  of  Western  New  York 82 

Orchards  in  the  South 82 

Peaches  in  the  South 82 

Fruit  in  California 83 

Wine  in        do      83 

Imports  of  Fruits  which  may  be  grown  in 

California 83 

Thousand  Dollars  worth  of  Pears  on  one  acre  84 

Orchard  Products  of  1850 84 

Fruit  Books 84 

Pears  imported  from  France  in  1851 84 

CULTURE  OF  TOBACCO 85 

Columbus  presented  with  a  Cigar 85 

French  Revenue  from  Tobacco 85 

Tobacco  at  Forty  Cents  per  pound 86 

Exports  of  Tobacco 86 

Tobacco  raised  South,  West  and  North 87 

Manufacture  of  Cigars 87 

CULTURE  OF  HOPS 88 

Hops  introduced  as  early  as  1828 88 

Hops  Raised  South,  West  and  North 89 

FLAX  AND  HEMP 89 

Quantity  raised  South,  West  and  North 90 

CULTURE  OF  SILK 90 

BEE  CULTURE 90 

POULTRY 90 

LUMBER  BUSINESS 91 

Great  Variety  of  Trees 91 

New  Settlers 91 

The  Lumbermen  in  the  Forest 92 

Rafting  Business 93 

Lumbering  in  Maine 94 

Kinds  of  Lumber 94 

The  way  Lumber  is  sold 95 

Lumbering  at  Green  Bay 96 

Chicago  Lumber  Market 96 

AGRICULTURAL  LITERATURE .  97 


CONTENTS. 


Essays  by  Jared  Elliot 97 

The  American  Farmer 97 

Various  Agricultural  Papers 98 

Agricultural  Books 98 

Agricultural  Colleges 99 

Chemistry  in  aid  of  Agriculture 99 

Guano  as  a  Fertilizer 100 

Two  Million  Tons  Guano  from  Chincha  Islands  100 

THE  PROSPECT  OF  AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  COUNTRY  101 

Comparison  with  other  Countries 101 

Number  of  Farms  in  the  United  States 102 

Remarks  of  Daniel  "Webster 102 

COTTON  CULTURE. 

Capital  and  Labor 103 

Early  Exports  of  Produce 104 

Labor  in  Comparison  with  Europe 105 

Cotton  great  Export  Article 106 

Trade  with  Brazil 107 

Cotton,  Rice  and  Tobacco  South 107 

PRODUCTION  AND  PRICES  OF  COTTON 108 

Machinery  for  Spinning  Cbtton 108 

Steam  Engine  Important  in  Cotton  Manufac- 
turing   109 

Early  Manufactures  in  England 109 

Cotton  Trade  of  France 109 

Comparative  Consumption  of  Cotton 110 

Cotton  found  by  Columbus 110 

Sea  Island  Cotton Ill 

Whitney  Cotton  Gin Ill 

Vexatious  Law  Suits 113 

Increase  of  Cotton  from  1820  to  1830 114 

Prices  of  Cotton  decline 114 

Decline  in  Shipping  Tonnage  of  Charleston. .  114 

Rice  Culture 115 

Railroads  in  the  South 115 

Cotton  Factories  in  the  South 115 

MONOPOLY  OP  THE  MARKET — SLAVE  LABOR 116 

Limit  of  Sea  Island  Cotton 116 

Cotton  in  various  Countries 117 

Paper  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts 118 

Experiment  with  American  Cotton  in  India.  118 

Picking  Cotton 119 

Slave  Labor 119 

Humanity  of  the  Master 119 

Maine  Liquor  Law  among  Slaves 120 

Ploughing  in  February 120 

Cultivating  Cotton 121 

Distribution   of   Labor  among  "Whites   and 

Blacks 121 

Slaves  Marry  and  are  given  in  Marriage. ...  121 

Cotton  and  Gold  support  high  Tariff 122 

Northern  Furniture  in  Southern  Houses. . . .  122 
Northern  Books                do            do            .123 


SUGAR  CULTIVATION  AND  CONSUMPTION. 

Cane  first  introduced  in  Louisiana 127 

Five  kinds  of  Cane 127 

Mode  of  Cultivating 128 

Sugar  Mills 128 

Quantity  Sugar  produced  per  acre 129 

Consumption  of  Sugar  in  the  United  States.  .  129 

MAPLE  SUGAR T 130 

COMMERCE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

COLONIAL  TRADE,  &c 132 

Rapid  Development 132 

Early  Settlers  and  Imperial  Government. . . .  133 

Colonists  forbidden  to  Coin  Money 133 

Early  Manufactures 133 

The  Colonies  forbidden  to  Manufacture ....  133 
Report  of  Parliamentary  Committee  on  Co- 
lonial Manufactures  and  Trade 133 

"West  India  and  American  Rum 135 

Imports  and  Exports  of  1770 136 

Burdens  of  the  Colonies 137 

The  Revolutionary  "War 137 

Paper  Currency 138 

Trade  with  Great  Britain  from  1784  to  1790.  138 

Insurrection  in  St.  Domingo 139 

Stephen  Girard 139 

Jay's  Treaty 139 

Table  Imports  and  Exports  from  1790  to  1807  140 

Mr.  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Report  141 

Table  of  Exports 141 

American  Manufactures 142 

Table  of  Tonnage,   Exports  and   Imports, 

from  1808  to  1820 142 

The  Embargo 143 

National  Debt  at  close  of  the  "War  of  1812 ..  143 
Increase  of  Population,  Wealth,  &c.,  from  1791 

to  1820 144 

CHANGED  INTERESTS,  MANUFACTURES,  &c 144 

Table  of  Imports  and  Exports  from  1821  to 

1839 145 

Capital  employed  in  Cotton  Manufacture  in 

1830 147 

Table  Imports  and  Exports  from  1831  to  1840  147 

Large  Fire  in  New  York  in  1835 148 

Two  Hundred  Millions  sent  West  to  start 

Banks 151 

The  Panic  of  1837 151 

United  States  Bank 151 

United  States  Bankrupt  Law   152 

Table  of  Imports  and  Exports  from  1841  to 

1850 1~>3 

Famine  in  Ireland 153 

French  Silks  in  Tricolors 154 


CONTENTS. 


Gold  discovered  at  Capt.  Sutter's  Fort. 154 

Nine  millions  Gold  received  from  California 

in  1850 154 

Exportation  of  Gold  depreciating 154 

Six  hundred  million  dollars  of  Gold  receiv- 
ed from  California  from  1850  to  1860 155 

Emigrants  bring  in  $251,805,400  Gold  from 

1850  to  1860 155 

Five  hundred  million  dollars  expended  in 

land  operations  from  1850  to  1860 155 

Failure  of  Corn  crops  in  Europe 155 

Table  of  Exports  and  Imports  from  1851  to 

1860 156 

Wheat  crop  of  1850  equal  to   22,000,0'00 

barrels  flour 156 

Exports    of    Agriculture    from    1850    to 

1856 156 

Table  of  Exports  for  periods  of  ten  years..   157 

The  area  of  Great  Britain 157 

Lands  sold  and  given  for  public  works 157 

Quantities  of  Corn  and  Pork  exported  to 

Great  Britain  from  1840  to  1858 158 

Imports  of  Cotton  from  India 158 

Internal  production  of  wares 159 

Value  of   Manufactures  and  Agricultural 

productions 159 

The  firms  in  business  in  1857 159 

Exchanges  at  the  Clearing  House,  New  York  160 

Growth  of  the  U.  S 160 

Ships — Tonnage — Navigation  Laws 161 

Two  ships  to  do  the  work  of  one 161 

Vessels  built  in  the  several  Provinces  in 

1171 163 

Bounties  on  Fisheries 162 

Tables  showing  tonnage  of  Shipping  from 

1789  to  1858 163 

Cotton  as  Freighting. 163 

Measure  of  tonnage 163 

Effect  of   Mexican  and  English  wars  in 

China  on  trade 163 

Favorable  treaty  between  the  United  States 

and  China 164 

Caleb   Gushing  robbed  of  his  Baggage  on 

his  way  home  from  China  vid  Mexico. . .   164 
British  and  French  Expedition  from  Varna 

to  the  Crimea 164 

First  arrival  of  a  Steamer  from  England  . .   164 
Table  showing  the  different  Lines  of  Steam- 
ers between  Europe  and  U.  S 164 

Table  showing  the  number  and  names  of 

Ocean  Steamers  lost 165 

Growth  of  Steam  service  in  the  interior  . .  165 

Keel-boats  on  the  Ohio  River 165 

First  sea-going  Brig  built  on  the  Ohio  River  165 


First  Steamboat  built  for  the  Ohio  River.  . .   165 

Territory  drained  by  the  Ohio 166 

Opening  of  Erie  Canal  in  1825 166 

Table  showing  the  number,  kinds,  &c.,  of 

Vessels  navigating  the  Lakes  in  1858. . .  166 
Losses  of  Screw  Propellers  from  1848  to 

1856 166 

Lake  Cities,  their  rapid  growth 166 

Lopez  Propeller 167 

Ship-building  at  the  Lake  ports  for  Liver- 
pool   167 

Ship-building,  Clipper  model 167 

Tonnage  owned  in  U.  S.  in  1860 168 

Table   of   National   Exports  from  1800  to 
1860 168 

TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 

EARLY  ROADS,  POST  ROADS,  &c 17 1 

Gen.  Washington  as  an  Engineer 173 

Stock  of  Dismal  Swamp  Canal 173 

Statistics  of  Mail  Service  from  1791  to  1859.  174 

Country  Roads 175 

Charcoal  do 176 

Plank  do 176 

Turnpike  do 176 

Macadam  do 176 

Roads  in  Ohio 177 

Cumberland  Road 177 

COASTERS,  STEAMBOATS,  CANALS 178 

Sloop  experiment 178 

Fulton's  Steamer  Clermont 179 

The  first  Steamer  Hell  Gate 179 

Progressive  speed  of  Steamers  from  1811  to 

I860 iso 

Flat  Boats  on  the  Mississippi 181 

First  Steamboat  on  the  Ohio ]  8  L 

Time  of  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  St. 

Louis  reduced  from  120  to  3  days 183 

Increase  of  Steam  Tonnage  on  the  Western 

Rivers  from  1842  to  1860 183 

Ground  broken  for  the  Erie  Canal 184 

Early  Canal  Projects 185 

Loss  of  Water  in  Canals  by  leakage 186 

Transportation  from  Buffalo  to  New  York, 

$100  per  Tun 186 

Increase  of  Steam  Tonnage  on  the  Lakes 

from  1841  to  1860 187 

Opening  of  Lumber  Trade  of  Western  New 

York 188 

List  of  Ohio  Canals iss 

John  Q.  Adams  and  Charles  Carroll  'turn 

first  earth  for  Canals 189 

List  of  Important  Canals 190 


CONTENTS. 


Total  receipts  from  New  York  Canals 190 

EARLY  RAILROADS,  LAND  GRANTS,  &o 191 

First  Railroad  in  the  United  States 192 

Massachusetts  "Western  Railroad 193 

Process  of  Railroad  Building 195 

Cost  per  mile  of  Running  Locomotives 196 

Earnings  of  New  York  Central  Railroad  from 

1853  to  1859 198 

Erie  Railroad  chartered 201 

Receipts  and  Expenditures  of  Erie  Railroad.  202 
Pennsylvania,  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroads.   203 

Georgia  Railroads 205 

Illinois  Central  Railroad. 205 

Land  Department  of  Illinois  Central  Railroad  207 
Table  showing  the  Land  Grants  to  the  sev- 
eral States 207 

Railroads  from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  with  the 

names  of  different  Corporations 208 

Michigan  Railroads 208 

Missouri  Railroads 209 

RAILROADS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  PROJECTED.  209 
Length  and  miles  completed,  with  the  Capital 

paid  in  and  Funded  Debt 209 

Miles  of  Canals  and  Railroads  for  transporta- 
tion of  Coal 220 

Miles  of  Railroad  in  use  for  transportation  of 

Cotton,  with  number  Bales  of  Cotton 220 

Railroads  entering  Chicago 221 

Tonnage  of  the  five  great  East  and  "West 

Transportation  Lines 221 

New  York  and  Philadelphia  Stages 222 

City  Railroads 223 

Number  miles  of  Railroads  in  the  world,  with 
the  cost  per  mile  in  each  country. 224 

STEAM. 

HISTORY  OP  THE  STEAM  ENGINE 227 

First  Steam  Engines  in  America 227 

Robert  Fulton,  Oliver  Evans,  "Watt 228 

Horse  Power  of  Steam  Engines 228 

High  and  Low  Pressure 229 

First  adoption  of  the  Crank  for  the  Steam 

Engine   229 

English  and  American  Steamers 232 

Description  of  the  Steam  Engine 233 

STEAMBOATS 234 

John  Fitch 234 

Steamboats  on  the  Ohio  River 239 

Steamboats  on  the  Lakes 239 

The  Propeller 240 

The  Adriatic 241 

First  use  of  Coal  for  Steamers 241 

Explosion  of  the  Boiler  of  Steamboat  "Wash- 
ington    242 


Tonnage  of  Steam  Vessels  of  United  States..  243 

LOCOMOTIVES 243 

First  experiments 244 

First  Locomotive  built  in  America 245 

Export  of  Locomotives 246 

Cost  of  Locomotives 247 

Great  speed  of  a  Locomotive 249 

Tune  saved  in  England  by  Railroad  Travel- 
ling in  comparison  with  Stages 250 

Dummy  Engines 250 

STATIONARY  ENGINE 252 

Rotary  Engine 253 

Corliss  Engine 254 

Portable  Engine 255 

Steam  Saw  Mills ... 256 

Description  of  Steam 256 

Brooklyn  Water  "Works  Engine 258 

STEAM  PUMPS 258 

Fire  Engines 259 

MISCELLANEOUS 263 

Use  of  Steam  in  Farming 264 

Steam  in  Manufacturing 266 

CONCLUSION 268 

Caloric  Engines 270 

Experiments  of  United  States  Government 
on  the  Expansion  of  Steam 272 

COTTON  MANUFACTURES. 

ORIGIN — HAND-WORK — INVENTIONS 274 

Hand  Carding 275 

The  first  Spinning  Jenny 275 

First  Carding  Machine 276 

First  Power  Loom 276 

First  Calico  Printing  in  England 276 

The  American  Invention  of  Mr.  Perkins. ...  277 
Early  Importations  of  Cotton  into  Great  Bri- 
tain    277 

Dates  of  Important  Inventions  in  Cotton  Ma- 
chinery   277 

MANUFACTURE  IN  AMERICA 280 

First  Cotton  Mills  in  Rhode  Island 280 

The  number  of  Cotton  Mills  in  1809 281 

The  first  Mill  in  the  world  combining  all 
branches  of  Cotton  Manufacture,  establish- 
ed in  Waltham,  Mass 282 

The  beginning  of  Lowell 282 

Statistical  Table  of  Cotton  Mills  in  1831 .  283 

do  do  do        1850 285 

INVENTIONS,  MODE  OF  MANUFACTURE,  PRINTING, 

&C 286 

The  meaning  of  Staple  as  applied  to  Cotton..   286 

Description    of  Calico  Printing 288 

Statistics  of  Cotton  Manufacture  in  the  United 
States,  from  1809  to  1860 290 


CONTENTS. 


PAPER:    ITS  MANUFACTURE. 

MATERIALS — PROGRESS 291 

First  Paper  Mill  in  Massachusetts 292 

Importations  of  Rags  into  the  United  States 

from  1846  to  1857 292 

Rags  consumed  in  the  United  States,  Great 

Britain  and  France 293 

Mummy  Wrappers  used  for  Paper 293 

Water  Mark 294 

INVENTIONS — MANUPACTUBE 295 

Fourdrinier  Machine.  „ 295 

Names  and  Dimensions  of  Paper 296 

Description  of  Manufacture 296 

Statistics  of  Manufacture 298 

WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 

CARDING — WEAVING — FELTING 300 

Value  .of  Manufactures  from  1810  to  1850. .  300 

Machines  for  making  Cards 301 

Manufacture  of  Worsted 301 

Dyeing  Cloths , 304 

Felting 305 

Carpets 306 

Quantity  of  Carpeting  made  in  Massachusetts 

and  New  York  in  1855 308 

CLOTHING  TRADE 309 

Statistics  for  1850 309 

Large  Manufactories . .  310 

Statistics  of  Woollen  Manufactures  in  1850  ..311 
Manufactures  of  Massachusetts,  New  York 

and  Maine 312 

Imports  of  Cloths 312 

Imports  of  Wool,  total  consumption 313 

Shoddy,  description  of 313 

LEATHER. 

TANNING — BOOTS  AND  SHOES 316 

Leather  Manufacture  in  1850 316 

Different  kinds  of  Hidea 317 

Disposition  of  Hides  brought  into  New  York.   318 

Description  of  Tanning. 319 

Time  required  for  Tanning  different  Hides.. .  322 
Number  and  value  of  Boots  and  Shoes  man- 
ufactured in  Massachusetts. 324 

Pegging  Machines , 325 

Statistics  of  Leather  Trade  of  New  York 
for  1855 326 

FIRE-ARMS. 

COLT'S  REVOLVERS 328 

The  Match-lock  and  Flint-lock 328 

Colt's  Inventions. .  .331 


PACK 

Colt's  Fire- Arms  at  the  World's  Fair 331 

Colt's  Manufactory 332 

Sharpe's  Rifle  and  Pistol 332 

Stafford  and  Whitney  Arms 333 

United  States  Armories 334 

Dahlgren  Gun 335 

Comparative  Strength  of  Iron  and  Bronze ...  335 

Process  of  Casting 335 

Method  of  Proving 336 

Naval  Warfare 337 

Large  Gun  for  Harbor  Defence 337 

The  Floyd  Gun 337 

Powder  used 338 

CUTLERY. 

UNITED  STATES  INDUSTRY — AXES 339 

European  System 339 

Shears  at  Seven  Cents  per  dozen 340 

Table  Cutlery  manufactured  in  the  United 

States  by  Machinery 340 

Grinding  and  Polishing 340 

Butcher  and  Shoe  Knives,  Forks 341 

Axe  Manufacture 341 

Statistics  of  Cutlery  and  Edge  Tools  for  1850 .  342 

FURS  AND  FUR  TRADE. 

Trade  with  the  Indians 343 

Hudson's  Bay  Company 343 

John  Jacob  Astor  in  Fur  trade 344 

Exports  of  Furfor  1850 345 

List  of  Prices  of  various  Furs 346 

Prices  of  different  kinds  per  set 347 

Felting  of  Fur 347 

HATS. 

EARLY  HISTORY — IMPROVEMENTS 348 

The  London  Hatters 348 

Early  Fashions 348 

Hat  Business  in  New  York 349 

Monopoly  of  Machinery 349 

Silk  Hats 350 

Finishing 350 

INDIVIDUAL  INDUSTRIES. 

Introductory  Remarks 353 

BUILDINGS  AND  BUILDING  MATERIALS 353 

Number  and  value  of  Dwellings  in  the  United 

States  in  1 798  and  1850 354 

Dwellings  as  per  population 354 

Supposed  value  of  B'rM'njrs  in  1H70 355 

Improvement*,  Fixtures 355 


CONTENTS. 


XI 11 


PAGE 

Lumber  Business 356 

Machinery  used  in  Building 357 

Lumber  Trade  East,  West  and  South 351 

Brick  Making 358 

Lime 358 

Stone 359 

Ship  Building 359 

Statistics  of  House  and  Ship  Building 360 

CARRIAGES  AND  COACHES 360 

New  York  Omnibus 1 360 

Kinds  of  Timber  used. 361 

Description  of  Messrs.  G.  &  D.  Cook  &  Co.'s 

Manufactory. 361 

Carriage  and  Car  Manufactories  in  New  York  362 

Express  Wagons 367 

Statistics  for  1850 368 

CLOCKS  AND  WATCHES 368 

Alfred  the  Great  uses  Candles  as  Time-pieces  368 

Connecticut  Clocks 369 

Terry,  Thomas,  Jerome,  and  others 369 

Barnum  in  the  Clock  Business 370 

Exportation  of  Clocks 370 

Roxbury  Watch  Factory 370 

Watches  made  by  Machinery  at  Waltham.. .  371 

ELECTRO- PLATING 372 

Description  of  the  Process 372 

FISHERIES 377 

Venice  founded  by  Fishermen 378 

Holland  and  England,  do 378 

Yankee  Fishermen 378 

Fishing  Bounties 378 

Cod,  Mackerel,  Herring  and  Halibut  Fishing  378 

Oyster  Trade 384 

Whale  Fishery 385 

Seal  Fishery 385 

Statistics  of  Fishing  Trade 386 

ICE 386 

Use  of  Ice  by  the  Ancients 386 

General  uses  of  Ice 387 

Massachusetts  in  the  Ice  Trade 387 

Exports  of  Ice  388 

Gathering  Ice  in  Houses , 388 

Use  of  Ice  in  the  East  Indies — Incident  re- 
lated by  Edward  Everett 389 

PINS 389 

Pin  Manufacture  in  State  Prisons 390 

Pin  Machines 390 

Manufactory  at  Waterbury 390 

EEFINED  SUGAR 391 

Consumption  of  Sugar  per  head  of  popula- 
tion in  United  States,  Great  Britain,  France, 

and  Germany _  391 

Beet  Sugar  in  France 392 

Introduction  of  Machinery 392 


Annual  Value  of  Candies 392 

SILK ' 393 

Early  Culture  of  Silk  in  America 393 

Morus  Multicaulis  Speculation 394 

Imports  of  Raw  Silk 395 

FIRE-PROOF  SAFES  AND  SAFE  LOCKS. 395 

First  Imports  of  Safes 396 

Spontaneous  Combustion  of  a  Safe 396 

Wilder's,  Marvin's,  and  other  Safes 397 

Bank  Locks  at  the  World's  Fair 398 

GLASS  MANUFACTURE 393 

Various  uses  of  Glass 398 

Glass  of  remote  antiquity 399 

Early  manufacturing  in  England 399 

First  Glass  Works  in  America 399 

Materials  for  Glass  400 

Description  of  Manufacture 401 

American  Inventions  for  Grinding  Glass ....  403 

Silvering  Glass 404 

Enamelled  Glass 405 

INDIA-RUBBER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE 406 

Countries  producing  it,  gathering,  &c 406 

Goodyear's  experiments 410 

Belting  and  Hose  Manufacture 411 

Rubber  Car  Springs 411 

Statistics  of  the  Trade 412 

SEWING  MACHINES 413 

Elias  Howe,  Jun.,  Lock-stitch 413 

Three  classes  of  Machines 414 

Mr.  Wilson's  improvement 419 

Description  of  Wheeler  and  Wilson's  Machine  419 
Singer  &  Co.'s  Machines,  description  of  their 

Manufactory 421 

Grover  &  Baker  Machines 424 

Finkle  &  Lyon's  Machines 425 

Number  Machines  made  under  Howe's  patent  426 
Comparison  between  Hand  and  Machine  Sew- 
ing     426 

Various  uses  of  Machines,  Statistics.  &c 428 

Comparative  Statistics  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States 430 

MILLS 431 

Product  of  Flour  and  Grist  Mills 431 

Number  of  Flour  Mills  in  1840  and  1850 . . .  432 
Descriptions  of  Mills 432 

MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS. , .  434 

HUMANITARIAN  AND  CORRECTIVE  INSTI- 
TUTIONS. 

Prisons  and  Prison  Discipline 435 

Auburn  Prisons 436 

The  Silent  System 437 

Great  Britain  and  Germany,  Prisons  in 438 


XIV 


CONTEXTS. 


PAGE 

Massachusetts,  Prisons  in 438 

Hospitals  for  the  Insane 440 

Efforts  of  the  Friends  in  Pennsylvania 441 

Statistics  of  Hospitals  in  the  United  States  .  444 

BELIEF  OF  THE  POOR 445 

Statistical  Tables 447 

Hospitals 449 

Statistical  Table 450 

Pauperism  in  the  City  and  County  of  New 

York— Statistical  Table 451 

Dispensaries 452 


PAGB 

Statistical  Table 453 

Nurseries  and  Foundling  Hospitals 454 

Homes  and  Asylums  for  the  Aged  and  Infirm  454 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1,  ON  the  Mississippi,  ....  (Steel plate.) 

2,  Fancy  Title, (Steel  plate.) 

3,  Continental  Bills, 2 

4,  The  Beginning, 17 

5,  The  Aborigines, 18 

6,  Farming  Tools  of  1790, 28 

7,  Farming  Tools  of  1860, 29 

8,  Excelsior  Mower, 33 

9,  Wheeler's  Patent  Reaper, 34 

10,  Landing  at  Jamestown,  .  (Steel plate,)  37 

11,  Milch  Cow, 43 

12,  Short-horn  Bull, 43 

13,  Jenny,  Devon  Cow, 44 

14,  Devon  Bull,  Tecumseh, 45 

15,  Ayrshire  Bull, 46 

16,  Petersham  Morgan, 55 

17,  Trotting  Childers, 56 

18,  Cotswold  Sheep, 57 

19,  Improved  Kentucky  South  Downs,  .  .  58 

20,  Southern  Pine-woods  Hog, 61 

21,  Western  Beech-nut  Hog, 61 

22,  Improved  Suffolk, • 61 

23,  Improved  Essex, 62 

24,  Berkshire  Hog, 62 

25,  The  Pasture, (Steel  plate,)  83 

26,  Cotton  cleaning  by  hand, 112 

27,  Cotton  Gin, 112 

28,  Picking  Cotton, 125 

29,  Gathering  Sugar  Cane, 126 

30,  Commerce,   .  .  $ t  J31 

31,  Clipper  Ship, 149 

32,  Wall  street, (Steel  Plate,)  159 

33,  Bridle  Path, !71 

34,  Stage  Coach, iyi 

35,  Canal, 171 


36,  Railroad, 171 

37,  Captain  Bunker's  Sloop,   (Steel  plate,)  180 

38,  Flat  Boat  on  the  Mississippi, 182 

39,  Mississippi  River  Steamer, 182 

40,  First  Locomotive  on  Mohawk  Valley 

Road, 194 

41,  Hudson  River  Steamboat, 194 

42,  Emigrating  at  the  present  time,   ....  198 

43,  Emigrating  in  1805, 199 

44,  Second  experimental  Boat  of  J.  Fitch,  226 

45,  The  first  Steamboat  ever  built  to  car- 

ry passengers, 226 

46,  The  first  Propeller  ever  built, 235 

47,  Oliver  Evans'  Orkuter  Amphibolus, .  .  235 

48,  The  machinery  of  Fulton's  first  boat,  236 

49,  The  North  River,  off  Claremont,  ....  236 

50,  The  Adriatic, 237 

51,  Amoskeag  Locomotive  works, 247 

52,  Silsby's  Fire  Engine, 261 

53,  Caloric  Engine, 262 

54,  Hand  Loom, 278 

55,  Power  Loom, 278 

56,  Spinning  by  hand 279 

57,  Mule  Spinner,   279 

58,  Hand  Carding, 299 

59,  Colt's  Sporting  Rifle, 329 

60,  Colt's  Military  Rifle, 329 

61,  Colt's  new  Model  Revolver, 329 

62,  Colt's  Revolving  Pistol  with  Carbine 

Breech  attached, 329 

63,  Colt's  Holster  Pistol, 329 

64,  Colt's  Revolving  Shot  Gun, 330 

65,  Colt's  Military  or  Revolving  Rifle, ...  330 

66,  Iron-clads  and  Monitors, (Steel 

platej) . 338 


xvl 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


67,  View  of  Chickering  &   Sons'  Piano 

Forte  Manufactory, 352 

68,  Wagons  of  1810, 363 

69,  Wagons  of  1820, 363 

70,  Wagons  of  1825, 363 

71,  First  Elliptic  Spring  Wagon, 363 

72,  Jagger, 363 

73,  Gazelle, 863 

74,  English  Pheaton, 364 

75,  Box  Jump  Seat, 364 

76,  World's  Fair  Buggy, 364 

77,  Eureka  Jump  Seat, 364 

78,  Child's  Seat  Drop  Front, 364 

79,  Crescent  City, 364 

80,  Lawrence  Brett, 364 

81,  Loop  Calash, 364 

82,  Doctor's  Phaeton, 365 

83,  Full  Top  Cabriolet, 365 

84,  Champion, 365 

85,  Prince  of  Wales, 365 

86,  Dayton  Brett, 365 

87,  City  Coupe, 365 

88,  Brewster  Calash  Coach, 365 

89,  Coup  Rockaway, 365 

90,  Premium  Top, 366 

91,  View  of  G.  &  D.  Cook,  &  Co's  Works,  366 

92,  Castors, 373 

93,  Cake  Dish, 373 

94,  Oyster  Dish,    373 

95,  Toast  Fork, 373 

96,  Meat  Dish, 374 

97,  Cups, 374 

98,  Goblets, 374 

99,  Tea  Set, 375 

100,  Dish  Covers, 375 

101,  Coffee  Pot, 375 

102,  Urn, 375 


103,  Tea  Set  and  Tray, 376 

104,  Spoon  and  Fork  Case, 376 

105,  Whale  Fishery, 379 

106,  Cod  Fishery, 380 

107,  The  Great  Callender  Machine, 407 

108,  Ficus  Elastica, — Rubber  Plant, 407 

109,  Cutting  Rubber, 407 

110,  Machine  for  Washing  Rubber, 408 

lllv  India  Rubber  Grinding  Mill, 408 

112,  Past, 413 

113,  Present, 413 

114,  Lock  Stitch, 413 

115,  Wheeler  &  Wilson's  Sewing  Machine 

ready  for  work, 415 

116,  Front  View, 415 

117,  View  with  Cloth  Plate  removed,  ....  415 

118,  Section  IV,  showing  Lock  Stitch,  ...  416 

119,  Section  V, 416 

120,  Section  VI, 416 

121,  Cloth  Plate  reversed, 416 

122,  Feed  Bar, 416 

123,  Hemmer, 416 

124,  Singer's  Sewing  Machine  No.  2,  ....  417 

125,  Family  Machine 417 

126,  Transverse  Shuttle  Machine, 417 

127,  Machine  in  Cabinet  Case, 417 

128,  Hand  Sewing  by  Candle  Light, 418 

129,  Finkle  &  Lybn's  Family  Sewing  Ma- 

chine,   418 

130,  Large  Manufacturing  Machine, 418 

131,  Medium  Machine, 418 

132,  The  Chain  Stitch, 424 

133,  The  Shuttle  and  Lock  Stitch, 424 

134,  View  of  Grover  &  Baker's  Warehouse,  427 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


I  SUPPOSE  it  will  be  conceded  that  agri- 
culture is  the  largest  and  most  important  in- 
terest of  this  country.  It  is  my  purpose  to 
trace  its  progress  from  the  time  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  first  settlements  upon 
these  shores,  but  more  especially  during  the 
last  hundred  years.  If  I  mistake  not,  a 
sketch  of  its  history  will  be  found  to  possess 
much  that  is  interesting,  useful,  and  in- 
structive. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  con- 
dition of  America  at  the  time  when  it  was 
first  settled  by  Europeans.  The  charac- 
ter and  the  objects  of  the  men  who  proposed 
to  establish  a  home  here,  are  already  familiar 
to  the  mind  of  every  intelligent  person. 
They  left  countries  which  were  considerably 
advanced  in  civilization,  and  better  cultivated, 
probably,  than  any  others,  at  that  time,  on 
the  globe,  with  the  exception,  possibly,  of  the 
Chinese  empire.  They  came  to  settle  down 
in  circumstances  wholly  new  to  them,  with 
a  climate  and  soil  nnlike  any  which  they 
bad  known  before.  They  were  to  begin  life 
anew,  as  it  were,  where  their  previous  ex- 
perience could  afford  them  little  or  no  aid, 
in  a  wilderness  which  was  to  be  subdued  by 
their  own  hands,  in  the  midst  of  a  thousand 
obstacles. 

With  the  exception  of  some  extensive 
tracts  of  prairie,  chiefly  confined  to  the  great 
west,  then  wholly  unknown  and  inaccessible, 
there  was  no  large  extent  of  territory  which 
was  not  covered  with  the  primeval  forest, 
though  here  and  there  a  partially  cultivated 
opening  occurred,  which  was,  or  had  been, 
occupied  by  the  Indians.  They  were,  there- 
fore, to  start  anew;  to  acquire,  painfully 
2 


and  laboriously,  that  practical  knowledge  of 
their  new  situation,  for  the  details  of  which 
no  previous  training  could  have  fitted  them. 
When  we  consider  the  hardships  they  had 
to  encounter,  especially  that  portion  of  them 
who  had  to  endure,  year  after  year,  the  rigor 
of  a  northern  winter,  we  cannot  wonder  that 
their  progress  in  farming  was  slow. 

It  is  true,  the  different  colonies,  as  they 
were  originally  established,  had  a  somewhat 
different  experience.  The  winters  of  Vir- 
ginia were  less  severe  than  those  of  New 
England.  The  settlers  on  the  James  river 
suffered  less,  probably,  than  those  further 
north,  but  all  had  to  undergo  many  priva- 
tions which  are  unknown  to  an  old  and  im- 
proved country.  All  were  surrounded  by 
a  howling  wilderness,  by  savage  men,  by 
wild  beasts  ready  to  prey  upon  their  live 
stock,  or  destroy  their  crops.  In  these  re- 
spects the  circumstances  of  the  settlers  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  were  nearly  the  same. 

Let  us  look,  for  a  moment,  at  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  Plymouth  colony,  and  we 
can  gather  therefrom  a  pretty  correct  idea 
of  that  in  the  other  settlements.  For  many 
months  after  the  arrival  of  the  pilgrims  at 
Plymouth,  they  had  no  beasts  of  burden, 
and  when  at  last  a  few  cows  were  brought 
over,  they  were  poorly  fed  on  the  coarse 
wild  grasses,  and  they  often  died  from  ex- 
posure and  want  of  proper  food,  or  fell  a 
prey  to  the  wolves  or  the  Indians.  Owing 
to  the  difficulties  and  expense  of  importa- 
tion, the  price  was  so  high  as  to  put  them 
beyond  the  reach  of  many,  even  in  moder- 
ate circumstances.  In  the  colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  a  red  calf  soon  came  to 


20 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


be  cheaper  than  a  black  one,  on  account  of 
the  greater  liability  to  be  mistaken  for  a 
deer  and  killed  by  the  wolves.  When  cows 
were  so  high  as  to  sell,  in  1636,  at  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  pounds  sterling,  and 
oxen  at  forty  pounds  a  pair,  a  quart  of 
new  milk  could  be  bought  for  a  penny,  and 
four  eggs  at  the  same  price. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
cattle  of  that  day,  even  in  England,  were 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  beautiful  ani- 
mals now  to  be  seen  there.  The  ox  of  that 
day  was  small,  ill-shaped,  and  in  every  way 
inferior  to  the  ox  of  the  present  time. 
The  sheep  has,  since  then,  been  improved 
to  an  equal,  or  even  greater  extent,  both  in 
form  and  size,  and  in  the  fineness  and  value 
of  its  wool.  The  draught-horse,  so  service- 
able on  the  farm,  long  the  pride  of  London, 
and  now,  to  an  almost  equal  extent,  of  most 
qf  our  large  cities,  was  not  then  known. 
It  is  difficult  to  appreciate  fully  the  changes 
which  the  increased  attention  to  agriculture 
has  effected  in  our  domestic  animals,  even 
within  the  last  half  century. 

But  when  we  consider  that  no  attention 
whatever  was  paid  to  the  culture  of  the 
grasses ;  that  very  few,  if  any,  of  the  vegeta- 
bles, now  extensively  cultivated  as  food  for 
stock,  were  then  introduced  there  ;  that  the 
introduction  of  red  clover  into  England  did 
'not  take  place  till  1633  ;  of  sainfoin,  not  till 
1651;  of  yellow  clover,  not  till  1659;  and  of 
white,  or  Dutch  clover,  not  till  the  year 
1700;  and  that  the  form,  size,  and  perfec- 
tion of  animals  depend  largely  upon  a  full 
supply  of  food  and  good  care  when  young, 
we  shall  cease  to  wonder,  when  we  are  told 
by  the  highest  authority,  that  during  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  the  average 
gross  weight  of  the  neat  cattle  brought  for 
sale  to  the  Smithfield  market  was  not  over 
three  hundred  and  seventy  pounds,  and  that 
of  sheep,  twenty-eight  pounds;  while  the 
average  ATeight  of  the  former  is  now  over 
eight  hundred  pounds,  and  of  the  latter,  over 
eighty  pounds. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  in  this  con- 
nection, as  it  throws  much  light  upon  the 
early  farming  in  this  country,  that  the  ex- 
tensive and  practical  cultivation  of  the  nat- 
ural grasses  originated  here  ;  or,  at  least,  was 
introduced  here  long  before  it  was  into 
England.  The  necessities  of  our  rigorous 
climate,  indeed,  compeJled  attention  to  this 
branch  of  husbandry  very  soon  after  the  set- 
tlement, while  the  climate  of  England  ad- 


mitted a  greater  degree  of  reliance  on  the 
wild  luxuriance  of  nature. 

The  cattle  that  first  arrived,  in  1624,  were 
kept  through  the  long  winters  on  poor  and 
miserable  swale  hay,  or  more  frequently  on 
the  salt  hay  cut  from  the  marshes,  and  death 
from  starvation  and  exposure  was  no  uncom- 
mon occurrence,  the  farmer  sometimes  los- 
ing his  entire  herd.  The  treatment  of  an- 
imals now  as  they  were  treated  during  the 
whole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  of  the  first 
century  of  the  colony,  would  subject  the 
owner  to  prosecution  for  cruelty.  This 
treatment  was,  in  part,  no  doubt,  owing  to 
the  poverty  of  the  settlers,  but  more,  proba- 
bly, to  the  ideas  and  practices  in  which  they 
had  been  early  trained  in  a  different  climate. 

Besides,  on  account  of  the  high  price  of 
cattle  at  that  period,  and  the  risks  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  it  is  not  probable  that 
the  settlers  selected  the  best  specimens  then 
to  be  found  in  England.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  they  were  at  all  particular  in  this 
respect.  Nor  was  the  difficulty  of  procur- 
ing agricultural  implements  the  least  of  the 
obstacles  to  the  successful  pursuit  of  farm- 
ing. A  few,  no  doubt,  were  brought  over, 
from  time  to  time,  from  the  mother  coun- 
try, but  all  could  not  obtain  them  in  this 
way ;  while  the  only  metal  to  be  had  was 
made  of  bog  ore,  very  brittle,  and  liable  to 
break  and  put  a  stop  to  a  day's  work.  Most 
were  made  of  wood,  and  those  imported 
were  extremely  rude  in  construction,  being 
very  heavy  and  unwieldy,  and  having  compar- 
atively little  fitness  for  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  designed.  The  process  of  casting 
steel  was  not  discovered  till  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  and  then  it  Avas  kept  a 
secret  in  Sheffield  for  some  years.  The 
number  and  variety  of  implements  have 
been  infinitely  increased,  as  we  shall  see, 
even  within  the  last  half  century,  to  meet 
the  wants  of  a  more  advanced  state  of  ag- 
riculture, to  which,  indeed,  these  mechanical 
improvements  have,  in  their  turn,  largely 
contributed. 

Indian  corn,  pumpkins,  squashes,  potatoes, 
and  tobacco,  were  plants  which  few  of  the 
early  colonists  had  ever  seen  previous  to  their 
arrival  here,  but  necessity  taught  them  their 
value,  and  they  were  not  slow  in  adopting 
the  Indian  methods  of  cultivating  them. 
As  the  general  cultivation  among  the  colo- 
nies continued  much  the  same  for  many 
years,  with  slight  modifications,  on  the  in- 
troduction of  the  European  implements,  it 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


21 


may  not  be  inappropriate  to  turn  our  atten- 
tion, for  a  moment,  to  the  agriculture  of  the 
natives. 

Most  of  the  hard  work  among  the  Indians, 
it  is  well  known,  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
women,  with  the  assistance,  sometimes, 
of  the  old  men  and  little  boys.  Among 
their  thankless  tasks  was  that  of  farming, 
which  they  carried  on  to  an  extent  quite  re- 
markable, when  we  consider  the  rudeness  of 
the  implements  with  which  they  had  to 
work,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
were  placed.  They  had  no  art  of  manufac- 
turing metal,  and,  of  course,  could  have  no 
suitable  contrivances  for  tilling  the  ground. 
Their  cultivation  was  not  so  rude,  however, 
as  one  would  naturally  suppose.  They  made 
a  kind  of  hoe  by  tying  the  shoulder-blade 
of  a  moose,  bear,  or  deer,  to  a  stick  or  pole, 
and  managed  to  do  much  of  the  work  with 
that. 

The  land,  when  selected,  was  cleared  by 
keeping  up  a  fire  around  the  foot  of  each 
tree  till  its  bark  was  so  burned  that  it  would 
die.  Then  they  planted  their  corn.  When 
a  tree  fell,  it 'was  burned  into  pieces  of  such 
length  that  they  could  be  rolled  into  a  heap 
and  burned  to  ashes.  In  this  way,  by 
degrees,  a  piece  covered  Avith  wood  was 
wholly  cleared.  An  industrious  woman 
could  burn  off  as  many  dry,  fallen  logs  in  a 
day  as  a  strong  man  could,  at  that  time,  cut 
with  an  axe  in  two  or  three.  They  used  a 
stone  axe,  made  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  hoe  above  described,  to  scrape  the 
charred  surface  of  the  logs  and  hasten  the 
burning.  This  mode  of  clearing  was  pretty 
common  among  the  natives  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  Sometimes  the  tree  was 
first  girdled  with  the  axe  and  thus  killed, 
allowed  to  become  dry,  and  then  burned  by 
kindling  a  fire  around  it,  as  above  described. 
Several  of  these  stone  axes,  of  different 
sizes,  are  now  in  my  possession. 

The  Indians  taught  the  settlers  to  select 
the  finest  ears  of  corn  for  seed,  to  plant  it 
at  a  proper  time,  to  weed  it,  and  to  hill  it. 
They  "were  accustomed  to  dig  small  holes 
four  feet  apart,  with  a  clumsy  instrument 
resembling  the  one  described,  which  was 
made,  not  unfrequently,  of  a  large  clam- 
shell. Those  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
sea-shore  put  into  each  hole  a  horse-shoe 
crab  or  two,  or  a  fish,  upon  which  they 
dropped  four,  and  sometimes  six  kernels  of 
corn,  and  covered  it  with  the  implement 
with  which  they  had  dug  the  hole.  The  use 


of  fish  in  the  hill  as  a  fertilizer  was  common, 
also,  in  the  interior.  Beans  were  planted 
with  the  corn  after  it  had  come  up,  and 
grew  up  supported  by  it. 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  the  protection 
of  their  crops  from  Aveeds,  while  the  porn 
Avas  carefully  guarded  from  destruction  by 
insects  and  birds.  To  prevent  loss  by  the 
latter,  a  small  \vatch-house  was  erected  in  the 
midst  of  a  field  of  corn,  in  Avhich  one  of  the 
family,  often  the  eldest  child,  slept,  and 
early  in  the  morning  rose  to  Avatch  the  birds. 
It  Avas  their  universal  custom  to  hill  the  corn, 
often  from  one  to  two  feet  high,  for  its  sup- 
port, and  spots  are  often  seen  at  the  present 
day  which  were  evidently  cultivated  by 
them.  The  colonists  very  generally  imitated 
this  custom,  and  it  has  been  continued  doAvn 
to  our  own  times  in  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. The  men  planted  and  cured  their  tobac- 
co, which  was,  ordinarily,  the  only  plant  they 
Avorked  upon,  the  Avomeu  managing  all  the 
rest. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  farming  of  the 
Indians  would  not  be  complete  without  an 
allusion  to  their  mode  of  storing  grain  for 
their  Avinter  supply.  Large  holes  Avere  dug 
in  the  earth,  and  the  sides  carefully  lined 
Avith  bark ;  this  Avas  also  the  work  of  the 
Avomen.  The  corn  and  the  beans,  after 
being  dried  in  the  sun,  or  on  rocks  or  flakes 
over  a  fire,  were  throAvn  into  these  holes,  and 
then  they  Avere  covered  up  level  with  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  They  Avere  thus  pre- 
served, if  necessary,  through  the  Avinter. 
These  excavated  barns  Avere  carefully  con- 
cealed by  the  women  from  their  lazy  hus- 
bands and  sons,  lest  they  should  discover 
and  eat  up  their  contents ;  yet,  with  all  the 
care  they  could  take,  the  hogs  of  the  colo- 
nists often  unhinged  their  barn-doors,  and 
helped  themselves  to  the  golden  treasure. 
History  says  that  one  of  these  Indian  barns 
Avas  discovered  by  the  pilgrims  at  Truro,  at 
a  time  when  their  store  of  provisions  Avas  so 
reduced  as  to  contain  but  five  kernels  of 
corn  to  each  individual. 

They  sometimes  made  additional  provis- 
ion for  Avinter  by  means  of  large  boxes  of 
Avicker-work,  or  bags  or  sacks  of  hemp, 
which  Avere  filled  and  kept  in  the  wigwam 
for  the  more  immediate  wants  of  the  family. 
They  had,  of  course,  little  or  no  occasion  to 
cut  grass,  though  it  grew  in  abundance  along 
the  marshes  and  the  rivers,  and  in  places 
which  had  been  cleared  for  cultivation.  It 
was  of  a  coarse  quality,  and  served  the  colo- 


22 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


nists  a  good  turn  till  they  resorted  to  the 
cultivation  of  better. 

We  may  imagine  the  surprise  of  the  na- 
tives at  the  first  sight  of  a  plough.  They 
could  not  understand  so  complicated  a  ma- 
chine. They  wanted  to  see  it  work;  and 
when  it  tore  up  more  ground  in  a  day  than 
they,  with  their  clam-shells,  could  scrape  up 
in  a  month,  and  they  saw  the  colter  and  the 
share  to  he  of  iron,  they  told  the  ploughman 
if  he  was  not  the  devil  himself,  he  was  very 
much  like  him. 

The  first  sight  of  a  ship,  it  is  recorded, 
had  excited  their  wonder  even  to  a  greater 
extent.  To  them  it  was  a  floating  island ; 
its  masts  were  nothing  but  trees ;  its  sails 
were  clouds ;  its  discharge  of  guns  was 
thunder  and  lightning ;  but  as  soon  as  the 
thunder  and  lightning  ceased,  they  pushed 
off  their  canoes  to  go  and  pick  strawberries 
on  the  island ! 

This  cursory  glance  at  the  early  surround- 
'  ings  of  the  settlers  of  the  country,  will  en- 
able us  the  better  to  comprehend  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  making  rapid  progress. 
When  poor  and  miserable  cattle,  poor  and 
miserable  implements,  poor  and  miserable 
ideas  of  farming  were  the  best  of  every  thing 
they  had,  we  can  well  imagine  that  little  was 
done  which  was  not  forced  upon  them  by 
the  pressure  of  necessity.  Their  wants  were 
too  many,  and  required  too  vigorous  exer- 
tions to  provide  what  was  indispensable,  to 
admit  of  their  spending  time  to  experiment 
or  seek  out  new  principles  to  be  applied  to 
practical  farming.  As  long  as  new  lands 
could  be  had  almost  for  the  asking,  it  was 
not  to  be  expected  that  they  would  till  them 
very  thoroughly.  The  soil  was  rich  in 
mould — the  accumulation  of  ages — and  did 
not  require  very  careful  cultivation  to  se- 
cure an  abundant  return.  But  years  of  con- 
stant cropping  exhausted  its  productiveness, 
when  other  lands  were  taken  to  subject  to 
the  same  process.  The  farmer  raised  wheat 
year  after  year  on  the  same  land,  till  the  soil 
became  too  poor,  and  then  he  planted  corn  ; 
and  when  it  would  no  longer  grow  corn,  he 
sowed  barley,  or  rye,  and  so  on  to  beans. 

Agriculture,  so  far  as  any  real  improve- 
ment was  concerned,  was,  therefore,  natural- 
ly enough,  in  a  state  of  extreme  depression 
for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  after  the 
establishment  of  colonies  in  various  parts  of 
the  country.  There  were  few  intelligent  cul- 
tivators previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  there 
was  no  spirit  of  inquiry  to  give  a  charm  to 


farm  labor.  It  was  performed  as  an  evil 
which  must  be  endured  from  stern  necessity. 
Hard  work  was  the  order  of  the  day.  The 
forests  were  to  be  cleared,  the  buildings  for 
shelter  erected,  the  stone  walls  to  be  laid, 
and  little  time  or  inclination  was  left  for 
the  "  humanities"  of  life. 

The  inhabitants  of  country  towns,  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  most  of  whom  were,  of 
course,  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil,  seldom 
visited  even  their  neighboring  towns,  and 
many  a  farmer  and  farmer's  son  did  not  leave 
his  own  township  from  one  year's  end  to  an- 
other. The  liberalizing  influence  of  social 
intercourse  was  unknown  and  unappreciated, 
unless  the  village  tavern  and  the  frequent 
glass  might  be  considered  as  forming  an  ex- 
ception, while  it  afforded  an  opportunity,  of 
which  most  men  availed  themselves,  of  form- 
ing new  acquaintances  and  talking  over  the 
stale  gossip  of  the  neighborhood,  or  indulg- 
ing in  the  ribald  jest. 

People  for  some  miles  around  turned  out 
to  a  "raising,"  as  the  erection  of  a  frame 
building  was  termed,  and  a  merry  time  it 
was,  where  the  flip  and  the  cider  flowed  like 
water.  On  a  more  limited  scale,  the  "  husk- 
ings"  brought  together,  also,  a  pretty  large 
neighborhood,  when  the  same  favorite  drinks 
did  much  to  enliven  a  long  autumn  evening, 
the  whole  being  followed  by  a  sumptuous  re- 
past of  pumpkin  pies,  etc.,  continued  into  the 
small  hours  of  the  night.  Then  the  "spii,- 
ning  bees"  afforded  a  time  for  talk,  and  song, 
and  riddle.  Election  day  often,  however, 
brought  the  people  from  a  greater  distance. 

No  butcher  drove  up  to  the  farmer's  door, 
with  his  ever  fresh  supply  of  meats,  to  give  va- 
riety to  the  daily  and  homely  fare ;  no  ba- 
ker, with  his  jingling  bells,  travelled  his 
rounds  on  stated  days  to  relieve  the  monot- 
ony of  the  housewife's  toil.  Salted  meats 
were  the  almost  universal  food  from 
autumn  till  spring,  and  often  from  spring 
till  autumn,  though  now  and  then  a  sheep 
or  a  lamb  fell  a  victim  to  the  necessity  for 
change.  No  cottons,  no  calicoes,  no  ging- 
hams, no  linens,  no  flannels  loaded  the 
counters  of  the  village  store,  to  be  had  at  a 
sixpence,  or  a  ninepence,  or  a  quarter  a 
yard.  The  farmer,  and  the  farmer's  family, 
wore  homespun,  and  the  spinning-wheel  and 
the  huge  timber  loom  were  a  part  of  nearly 
every  household  furniture,  and  their  noise 
was  rarely  silenced.  If  linens  were  wanted, 
the  flax  was  sown,  and  weeded,  and  pulled, 
and  rotted,  and  broken,  and  swingled — for  all 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


23 


of  which  processes  nearly  a  year  was  re- 
quired before  the  fibre  was  ready  for  spin- 
ning, and  bleaching  on  the  grass,  and  making 
and  wearing.  If  woollens,  the  sheep  were 
sheared,  and  the  wool  dyed  and  got  in  read- 
iness, and  months  were  often  required  before 
it  could  be  got  into  shape  for  wearing. 
Courtships  were,  therefore,  of  longer  dura- 
tion than  many  of  them  now-a-days,  and  two 
years  was  about  as  soon  as  the  betrothed 
farmer's  daughter  could  get  ready  to  go  to 
keeping  house.  Not  unfrequently  the  flax 
had  to  be  sown  as  the  preliminary  step,  and 
to  pass  through  all  its  forms  of  transition  in- 
to cloth  and  garments.  With  our  present 
facilities  for  manufacturing  by  machinery 
every  conceivable  variety  of  fabric,  and 
that,  too,  in  the  shortest  space  of  time,  it  is 
impossible  to  appreciate  fully  the  state  of 
things  among  all  classes  of  society  a  century 
ago.  Even  the  old  processes  of  curing  and 
preparing  flax,  and  the  variety  of  fabrics 
made  from  it,  have  undergone  an  entire 
change.  Processes  which  then  required 
many  months  to  complete,  are  now  wholly 
avoided  by  the  more  perfect  and  economical 
ones  at  present  known  and  in  constant  use. 

Owing  to  the  imperfect  provision  for 
schools  for  the  great  body  of  the  people,  the 
boy  was  trained  up  to  a  narrow  routine  of 
labor,  as  his  fathers  had  been  for  a  century 
before.  He  often  affected  to  despise  all  in- 
telligent cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  not  only 
scrupulously  followed  the  beaten  track,  but 
was  intolerant  of  all  innovation,  simply  be- 
cause it  was  innovation.  Very  few  of  the 
rural  population  of  that  day  saw  a  newspa- 
per or  a  journal  of  any  kind.  There  were 
not,  probably,  a  dozen  published  in  the 
whole  country  a  century  ago.  There  was 
not  one  in  New  England  at  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century,  and  but  four  in' 1*7 50,  and 
these  had  an  extremely  small  circulation  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  metropolis. 

Obstinate  adherence  to  prejudice  of  any 
kind  is  now  generally  regarded  as  a  mark 
of  ignorance  or  stupidity.  A  century  ago, 
the  reverse  was  the  case.  In  many  a  small 
country  town  a  greater  degree  of  intelli- 
gence— except  on  the  part  of  the  parson  and 
the  doctor — than  was  possessed  by  his  neigh- 
bors, brought  down  upon  the  possessor  the 
ridicule  of  the  whole  community.  If  he 
ventured  to  make  experiments,  to  strike  out 
new  paths  of  practice  and  adopt  new  modes 
of  culture;  or'  if  he  did  not  plant  just  as 
many  acres  of  corn  as  his  fathers  did,  and 


:hat,  too,  in  "the  old  of  the  moon;"  if  he 
did  not  sow  just  as  much  rye  to  the  acre, 
use  the  same  number  of  oxen  to  plough,  and 
yet  in  his  crops  on  the  same  day ;  or  if  he 
did  not  hoe  as  many  times  as  his  father  and 
tiis  grandfather  did — if,  in  fine,  he  did  not 
wear  the  same  kind  of  homespun  dress  and 
adopt  the  same  religious  views  and  preju- 
dices, he  was  shunned  in  company  by  the 
old  and  young,  and  looked  upon  as  a  vision- 
ary. He  knew  nothing  of  a  rotation  of 
crops.  The  use  and  value  of  manures  were 
little  regarded.  Even  so  late  as  within  the 
memory  of  men  still  living,  the  barn  was 
sometimes  removed  to  get  it  out  of  the  way 
of  heaps  of  manure  by  which  it  was  sur- 
rounded, because  the  owner  would  not  go  to 
the  expense  of  removing  these  accumula- 
tions and  put  them  upon  his  fields.  The 
swine  were  generally  allowed  to  run  at  large; 
the  cattle  were  seldom  or  never  housed  at 
night  during  the  summer  and  fall  months ; 
the  potato  patch  often  came  up  to  the  very 
door,  and  the  litter  of  the  yard  seldom  left 
much  to  admire  in  the  general  appearance 
of  things  about  the  barn  or  the  house. 
Farmers  thought  it  necessary  to  let  their 
cattle  run  at  large  very  late  in  the  fall,  and  to 
stand  exposed  to  the  severest  colds  of  a  win- 
ter's day,  "  to  toughen."  It  was  the  com- 
mon opinion  in  the  Virginia  colony,  that 
housing  and  milking  cows  in  the  winter 
would  kill  them.  Orchards  had  been  plant- 
ed in  many  parts  of  the  country,  but  the 
fruit  was,  as  a  general  thing,  of  an  inferior 
quality,  and  used  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
making  cider. 

This  is  no  picture  drawn  from  the  imagi- 
nation. It  is  strictly  and  literally  true  of 
the  farming  of  the  country  as  a  whole,  a 
century  ago,  though  it  should  be  remarked 
that  a  slightly  modified  state  of  things  ex- 
isted in  localities  widely  distant.  But  with 
some  differences  in  detail,  it  will  be  found  to 
be  consonant  with  historical  facts. 

It  would  be  extremely  interesting,  were  it 
in  our  power,  to  support,  by  accurate  sta- 
tistics, this  general  view  of  the  condition  of 
farming  during  the  last  century,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, no  reliable  statistics  were  taken  till 
the  year  1790,  and  then,  chiefly  to  ascertain 
the  number  of  the  population,  with  special 
reference  to  the  distribution  of  the  represen- 
tation, or  the  political  power  of  the  several 
states.  We  are,  therefore,  wholly  destitute 
of  statistical  information  of  the  products  of 
farming  industry  during  the  last  century ; 


24 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


nor  was  it  till  the  fourth  decennial  census,  in  j 
1820,  that  the  population  was  divided  ac- 
cording to   industrial  pursuits,  so  that  we 
have  no  means   of    ascertaining   even    the  | 
number  engaged  in  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing.    We  only  know  that  the  general  esti- 
mate  of  the  population  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  which  fixed  it  at  three  millions, 
was  considerably  too  high. 

The  occurrence  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
period  immediately  succeeding,  very  natu- 
rally brought  men  of  all  pursuits  and  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  more  frequently  and 
closely  together,  and  gave  all  classes,  and 
fanners  among  the  rest,  a  more  general 
knowledge  of  what  was  passing  in  the  world 
around  them.  Intercommunication  became 
more  easy  and  frequent,  and  had  its  influence 
upon  the  masses  of  the  people.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century  many  left  the  sea- 
board and  removed  to  the  interior  to  avoid 
the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  difficul- 
ties between  this  and  the  mother  country, 
and  for  other  reasons ;  more  attention  began 
to  be  paid  to  agriculture.  Emigration  from 
the  cast  began  to  set  toward  the  so-called 
inexhaustible  west,  which  at  that  time  meant 
central  or  western  New  York. 

Up  to  this  point  our  survey  of  the  con- 
dition of  agriculture  has  necessarily  been 
general.  Tso  one  branch  of  farming  had 
made  any  marked  and  perceptible  progress. 
It  has  been  said  that  a  good  strong  man 
could  have  carried  all  the  implements  in  use 
on  the  farm,  except  the  cart  and  old  clumsy 
harrow,  upon  his  shoulders,  fifty  years  ago, 
and  we  know  that  many  a  year  occurred 
when  grain,  and  even  hay,  had  to  be  imported 
from  England  to  keep  the  people  and  the 
cattle  from  starvation.  Hereafter,  it  will  be 
more  convenient  to  trace  the  progress  of  the 
different  branches  of  farm  industry,  and  the 
means  brought  to  bear  in  the  development 
and  improvement  of  agriculture,  in  a  more 
distinct  and  separate  manner,  in  order  that 
we  may  get  a  clearer  idea  of  the  relative 
progress  and  influence  of  each.  And  first, 
of  the  origin  and  growth  of 

ASSOCIATED    AND    LEGISLATIVE    EFFORT. 

One  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
farming  of  the  present  day,  is  the  extent 
to  which  associated  effort  is  brought  to  bear 
upon  all  its  details,  by  way  of  exhibitions, 
premiums,  clubs  for  discussion,  and  the  pub- 
lication of  reports  for  wide  and  gratuitous 
distribution.  This  enormous  power  of  mind 


upon  mind,  by  means  of  association  or  social 
intercourse,  is  of  comparatively  recent  ori- 
gin in  this  country.  It  can  scarcely  date 
back  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  centu- 
ry, though  the  necessity  of  it  had,  even 
then,  become  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
patriotic  and  public-spirited  men. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  1794,  Washington, 
then  president  of  the  United  States,  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  Sir  John  Sinclair,  in  Avhich 
he  says  :  "  It  will  be  some  time,  I  fear,  before 
an  agricultural  society,  with  congressional 
aid,  will  be  established  in  this  country.  AYe 
must  walk,  as  other  countries  have,  before 
we  can  run ;  smaller  societies  must  prepare 
the  way  for  greater;  but,  with  the  lights 
before  us,  I  hope  we  shall  not  be  so  slow  in 
maturation  as  older  nations  have  been.  An 
attempt,  as  you  will  perceive  by  the  enclosed 
outlines  of  a  plan,  is  making  to  establish  a 
state  society  in  Pennsylvania  for  agricultural 
improvements.  If  it  succeeds,  it  will  be  a 
step  in  the  ladder ;  at  present,  it  is  too  much 
in  embryo  to  decide  upon  the  result."  And 
again,  in  his  annual  address  on  the  7th  De- 
cember, 1796,  when  he  met  for  the  last  time 
the  two  houses  of  Congress,  he  said :  "It 
will  not  be  doubted  that,  with  reference  to 
either  individual  or  national  welfare,  agricul- 
ture is  of  primary  importance.  In  propor- 
tion as  nations  advance  in  population,  and 
other  circumstances  of  maturity,  this  truth 
becomes  more  apparent,  and  renders  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil  more  and  more  an  object 
of  public  patronage.  Institutions  for  pro- 
moting it  grow  up,  supported  by  the  public 
purse;  and  to  what  object  can  it  be  dedica- 
ted with  greater  propriety  ?  Among  the 
means  which  have  been  employed  to  this 
end,  none  have  been  attended  with  greater 
success  than  the  establishment  of  boards, 
composed  of  proper  characters,  charged  witli 
collecting  and  diffusing  information,  and  en- 
abled, by  premiums  and  small  pecuniary 
aids,  to  encourage  and  assist  a  spirit  of  dis- 
covery and  improvement. 

"This  species  of  establishment  contrib- 
utes doubly  to  the  increase  of  improvement, 
by  stimulating  to  enterprise  and  experiment, 
and  by  drawing  to  a  common  centre  the  re- 
sults, everywhere,  of  individual  skill  arid  ob- 
servation, and  spreading  them  thence  over 
the  whole  nation.  Experience,  accordingly, 
has  shown  that  they  are  very  cheap  instru- 
ments of  immense  national  benefit." 

Some  few  individuals,  even  before  this 
date,  had  felt  the  necessity  for  some  such  ac- 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


25 


tion  as  would  lead  to  the  development  of 
the  agricultural  resources  of  the  country, 
and  as  the  result,  the  South  Carolina  Agri- 
cultural Society  had  been  established  in 
1784,  and  still  exists.  The  Philadelphia 
Society  for  the  Improvement  of  Agriculture 
was  formed  in  the  same  year,  or  the  year 
after,  followed  by  a  similar  association  in 
New  York  in  1791,  which  was  incorporated 
in  1793.  The  Massachusetts  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture  was  incorporated  in 
1792,  and  soon  after  commenced  the  publi- 
cation of  a  series  of  papers  known  as  the 
Agricultural  Repository,  which,  for  sound 
good  sense  and  judicious  suggestion,  chal- 
lenges comparison  with  any  similar  series 
ever  published.  It  should  be  stated,  how- 
ever, that  the  prime  movers  in  the  formation 
of  these  societies  were  not  men  actually  en- 
gaged in  farming,  though  many  of  them  were 
owners  of  fine  estates.  The  mass  of  farmers 
were  not,  as  yet,  fully  prepared  for  this  pro- 
gressive effort,  and  all  the  agricultural  teach- 
ings of  educated  and  scientific  men  prove  un- 
availing, unless  the  people  themselves,  the 
actual  tillers  of  the  soil,  are  prepared  to  re- 
ceive and  profit  by  their  teachings.  Many 
years  elapsed  after  these  early  efforts  were 
made,  before  the  habit  of  reading  became 
sufficiently  common  among  the  masses  of 
practical  farmers  to  justify  the  expectation 
that  any  general  benefit  would  arise  from  the 
annual  publication  of  the  transactions  of 
these  societies. 

There  was  little  or  no  disposition  in  the 
community  to  examine  the  subject,  and  they 
failed  to  excite  any  spirit  of  emulation  in 
the  public  mind.  The  improvements  pro- 
posed fell  almost  dead  upon  the  people,  who 
rejected  "  book  farming"  as  impertinent  and 
useless,  and  knew  as  little  of  the  chemistry 
of  agriculture  as  of  the  problems  of  astron- 
omy. A  quarter  of  a  century,  however,  ef- 
fected some  change,  and  in  1816  the  Massa- 
chusetts society  held  its  first  exhibition,  at 
Brighton,  at  which  a  list  of  premiums  was 
offered,  and  a  ploughing  match  instituted, 
not  so  much  with  the  object  of  improving 
the  plough  as  to  try  the  strength  and  docil- 
ity of  the  oxen.  But  the  plough-maker  hap- 
pened to  be  there,  and  to  have  his  eyes 
open;  and  since  that  day,  an  amount  of 
knowledge  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
this  implement  sufficient  to  bring  it  very 
near  perfection. 

The  first  national  society  established  with 
•this  specific  object  in  view,  is  believed  to 


have  been  the  Columbian  Agricultural  So- 
ciety for  the  Promotion  of  Rural  and  Do- 
mestic Economy,  organized  at  a  convention 
held  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.,  on  the  28th  No- 
vember, 1809  ;  and  the  first  agricultural  ex- 
hibition in  this  country  was,  probably,  one 
held  by  that  society  in  Georgetown,  on  the 
10th  of  May,  1810,  when  large  premiums 
were  offered  for  the  encouragement  of  sheep 
raising,  etc.  In  the  October  following,  in 
the  same  year,  Elkanah  Watson  exhibited 
three  merino  sheep  under  the  great  elm  tree 
in  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  which  was  the  germ  of 
the  Berkshire  County  Agricultural  Society, 
whose  regular  exhibitions  began  the  year 
following,  and  are  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  county  exhibitions  ever  instituted  in 
this  country.  To  show  the  feeling  with  re- 
gard to  what  was,  at  that  time,  considered  an 
innovation,  in  a  strictly  farming  community, 
the  projector  of  that  society  encountered  the 
opposition  and  ridicule  of  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety, from  the  moment  the  proposition  was 
made.  It  was  viewed  by  many  with  con- 
tempt. Gradually,  however,  the  feelings  of 
the  people  were  enlisted  in  its  favor,  premi- 
ums were  offered  and  awarded,  and  a  large 
concourse,  from  all  parts  of  the  county,  in- 
creasing rapidly  from  year  to  year,  showed 
clearly  that  something  had  reached  the  heart 
of  the  community. 

But  though  this  was  the  first  county  exhi- 
bition, so  far  as  I  am  informed,  it  was  not 
the  first  county  society  that  was  formed. 
The  Kennebec  Agricultural  Society  was  in- 
stituted at  Augusta  in  1800  and  incorpora- 
ted in  1801,  being  the  second  society  incor- 
porated within  the  limits  of  Massachusetts,  to 
which  Maine,  at  that  time,  belonged.  A 
voluntary  association  of  the  Middlesex  hus- 
bandmen had  also  been  formed  in  1794,  and 
incorporated  in  1803,  under  the  name  of  the 
Western  Society  of  Middlesex  Husband- 
men. 

These  were  some  of  the  early  efforts  in 
this  direction,  and  though  they,  like  other 
similar  attempts,  met  with  some  opposition  on 
the  part  of  the  very  class  they  were  intended 
to  benefit,  the  increasing  intelligence  of  the 
people  very  soon  enabled  them  to  live  it 
down.  Now  we  have  more  than  a  thousand 
similar  associations,  all  striving,  by  the  offer 
of  premiums,  and  by  bringing  together  the  best 
products  of  the  farm  and  the  garden,  to  en- 
courage improvement  and  stimulate  enter- 
prise. Almost  every  state  in  the  Union  has 
its  state  society,  and  almost  every  county, 


26 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


and,  in  some  of  the  states,  every  county, 
has  its  county  organization.  And  what 
is  the  result  ?  It  is  well  known  that  by  far 
the  largest  and  most  valuable  part  of  our 
practical  knowledge  is  that  which  is  got  in 
our  intercourse  with  our  fellow  men,  with 
those  who  are  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits 
and  have  the  same  interests  as  ourselves. 
The  farmer  has,  therefore,  gained,  and 
is  gaining  a  vast  amount  of  information, 
much  of  which  he  can  apply  to  advantage  on 
his  farm.  Emerging  from  his  naturally  iso- 
lated position,  he  has  become  a  more  social 
being.  More  frequent  contact  with  others, 
by  way  of  competition,  has  stimulated  men- 
tal activity.  Contrast  him  now  with  his 
father  on  the  same  farm  half  a  century  ago, 
and  see  if  there  is  not  some  improvement 
that  can  be  traced  to  the  social  influences  of 
the  agricultural  clubs  and  societies. 

In  addition  to  these  societies,  most,  if  not 
all  of  which  are  encouraged  by  the  several 
states  in  a  substantial  manner,  there  exist,  in 
some  of  the  states,  boards  of  agriculture,  or- 
ganized as  departments  of  the  state  govern- 
ment, and  having  a  general  supervision  of 
the  societies,  receiving  their  official  returns, 
and  publishing  an  abstract  of  the  most  valu- 
able papers  presented,  for  general  distribu- 
tion. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  claiming  too  much 
for  the  agricultural  societies  throughout  the 
country,  to  say  that  the  general  spirit  of  in- 
quiry in  relation  to  farm  improvements,  and 
much  of  the  enterprise  manifested  by  farm- 
ers of  the  present  day,  is  due  to  their  efforts. 
The  most  impartial  judgment  would,  in  fact, 
go  much  further  than  this,  and  say  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  actual  improvement 
that  has  been  made  in  farm  stock,  farm  im- 
plements, and  farm  products,  may  be  traced, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  influence  of  the 
agricultural  associations  of  the  country. 

To  appreciate  this  influence  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  consider  the  immense  facilities 
which  a  well-conducted  exhibition  gives,  not 
only  to  the  agricultural  mechanic  for  mak- 
ing known  the  nature  and  value  of  his  im- 
provements, but  to  the  farmer  for  becoming 
acquainted  with  them.  Many  an  invention 
would  have  slumbered  in  oblivion,  or  enjoy- 
ed only  a  limited  and  local  fame,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  multitudes  brought  together  at 
the  state,  county,  and  town  fairs,  which,  it 
will  thus  be  seen,  furnish  a  most  admirable 
medium  of  communication,  both  to  the  me- 
chanic and  the  farmer,  making  it  for  the  in- 


terest of  both  to  attend  and  avail  themselves 
of  the  facilities  offered  them.  Thus  a  great 
public  interest  is  served,  notwithstanding  the 
individual  mechanic  or  inventor  may  have 
his  own  interest  chiefly  at  heart. 

And  what  is  true  with  regard  to  agricul- 
tural implements,  is  true  to  nearly  an  equal 
extent  of  every  thing  else  brought  for  exhibi- 
tion to  the  fairs  of  the  societies.  A  fanner 
sees  fruits  that  he  knew  nothing  of,  and 
could  not  obtain  otherwise.  He  knows  who 
presented  them,  secures  the  same  for  his  own 
farm,  and  within  five  years  can  present  as 
good  samples  himself.  He  sees  animals 
brought  to  a  degree  of  perfection  of  which 
he  had  never,  perhaps,  conceived.  Thought 
is  excited.  He  asks  himself  whether  they 
are  more  profitable  than  his  own ;  procures 
them,  perhaps,  and  thus  an  improved  stock 
is  disseminated  over  the  country  to  take  the 
place  of  that  which  is  inferior,  but  which 
costs  the  individual  nearly  or  quite  as  much 
to  keep  as  that  more  valuable  and  profitable. 

I  need  not  enlarge  upon  this  point. 
Enough  has  been  said,  I  think,  to  show  that 
the  modern  system  of  associated  effort  is  a 
most  decided  progressive  movement ;  but  let 
us  trace  out  more  in  detail  some  of  its  re- 
sults. And  first,  in  the  multiplication  and 
improvement  of 

FARM    IMPLEMENTS. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  branch  of  farm  econ- 
omy in  which  the  progress  of  improvement 
has  been  so  apparent  and  unquestionable,  as 
that  made  in  the  implements  of  agriculture 
during  the  last  half  century.  It  might  al- 
most be  said  that  progress  in  agriculture  it- 
self may  be  measured  by  an  increased  de- 
mand for  new  and  better  implements,  as  the 
advance  in  civilization  is  shown  by  a  greater 
demand  for  comforts  and  luxuries  by  the 
people. 

There  Avas  a  time,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
history  of  American  farming,  when  labor 
was  cheap,  when  strong  limbs  and  the  power 
of  endurance  were  the  requisites  chiefly 
sought  for  in  the  hired  man,  and  when  his 
labor  was  paid  for  as  so  much  brute,  physi- 
cal force.  Intelligent  labor,  skill,  and 
thought  found  higher  rewards  in  other  call- 
ings, and  the  practical  fanner  was  thought 
to  be  sufficiently  well  informed  if  he  was 
able  to  hold  plough,  to  mow,  to  sow,  and  to 
reap.  The  labor — the  physical  force  neces- 
sary to  carry  on  the  operations  of  the  farm — 
could  be  obtained  very  easily  in  those  days, 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


27 


and  it  was  natural  that  farmers  should  be 
satisfied  with  the  limited  variety  of  imple- 
ments then  in  use.  The  isolated  position 
in  which  they  were  placed,  their  limited  op- 
portunities for  travel  and  observation,  the 
difficulties,  in  fact,  of  getting  about  among 
people  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits,  all 
helped  to  strengthen  prejudice  arid  foster  a 
repugnance  to  try  new  and  unused  imple- 
ments, or  to  strike  out  into  new  fields  of  ex- 
periments. Besides  these  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  improvement,  the  progress  then  made 
in  the  various  branches  of  mechanics  was 
extremely  limited,  and  the  adoption  of  new 
and  improved  implements  must  follow,  of 
course,  in  the  wake  of  mechanical  invention. 
The  few  rude  and  imperfect  implements  in 
use  at  an  early  day  were,  for  the  most  part, 
of  home  manufacture,  or  made  by  the 
neighboring  blacksmith,  who  had  a  thousand 
other  things  to  make  at  the  same  time. 
There  was  little  idea  of  a  division  of  labor. 
Jack  at  all  trades  was  good  at  none. 

As  early  as  1617,  some  ploughs  were  set 
to  work  in  the  Virginia  plantation,  but  in 
that  year  the  governor  complained  to  the 
company  that  the  colony  "  did  suffer  for 
want  of  skilful  husbandmen,  and  means  to 
set  their  ploughs  on  work ;  having  as  good 
ground  as  any  man  can  desire,  and  about 
forty  bulls  and  oxen,  but  they  wanted  men 
to  bring  them  to  labor,  and  iron  for  the 
ploughs,  and  harness  for  the  cattle.  Some 
thirty  or  forty  acres  we  had  sown  with  one 
plough,  but  it  stood  so  long  on  the  ground 
before  it  was  reaped,  it  was  most  shaken,  and 
the  rest  spoiled  with  the  cattle  and  rats  in 
the  barn."  This  complaint  had  some  effect, 
for,  in  1648,  a  cotemporary  resident  says: 
"  \Ve  have  now  going  near  .upon  a  hundred 
and  fifty  ploughs,"  and  they  were  drawn  by 
oxen. 

It  is  recorded  that  in  1637  there  were  but 
thirty-seven  ploughs  in  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay.  Twelve  years  after  the  land- 
ing of  the  pilgrims,  the  farmers  about  Bos- 
ton had  no  ploughs,  and  were  compelled  to 
break  up  the  bushes  and  prepare  for  cultiva- 
tion with  their  hands,  and  with  rude  and 
clumsy  hoes  or  mattocks.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom, in  that  part  of  the  country,  even  to  a 
much  later  period,  for  any  one  owning  a 
plough  to  go  about  and  do  the  ploughing 
for  the  inhabitants  over  a  considerable  extent 
of  territory.  A  town  often  paid  a  bounty 
to  any  one  who  would  buy  and  keep  a 
plough  in  repair  for  the  purpose  of  going 


about  to  work  in  this  way.  The  massive  old 
wooden  plough  required  a  strong  and  well- 
fed  team  to  move  it  through  the  soil,  a 
heavy,  muscular  man  to  press  it  into  the 
ground,  another  to  hold,  and  another  to  drive. 
We  may  judge,  therefore,  of  the  economy 
of  the  work  it  performed.  What  was  true 
of  the  early  period  of  the  settlement,  was 
true,  to  nearly  an  equal  extent,  for  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  so  far  as  the  implements  and 
the  processes  of  farming  are  concerned.  All 
these  last  were  traditional,  handed  down 
from  sire  to  son,  and  adhered  to  in  the 
strictest  manner.  The  implements  consisted 
almost  wholly  of  the  plough,  the  spade,"  a 
clumsy  wooden  fork,  and  now  and  then  a 
harrow.  I  have  in  my  possession  two  of 
these  wooden  forks,  made,  and  in  use,  at 
least  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  in  the 
Massachusetts  colony.  They  were  regarded 
as  curious  for  their  antiquity  in  the  youth 
of  the  grandfather  of  the  donor,  who  died 
some  years  ago,  upward  of  ninety  years  of 
age.  That  would  date  them  back  nearly 
two  centuries,  perhaps. 

At  this  time,  the  ploughs  used  among  the 
French  settlers  in  Illinois  were  made  of 
wood,  with  a  small  point  of  iron  tied  up- 
on the  wood  with  straps  of  raw-hide.  The 
beams  rested  on  an  axle  and  small  wooden 
wheels,  the  whole  drawn  by  oxen  yoked  to 
the  ploughs  by  the  horns,  by  means  of  a 
straight  yoke  attached  by  raw  leather  straps, 
with  a  pole  extended  from  the  yoke  back  to 
the  axle.  The  plough  was  very  large  and 
clumsy,  and  no  small  one  was  used  by  them 
to  plough  among  the  corn  till  after  the  war 
of  1812.  The  carts  they  used  had  not  a 
particle  of  iron  about  them. 

During  the  last  century,  the  old  "  Carey 
plough"  was  more  extensively  used  in  the 
Atlantic  states  than  any  other  pattern,  though 
the  particular  form  of  this  instrument  varied 
almost  as  much  as  the  number  of  small  man- 
ufacturers or  blacksmiths  who  made  it. 
The  Carey  plough  had  a  clumsy  wrought 
iron  share,  a  land-side  and  standard  made  of 
wood,  a  wooden  mould-board,  often  plated 
over,  in  a  rough  manner,  with  pieces  of  old 
saw-plates,  tin,  or  sheet  iron.  The  handles 
were  upright,  and  were  held  by  two  pins ; 
a  powerful  man  was  required  to  hold  it, 
and  double  the  strength  of  team  now  com- 
monly used  in  doing  the  same  kind  of  work. 

The  "bar-side  plough,"  or  the  "bull 
plough,"  was  also  used  to  some  extent.  A 
flat  bar  formed  the  land-side,  and  a  big 


30 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


clump  of  iron,  shaped  a  little  like  the  half 
of  a  lance  head,  served  as  a  point,  into  the 
upper  part  of  which  a  kind  of  colter  was 
fastened.  The  mould-board  was  wooden, 
and  fitted  to  the  irons  in  the  most  bungling 
manner.  The  action  might  be  illustrated  by 
holding  a  sharp-pointed  shovel  back  up,  and 
thrusting  it  through  the  ground. 

In  the  southern  states,  the  "shovel 
plough"  was  in  general  use  down  to  a  very 
recent  date,  and  is,  indeed,  to  some  extent,  at 
the  present  day.  It  was  made  of  a  rough- 
hewn  stick  for  a  beam,  with  another  stick 
framed  in,  upon  the  end  of  which  a  piece  of 
iron,  shaped  somewhat  like  a  shovel,  sharp- 
pointed,  was  fastened.  The  two  rough  han- 
dles were  nailed  or  pinned  on  to  the  sides 
of  the  beam,  having  a  wooden  prop,  with  a 
draft  iron,  or  a  raw-hide  loop,  at  the  forward 
end  of  the  beam 

Generally  speaking,  it  might  be  said  that 
the  ploughs  used  in  this  country  a  century 
ago,  were  not  very  unlike  those  used  by  the 
old  Romans  before  the  Christian  era,  and  by 
some  of  the  people  of  southern  Europe  even 
at  the  present  day.  They  were  not  unfre- 
quently  nor  inaptly  termed  the  "hog 
plough,"  on  account,  probably,  of  their  pro- 
pensity to  root  into  and  out  of  the  ground. 
And  in  describing  the  plough,  an  adequate 
idea  of  all  other  kinds  of  farm  implements — 
the  variety,  as  we  have  seen,  being  extreme- 
ly small — is  clearly  enough  conveyed.  These 
old-fashioned  wooden  ploughs  continued, 
with  little  or  no  improvement,  till  after  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century. 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  draught  of  the 
plough,  or  strength  of  team  required,  is  due 
to  friction  in  the  soil.  The  cutting,  raising, 
and  turning  over  of  the  turf  add  compara- 
tively little  to  the  draught,  though,  it  is  true, 
the  friction  itself  is  somewhat  increased  by 
the  weight  of  the  plough,  and  this  weight  is, 
of  course,  increased  by  the  weight  of  the 
furrow-slice  as  it  is  lifted  from  its  bed. 
Hence,  the  draught  of  the  plough  is  but  slight- 
ly increased  by  an  increase  of  speed,  since 
the  friction  is  not  increased,  but  remains 
nearly  the  same  on  the  bottom  of  the  fur- 
row, on  the  land-side,  and  between  the  fur- 
row-slice and  the  mould-board,  whether  the 
motion  be  fast  or  slow.  Modern  improve- 
ments have  aimed,  therefore,  to  overcome 
the  friction  and  resistance  by  an  improv- 
ed construction  of  the  mould-board  and 
by  the  use  of  better  materials,  for  it  is 
now  well  established,  by  practical  exper- 


iment, that  the  draught  depends  less  on  the 
weight  of  the  plough  itself,  than  on  its  con- 
struction. The  draught  does  not  increase  in 
proportion  to  an  increase  of  weight,  and 
hence,  though  some  still  object  to  the  mod- 
ern plough,  as  compared  with  the  models  in 
use  fifty  years  ago,  on  account  of  their  being 
heavier,  yet  it  is  a  common  remark  that  the 
draught  is  easier,  and  they  require  much  less 
strength  of  team  to  do  the  same,  or  a  far 
better  work. 

The  excessive  friction  of  the  old-fashioned 
bull  plough  was  the  great  objection  to  it. 
It  was  constructed  awkwardly  enough,  in  the 
first  place,  but  the  form  of  the  mould-board 
was  especially  defective,  and  this  it  was  that 
required  such  great  strength  of  team.  It 
did  pretty  fair  work,  no  doubt,  on  light  and 
easy  soils,  but  the  share  and  the  mould-board 
were  so  attached,  as  to  make  the  wedge  too 
blunt,  which,  of  course,  made  the  friction 
excessive.  It  broke  and  crumbled  the  fur- 
row-slice, in  places,  and  was  not  calculated 
to  turn  a  flat  furrow.  But  the  action  of  the 
old  plough  was  not  uniform,  some  furrows 
being  set  too  much  on  the  edge,  while  oth- 
ers were  laid  quite  flat.  It  was  not  its 
weight  so  much  as  its  form  that  needed  im- 
provement. Its  construction  not  being 
based  on  such  principles  as  to  make  it  of 
easy  draught,  it  was  more  difficult  to  hold, 
more  easily  thrown  out  of  the  ground,  and 
required  constant  watchfulness  on  the  part 
of  the  ploughman.  It  was  difficult  to  culti- 
vate to  any  depth  without  the  help  of  one 
or  two  men  to  ride  on  the  beam  to  "  hold 
down."  The  mould-board  was  frequently 
shod  with  iron,  as  we  have  seen,  to  diminish 
the  friction  and  prevent  wear ;  but  it  was  in 
strips,  and  uneven,  and  the  desired  effect 
was  not  always  produced. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  changes 
and  modifications  made  in  the  mould-board 
within  the  last  forty  years,  have  effected  such 
improvements  as  to  enable  the  farmer  to  do 
a  much  greater  amount  of  better  work,  with 
far  less  expenditure  of  strength,  and  to  reap 
larger  crops  as  the  result,  while  the  original 
cost  of  the  implement  is  less  than  it  former- 
ly was.  The  saving  to  the  country  from 
these  improvements  alone,  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  has  been  estimated  at  no 
less  than  $10,000,000  a  year  in  the  work  of. 
teams,  and  $1,000,000  in  the  cost  of  ploughs, 
while  the  aggregate  of  the  crops  has  been 
increased  by  many  millions  of  bushels. 

These  improvements  in  the  form  of  the 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


31 


mould-board  will  be  understood,  when  we 
consider  that  one  side  of  the  furrow-slice,  as 
soon  as  it  is  cut,  begins  to  rise  gradually, 
till,  as  the  plough  advances,  it  is  turned  en- 
tirely over.  The  mould-board  should  be  so 
constructed  as  to  offer  the  least  possible  re- 
sistance as  it  moves  along,  and  to  run  as 
far  as  possible  without  clogging,  to  which 
the  old  plough  was  especially  liable,  the 
lines  of  its  mould-board  being  concave,  in- 
stead of  convex  or  straight,  according  to  the 
rules  more  recently  laid  down  requiring  the 
"  board  to  be  composed  of  straight  lines  in 
the  direction  of  its  length,  with  continually 
increasing  angles  to  the  line  of  the  furrow ; 
and  these  last  lines  are  severally  straight, 
convex,  and  concave."  Ransome,  after  the 
most  mature  study  of  this  implement,  says : 
"  Although  no  one  form  of  mould-board  will, 
or  can  be  applicable  to  every  variety  of  soil 
and  circumstance,  there  is  no  description  of 
soil  for  which  a  perfect  mould-board  may 
not  be  made  by  this  rule  in  some  of  its  mod- 
ifications." 

Such  was  the  condition  of  things  with  re- 
gard to  this,  and  most  other  farm  imple- 
ments, at  the  close  of  the  last  and  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  or  till  within  the  last 
forty  or  'fifty  years. 

The  first  patent  for  a  cast  iron  plough  in 
this  country,  is  believed  to  have  been  that 
of  Charles  Newbold,  of  Burlington,  N.  J., 
in  1797.  This  patent  combined  the  mould- 
board,  share,  and  land-side,  all  cast  together. 
It  was  so  great  and  manifest  an  improvement 
on  the  old  wooden  plough,  that  Peacock,  in 
his  patent  of  1807,  paid  the  original  inven- 
tor of  the  plough  of  1797  the  sum  of  §500 
for  the  privilege  of  copying  some  parts  of  it. 

A  cast  iron  mould-board  had  been  invent- 
ed in  Scotland,  it  is  proper  to  remark,  as 
early  as  1740,  by  James  Small,  but  he  still 
continued  to  use  the  wrought  iron  share, 
cast  iron  not  being  used  in  its  construction 
till  1785.  Small  established  a  plough  man- 
ufactory in  1 763,  and  becoming  familiar  with 
the  manufacture  of  cast  iron,  not  long  after- 
ward, he  conceived  the  idea  of  making  pat- 
terns of  the  principal  parts  of  the  plough. 
But  whether  the  American  inventor  had  a 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  these  ploughs 
is  not  known. 

Such  was  the  extreme  importance  of  this 
implement,  as  to  command  the  attention  of 
scientific  men  in  studying  to  improve  its 
form  and  construction,  and,  in  1798,  Thomas 
Jefferson  applied  himself  to  the  task,  and 


wrote  a  treatise  on  the  form  of  the  mould- 
board,  discussing  it  on  scientific  principles, 
calculating  mathematically  its  exact  form  and 
size,  and  especially  its  curvature,  with  a  view 
to  lessen  its  friction.  I  have  seen  his  orig- 
inal manuscript  of  this  essay,  containing  his 
drawings,  etc.,  now  in  the  possession  of  a 
jrentleman  of  Boston.  Since  his  time,  such 
an  amount  of  scientific  and  practical  skill 
has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  this  imple- 
ment, as  to  leave  little  to  suggest.  But  it 
should  be  stated  that  the  successive  improve- 
ments were  not  readily  adopted  by  the  mass 
of  farmers.  Their  introduction  was  far 
slower  than  that  of  an  improved  implement 
would  be  at  the  present  time,  though  the 
prejudice  against  the  use  of  new  inventions 
has  not  yet  wholly  disappeared.  Many  a 
farmer,  clinging  to  the  old  wooden  plough, 
asserted  that  cast  iron  poisoned  the  ground, 
and  spoilt  the  crops.  _  Still,  the  modern 
styles  gradually  gained  ground,  as  real  im- 
provements always  will.  In  one  respect  we 
have  especially  improved,  and  that  is  the 
adaptation  of  our  ploughs  to  the  different 
kinds  of  soil  on  which  they  are  to  be  used. 
When  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  im- 
provement of  this  implement  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  last  century,  the  principles  of 
ploughing  were  not  so  well  understood  as  at 
the  present  day.  The  work  was  neither  so 
carefully  done  nor  so  critically  examined, 
and,  consequently,  the  want  of  different 
forms  of  the  plough  adapted  to  the  varieties 
of  surface  and  of  soil  was  not  so  much  felt  as 
now,  when  nearly  every  farmer  sees  that  he 
cannot  produce  directly  opposite  effects  with 
the  same  implement.  In  another  respect, 
also,  custom  has  changed  as  much  as  the 
forms  of  the  plough  itself,  for  while  a  half 
century  ago  it  was  made  by  the  blacksmith 
in  nearly  every  small  town  in  the  country, 
it  is  now  made  in  large  establishments  by 
those  Avho  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
the  business,  and  these  establishments  have 
gradually  diminished  in  number,  while  the 
aggregate  number  of  ploughs  has  largely  in- 
creased. In  the  single  state  of  Massachu- 
setts, for  example,  there  were,  in  1845,  no 
less  than  seventy-three  plough  manufacto- 
ries, making  annually  61,334  ploughs  and 
other  agricultural  implements,  while  in  1855 
there  were  but  twenty-two  plough  manufac- 
tories, making  152,686  ploughs,  valued  at 
$707,175.86.  Up  to  the  year  1855  there 
had  been  no  less  than  three  hundred  and 
seventy-two  patents  issued  from  the  Patent 


32 


AGRICULTURE    IN    CHE    UNITED    STATES. 


Office  at  Washington,  for  changes  and  im- 
provements on  this  implement. 
.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  wonderful  per- 
formances of  the  steam  plough,  the  practical 
and  successful  operation  of  which  is  one  of 
the  proudest  triumphs  of  modern  agricul- 
tural mechanics  and  engineering.  I  need 
not  dwell  on  the  vastly  increased  facilities  it 
will  give  for  developing  the  resources  of  the 
west,  through  whose  almost  boundless  prai- 
ries it  will  run  unobstructed,  like  a  thing  of 
life. 

The  harrow  naturally  follows  the  plough, 
and  is  equally  indispensable.  It  has,  prob- 
ably undergone  fewer  changes  and  modifica- 
tions, if  we  except  those  made  within 
the  last  ten  years,  than  any  other  of  our 
farm  implements,  most  of  the  forms  of  the 
modern  harrow  in  use  bearing  a  «lose  resem- 
blance to  those  of  the  ancients,  as  illustrated 
on  medals  and  sculptures.  The  old  harrow, 
and  that  used  by  our  fathers  till  within  the 
memory  of  men  still  living,  was  made  of 
wood,  of  simple  bars  and  cross-bars  furnish- 
ed with  teeth.  More  recently  the  material 
used  has  been  of  iron,  with  teeth  commonly 
pointed  with  steel,  and  this  has  partly  obvi- 
ated the  objections  made  to  this  implement 
on  account  of  its  great  weight,  which  re- 
quired too  slow  a  motion  on  the  part  of  the 
team. 

A  light,  sharp-toothed  harrow,  moved 
quickly  over  the  ground,  accomplishes  far 
the  best  work  in  preparing  the  soil  for  the 
reception  of  seed.  So  important  is  it  that  j 
this  implement  should  be  rapidly  moved, 
that  the  work  of  the  same  implement,  drawn 
sluggishly  over  the  ground,  or  moved  more 
rapidly,  differs  very  widely  in  its  results.  A 
certain  amount  of  weight  is  very  important, 
it  is  true,  and  this  weight  differs  according 
to  circumstances ;  but  it  is  desirable  to  have 
it  in  the  most  compact  form.  The  recent 
improvements,  by  which  a  complete  rotatory 
motion  is  secured,  together  with  a  certain 
degree  of  flexibility  gained  by  pieces  of 
framework  hinged  together  so  that  any  part 
of  the  implement  can  be  lifted  or  moved 
without  disturbing  the  operation  of  the  rest, 
seem  to  leave  little  to  desire  in  respect  to 
this  important  farm  implement.  This  is  a 
case,  as  well  as  that  of  the  plough,  of  most 
decided  improvement  in  an  implement  of 
very  ancient  date,  handed  down  to  us,  in 
fact,  from  remote  antiquity. 

As  specimens  of  important  labor-saving 
implements  of  modern  invention  and  con- 1 


struction,  we  may  mention  a  large  class 
known  as  horse-hoes,  grubbers,  cultivators, 
drills,  seed-sowers,  and  others  of  like  char- 
acter. The  seed-sowers  and  drills  scatter 
the  seed  more  uniformly  than  it  could  pos- 
sibly be  done  by  hand  ;  dropping  also,  when 
it  is  desired,  any  concentrated  or  pulverized 
manure,  and  covering  the  rows.  All  the 
implements  named,  of  which  there  is  an 
infinite  variety  of  forms,  are  most  marked 
and  decided  improvements  on  manual  labor, 
which  was  required  by  our  forefathers  for 
the  same  processes. 

Another  large  class  of  implements,  among 
the  most  important  of  modern  inventions, 
are  the  various  kinds  of  harvesters,  particu- 
larly the  reapers  and  the  mowers. 

Many  of  our  grain  crops,  like  wheat,  bar- 
ley, and  oats,  come  to  maturity  at  nearly  the 
same  time.  Wheat  is  liable  to  sprout  in 
moist  weather,  and  barley  to  become  dis- 
colored if  allowed  to  stand  too  long.  The 
work  of  harvesting  by  the  old  method  was; 
necessarily  slow  and  protracted.  Previous 
to  the  introduction  of  the  reaper,  very  large 
quantities  of  our  most  valuable  grain  were 
annually  lost,  owing  to  the  impossibility  of 
harvesting  it  properly  and  at  the  proper 
time.  It  is  not,  therefore,  too  much  to  say, 
that  the  successful  introduction  of  the 
reaper  into  our  grain  fields  has  added  many 
millions  of  dollars  to  the  value  of  our  an- 
nual harvest,  not  only  by  enabling  us  to  se- 
cure the  whole  product,  but  also  by  making 
it  possible  for  the  farmer  to  increase  the  area 
of  his  cultivated  fields,  with  a  certainty  of 
being  able  to  gather  in  his  whole  crop. 

The  sickle,  which  was  in  common  use  for 
harvesting  the  grain  crop  till  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  cradle,  and,  in  fact,  till  a  very 
recent  date,  was  undoubtedly  as  old  as  Tubal 
Cain.  No  one  who  has  hael  a  practical  ex- 
perience of  its  use,  bending  over  in  the  most 
painful  position  from  "  early  morn  till  dewy  * 
eve,"  can  fail  to  appreciate  the  immense  sav- 
ing of  human  muscle,  and  of  slow  and 
wearisome  hand  labor,  by  the  introduction 
and  use  of  the  reaper. 

It  would  have  been  an  astonishing  evidence 
of  stupidity  on  the  part  of  the  ancients,  who 
relied  mainly  on  wheat  and  the  other  smaller 
grains,  had  they  not  tried,  at  least,  to  replace 
the  sickle  by  something  better.  This  they 
did,  for  it  is  recorded  that  the  farmers  of 
Gaul  used  a  simple  reaper,  not  long  after  the 
time  of  Christ.  Pliny  asserts  that  the  in- 
habitants of  that  countrv  fixed  a  series  of 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


35 


knives  into  the  tail-end  of  a  cart,  and  this 
being  propelled  through  the  grain,  clipped 
off  the  ears  or  heads,  and  thus  it  was  har- 
vested. 

Many  efforts  were  made  in  England  and 
Scotland,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  to  accomplish  the  same  result,  but 
with  no  great  success.  In  the  year  1833, 
Schnebley,  of  Maryland,  obtained  a  patent  on 
a  machine  for  reaping  grain ;  but  that  of 
Obed  Hussey,  of  Baltimore,  patented  in  the 
same  year,  has  not  only  been  successfully 
and  somewhat  extensively  used  from  that 
time  to  this,  in  the  western  states,  but  has 
furnished  the  basis  for  the  most  successful 
models  in  this  country,  among  the  most 
noted  of  which  are  those  of  McCormick,  of 
Virginia,  and  Manny  &  Atkins,  of  Illinois. 

The  American  reaping  machines  have  been 
brought  to  a  high  state  of  perfection  within 
the  last  ten  years.  They  have  already  a 
world-wide  reputation.  Their  superiority 
is  generally  acknowledged,  and  the  credit 
of  having  for  the  first  time  made  the  prin- 
ciples applicable  to  such  machinery  prac- 
tically useful,  undoubtedly  belongs  to  our 
own  ingenious  mechanics.  Five  years  ago 
the  American  machines  were  brought  to  trial 
at  the  exhibition  at  Paris,  in  competition 
with  the  world. 

This  trial  took  place  in  a  field  of  oats 
about  forty  miles  from  the  city,  each  ma- 
chine having  about  one  acre  to  cut.  Three 
machines  were  entered  for  the  first  trial,  one 
American,  one  English,  and  a  third  from 
Algiers,  all  at  the  same  time  raking  as  well 
as  cutting.  The  American  machine  did  its 
work  in  twenty-two  minutes,  the  English  in 
sixty-six,  and  the  Algerian  in  seventy-two. 
At  a  subsequent  trial  on  the  same  piece, 
when  three  other  machines  were  entered,  of 
American,  English,  and  French  manufacture, 
respectively,  the  American  machine  cut  its 
acre  in  twenty-two  minutes,  while  the  two 
others  failed.  The  successful  competitor  on 
this  occasion,  "  did  its  work  in  the  most  ex- 
quisite manner,"  says  a  French  journal, 
"  not  leaving  a  single  stalk  ungathered,  and 
it  discharged  the  grain  in  the  most  perfect 
shape,  as  if  placed  by  hand,  for  the  binders. 
It  finished  its  piece  most  gloriously." 

The  contest  was  finally  Harrowed  down  to 
three  machines,  all  American.  Two  ma- 
chines were  afterward  converted  from  reap- 
ers into  mowers,  one  making  the  change  in 
one  minute,  the  other  in  twenty.  Both 
performed  their  task  to  the  astonishment 
3 


and  satisfaction  of  a  large  concourse  of  spec- 
tators, and  the  judges  themselves  could  not 
restrain  their  enthusiasm,  but  cried  out 
"Good,  good,  well  done,"  Avhile  the  people 
hurrahed  for  the  American  reaper,  crying 
out,  "  That's  the  machine,  that's  the  ma- 
chine !"  "  All  the  laurels,"  says  the  report 
of  a  French  agricultural  journal,  "  we  are 
free  to  confess,  have  been  gloriously  won  by 
Americans,  and  this  achievement  cannot  be 
looked  upon  with  indifference,  as  it  plainly 
foreshadows  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  new 
world !" 

And  so  with  the  mowing  machines.  The 
hay  crop  of  the  country  cannot  be  estimated 
at  less  than  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars  a 
year.  It  must  be  gathered  at  a  season  Avhen 
labor  is  to  be  obtained  with  difficulty,  and 
at  even  higher  than  the  usual  price  of 
wages,  and  when  the  weather  is  often  fickle 
and  precarious,  generally  oppressively  hot, 
making  the  task  doubly  irksome  and  un- 
healthy. But  besides  this,  many  acres  of 
grass  on  our  ordinary  farms  ripen  at  about 
the  same  time,  which,  if  allowed  to  stand  too 
long,  will  decrease  in  quantity  and  value  of 
hay  which  might  otherwise  have  been  made 
from  it.  By  the  use  of  the  mowing  machine 
it  can  be  secured  and  saved  most  quickly, 
easily,  and  cheaply. 

Mowing  is,  at  best,  one  of  the  severest  of 
the  labors  of  the  farm,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  poets  and  other  writers  to  make  us 
believe  it  is  all  fun.  It  calls  into  play 
nearly  every  voluntary  muscle  in  the  body, 
requiring  not  only  the  more  frequent  and 
regular  movements  of  these  muscles,  but,  on 
account  of  the  twisting  motion  of  the  body, 
an  unusually  great  exertion  of  muscular 
power.  Nor  does  it  require  any  small 
amount  of  skill  to  become  a  good  mower, 
since  it  is  proverbial  that,  unless  the  boy 
becomes  accustomed  to  the  scythe,  and 
learns  while  young,  he  can  never  become  a 
skilful  mower.  It  is  not  at  all  surprising, 
therefore,  that  mechanical  ingenuity  should 
have  been  directed  to  shorten  and  lighten 
this  severe  operation. 

The  first  mowing  machine  which  met 
with  any  success  in  this  country,  is  believed 
to  have  been  that  of  William  Manning,  of  New 
Jersey,  patented  in  1831,  and  which  met 
with  a  limited  success  more  than  twenty 
years  ago.  In  1834  appeared  the  Ambler 
patent,  simple  in  its  construction,  with  a 
cutter  bar  of  wrought  iron,  and  a  single 
smooth-edged  knife,  operated  by  means  of  a 


36 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


crank  which  gave  it  a  vibratory  motion.  It 
was  used  in  1835  and  1836.  A  few  other 
efforts  were  made  about  that  time,  and  met 
with  some  slight  success,  but  it  was  not  till 
a  recent  date  that  the  machine  was  con- 
structed in  a  manner  to  give  a  confident 
hope  of  its  ultimate  and  complete  success. 
That  hope  has  been  fully  realized,  and  the 
mower  is  one  of  the  grandest  agricultural 
inventions  of  modern  times.  Like  all  other 
inventions,  it  was  adopted  by  the  farmer 
with  his  usual  caution,  but  its  triumph  has 
been  so  complete,  that^  its  utility  and  its 
economy  are  almost  universally  admitted, 
and  the  number  manufactured,  and  the  sales 
,  to  farmers,  have  been  immense,  and  are  even 
now  rapidly  increasing  every  year.  As  an 
evidence  of  this,  McCormick  is  reported  to 
have  sold  no  less  than  four  thousand  of  his 
reapers  to  the  fanners  around  Chicago,  for 
the  single  harvest  of  1860,  and  other  manu- 
facturers have  no  doubt  met  with  similar 
encouragement. 

Contrast  also  the  slow  process  of  raking 
hay  by  the  common  hand  rake,  with  the 
rapid  and  easy  method  of  gathering  it  with 
the  horse  rake,  accomplishing  with  great  ease 
to  a  single  man  who  drives,  the  labor  of  at 
least  ten  men  with  the  old  hand  rake. 
With  a  common  revolving  rake,  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  acres  a  day  may  be  gathered 
up,  and  sixteen  acres  a  day  have  been  raked 
•with  the  simplest  form.  What  a  security  on 
the  approach  of  a  storm,  when  the  farmer 
would  be  comparatively  helpless  with  nothing 
but  the  common  rake  to  rely  on  ! 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  modern 
threshing  machine  as  compared  with  the 
flail  ?  Who  does  not  well  remember  its 
familiar  sound,  and  that  beautiful  description 
of  Cowper — 

"  Thump  after  thump  resounds  the  constant  flail, 
That  seems  to  swing  uncertain,  and  yet  falls 
Full  on  the  destined  ear"? 

Only  think  of  the  difference  in  the  results. 
At  the  trial  of  threshing-machines  at  the 
Paris  exhibition,  the  victory  was  won  by  an 
American  machine,  and  during  the  opera- 
tion, to  ascertain  the  comparative  rapidity 
of  threshing,  six  men  were  engaged  in 
threshing  with  flails,  who  in  one  hour 
threshed  sixty  litres  of  wheat.  In  the  same 
time 

Pitt's  American  machine  threshed  740  litres, 
Clayton's  English    "  410     " 

Duvoir'a  French      "  "  250     " 

Pinet's        "  "  "          150     " 


and  a  French  journal,  in  speaking  of  the 
trial,  said  :  "  This  American  machine  liter- 
ally devoured  the  sheaves  of  wheat.  The 
eye  cannot  follow  the  work  which  is  effect- 
ed between  the  entrance  of  the  sheaves  and 
the  end  of  the  operation.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  results  which  it  is  possible  to  at- 
tain. The  impression  which  this  spectacle 
produced  on  the  Arab  chiefs  was  profound." 

At  the  great  fair  in  New  York,  in  1853, 
a  machine  was  exhibited  which  not  only 
threshed  and  winnowed  the  wheat,  but  meas- 
ured it,  placed  it  in  bags  ready  for  the  market, 
and  recorded  accurately  the  number  of  bush- 
els, and  all  by  one  continuous  operation. 

These  vast  and  acknowledged  improve- 
ments in  harvesting  and  threshing  grain  will 
be  seen  to  be  of  the  utmost  importance, 
when  it  is  considered  that  we  annually  raise 
about  two  hundred  millions  of  bushels  of 
wheat,  and  of  rye,  barley,  and  oats  over  one 
hundred  millions,  and  that  the  resources  of 
the  country  may  be  developed,  by  the  use 
of  machinery,  to  an  extent  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  present  calculation. 

The  reaper,  the  thresher,  and  the  mower 
are  types  of  the  ever  restless  and  progress- 
ive spirit  of  the  age.  They  point  out  to  us 
a  glorious  future,  in  which  they  will  accom- 
plish for  us  and  for  our  country  triumphs 
grander  than  the  triumphs  of  arms,  for  they 
will  develop  the  means  of  supporting  the 
millions  of  human  beings  which  the  imple- 
ments of  war  can  only  destroy. 

Could  the  learned  Malthus — who  proclaim- 
ed the  gloomy  theory  that  war,  famine,  and 
pestilence  were  checks,  designed  by  an  all- 
wise  Being  to  keep  down  the  increase  of 
population  to  a  level  with  the  means  of  sus- 
tenance— now  rise  up  from  his  sleep  of  death 
and  see  the  population  of  England  more 
than  doubled  since  his  day,  and  that  of  this 
country  multiplied  many  times,  while  the 
people  are  better  fed,  and  better  clothed," 
with  less  labor  and  less  suffering,  with  the 
possibility  of  a  famine  wholly  and  forever 
removed,  he  might  change  his  shameful 
doctrine,  and  adopt  a  more  cheerful  and 
hopeful  view  of  the  providence  of  God. 
With  an  immense  multiplication  of  the  hu- 
man species  in  all  civilized  countries  which 
have  been  devoted  to  the  arts  of  peace  and 
the  development  of  their  material  resources, 
a  bountiful  Father  has  sent  us  a  superabun- 
dance of  food,  instead  of  famine,  and  has 
taught  us  to  rely  on  the  exhaustless  bounty 
of  the  fruitful  earth,  and  upon  his  beneficent 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


37 


promise  that  seed  time  and  harvest  shall 
never  fail  to  supply  the  daily  wants  of  his 
children. 

But  with  all  the  progress  which  we  have 
made  in  improving  the  implements  of  the 
farm,  we  have  not  reached  perfection.  No 
bound  is  set  to  human  ingenuity,  and  further 
means  may  yet  be  devised  to  shorten  labor 
and  increase  the  products  of  the  soil. 

We  cannot  hope,  nor  is  it  desirable,  to 
avoid  labor.  This  is  not  the  object  of  im- 
proved machinery ;  but  to  make  labor  more 
attractive,  agreeable,  and  productive ;  to 
bring  into  subjection  the  rude  forces  of 
nature,  and  make  them  do  our  bidding  and 
increase  our  stores ;  to  redeem  thousands  of 
acres  now  lying  waste  from  wildness  and  des- 
olation, and  to  make  our  country  the  gran- 
ary of  the  world — these  are  triumphs  we 
may  hope  to  gain  from  the  introduction  and 
use  of  improved  machinery,  and  in  this  view 
the  subject  commends  itself  to  the  attention 
of  the  highest  intellect,  and  opens  a  field  for 
the  labors  of  the  noblest  philanthropy. 

PROGRESS    IN    THE    RAISING    OF    STOCK. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made,  incident- 
ally, to  the  character  of  the  cattle  from  which 
the  early  importations  into  this  country 
must,  for  the  most  part,  have  been  drawn. 

The  first  animals  that  arrived  in  any  part 
of  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States 
were  probably  those  taken  to  the  colony  on 
the  James  river,  in  Virginia,  previous  to  the 
year  1609,  the  exact  date  of  their  arrival 
not  being  known.  Several  cows  are  known 
to  have  been  carried  there  in  1610,  and  dur- 
ing the  following  year,  1611,  no  less  than 
one  hundred  head  arrived  there  from  abroad. 

It  is  probable  that  those  first  introduced 
there  were  brought  over  by  the  earliest  ad- 
venturers, and  others  came  from  the  West 
Indies.  It  is  well  known  that  some  of  their 
cattle  came  from  Ireland.  Those  from  the 
West  Indies  were  the  descendants  of  cattle 
brought  to  America  by  Columbus  in  his 
second  voyage,  in  1493.  I  have  seen  it  as- 
serted that  so  important  was  it  considered 
that  the  cattle  introduced  into  the'  infant 
colony  should  be  preserved  and  allowed  to 
increase,  that  an  order  was  issued  forbidding 
the  killing  of  domestic  animals  of  any  kind, 
on  pain  of  death  to  the  principal,  burning 
of  the  hand  and  cropping  the  ears  of  the 
accessory,  and  a  sound  whipping  of  twenty- 
four  hours  for  the  concealer  of  a  knowledge 
of  the  facts.  Such  encouragement  being 


given  to  the  raising  of  stock,  it  is  not  sui1- 
prising  to  find  the  number  of  cattle  in  Vir- 
ginia in  1620  amounting  to  about  five  hun- 
dred head;  and  in  1639,  to  thirty  thousand ; 
while  from  the  fact  that  in  1648  the  number 
had  been  reduced  to  twenty  thousand,  we 
may  infer  that  the  restrictions  on  killing 
them  had  been  removed.  Many  also  had 
been  sent  to  New  England. 

The  first  cattle  that  were  introduced  into 
the  Plymouth  colony,  and  undoubtedly  the 
earliest  brought  into  New  England,  arrived 
at  Plymouth,  in  the  ship  Charity,  in  1624. 
They  were  imported  by  Governor  Winslow 
for  the  colony,  and  consisted  of  three  heifers 
and  a  bull.  A  division  of  the  stock,  which 
appears  to  have  been  held  in  common,  was 
made  in  1627,  when  one  or  two  are  described 
as  black,  black  and  white,  others  brindle ;  an 
evidence  that  there  was  no  uniformity  of 
color.  These  animals  were  to  remain  in  the 
hands  of  individuals  receiving  them  for  ten 
years,  they  to  have  the  produce,  while  the 
old  stock  was  still  to  be  owned  by  the  col- 
ony in  common.  Twelve  cows  were  sent  to 
Cape  Ann  in  1626,  and  in  1629  thirty  more, 
while  in  1630  about  a  hundred  animals  were 
imported  for  the  "governor  and  company 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England." 
These  cattle  were  kept  at  Salem. 

In  the  meantime,  the  first  importation 
was  made  into  New  York  from  Holland  by 
the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  and  the 
foundation  laid  for  a  valuable  race  of  ani- 
mals. The  number  in  all  introduced  was 
one  hundred  and  three,  consisting  of  horses 
and  cattle  for  breeding.  The  company  fur- 
nished each  tenant  with  four  cows,  four 
horses,  some  sheep  and  pigs,  for  the  term  of 
six  years,  when  the  number  of  animals  re- 
ceived was  to  be  returned,  their  increase 
being  left  in  the  hands  of  each  farmer. 
Then  the  cattle  belonging  to  the  company 
were  distributed  among  those  who  were  un- 
able to  buy  stock. 

And  so,  for  the  settlements  along  the 
Delaware,  cattle  were  introduced  by  the 
Swedish  West  India  Company  in  1627.  It 
will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  before  the  close 
of  the  year  1630,  the  number  of  homed 
cattle  in  all  the  colonies  must  have  risen, 
by  natural  increase  and  by  the  importations 
above  named,  to  several  thousands. 

And  then,  in  1631,  1632,  and  1633,  sev- 
eral importations  were  made  into  what  ia 
now  New  Hampshire,  by  Captain  John 
Mason,  who,  with  Gorges,  procured  the 


38 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


patent  of  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  Piscataqua  river,  and  immediately  formed 
settlements  there.  The  prime  object  of 
Mason  was  to  carry  on  the  manufacture  of 
potash,  and  for  this  purpose  he  employed 
the  Danes  ;  and  it  was  in  his  voyages  to  and 
from  Denmark  that  he  procured  many  Dan- 
ish cattle,  chiefly  for  the  purposes  of  draught. 
They  Avere,  undoubtedly,  considerably  larger 
than  the  average  of  the  cattle  of  England  at 
that  day,  of  a  uniformly  light  yellow  color, 
and  made  very  fine  oxen  for  labor.  They 
soon  became  widely  diffused  over  the  whole 
region,  and  are  said  to  have  remained,  with 
a  great  degree  of  purity  of  blood,  or  little 
intermixture,  down  to  the  year  1 820.  Traces 
of  them  can  be  found  even  at  the  present 
day.  They  were,  no  doubt,  large  and  coarse 
animals,  and  well  adapted  to  endure  the 
severity  of  the  climate  and  the  hardships  to 
which  they  were  subjected  in  the  lumbering- 
operations  of  that  new  colony.  They,  un- 
questionably, did  much  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  the  "  native"  stock  of  New  England,  over 
which  they  spread  in  the  course  of  a  very 
few  years,  and  became  mixed  with  the  cattle 
imported  into  Salem  and  Plymouth,  and 
probably,  to  some  extent,  with  the  Dutch 
cattle  already  alluded  to ;  perhaps,  also,  with 
the  black  cattle  of  Spain  and  Wales,  and 
subsequently  with  the  long-horns  and  the 
short-horns,  most  or  all  of  which  crosses 
were  accidental,  or  the  result  of  individual 
convenience  or  other  local  circumstances. 
From  them  the  working  oxen  of  New  Eng- 
land derive  much  of  their  character  and 
reputation  for  strength,  hardihood,  quick- 
ness, and  docility. 

Now  we  find  the  sources  from  which  the 
native  cattle  of  this  country  sprang.  The 
early  importations  into  Virginia  were  origi- 
nally derived,  mainly,  probably,  from  Eng- 
land ;  some  were  from  the  black  cattle  of 
Spain,  though  the  importation  of  1611 
probably  came  from  England ;  the  cattle  of 
the  Plymouth  colony  came  from  the  coast 
of  Devonshire ;  those  brought  into  New 
York  from  the  island  of  Texel,  on  the  coast 
•  of  Holland,  and  were  mostly,  without  doubt, 
the  black  and  white  Dutch  cattle ;  those  on 
the  Delaware  were  brought  from  Sweden  ; 
those  in  New  Hampshire  were  the  large, 
yellow  Danish  cattle ;  and  as  the  earlier  im- 
portations were  the  most  extensive  that 
were  made  for  many  years,  these  various 
stocks  were  crossed,  and  thus  formed  the 
original  stock  of  the  country. 


There  is  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that 
they  were  interchanged  between  the  colo- 
nies to  some  extent,  at  an  early  day.  Some 
of  the  Virginia  cattle  were  early  sent  to 
New  England,  while  others  found  their  way 
to  Virginia  through  Pennsylvania,  so  that 
the  mixture  was  great  and  inevitable.  Of 
the  mode  of  keeping  cattle  in  the  Virginia 
colony,  Glover,  a  cotemporary,  in  the  His- 
torical Register,  says  :  "  All  the  inhabitants 
give  their  cattle  in  winter  is  only  the  husks 
of  their  Indian  corn,  unless  it  be  some  of 
them  that  have  a  little  wheat  straw,  neither 
do  they  give  them  any  more  of  these  than 
will  serve  to  keep  them  alive ;  by  reason 
whereof  they  venture  into  the  marshy  grounds 
and  swamps  for  food,  where  very  in  any  are 
lost."  And  Clayton,  another  equally  high 
authority,  says,  "that  they  neither  housed 
nor  milked  their  cows  in  winter,  having  a 
notion  that  it  would  Mil  them.'1''  And  still 
another,  a  Swedish  traveller,  Kalm,  more 
recently,  1749,  in  speaking  of  the  James 
river  colony,  says:  "They  make  scarce 
any  manure  for  their  corn  fields,  but  when 
one  piece  of  ground  has  been  exhausted  by 
continual  cropping,  they  clear  and  cultivate 
another  piece  of  fresh  land,  and  when  that 
is  exhausted  proceed  to  a  third.  Their  cat- 
tle are  allowed  to  wander  through  the 
woods  and  uncultivated  grounds,  where  they 
are  half  starved,  having  long  ago  extirpated 
almost  all  the  annual  grasses  by  cropping 
them  too  eai'ly  in  the  spring,  before  they 
had  time  to  form  their  flowers  or  to  shed 
their  seeds."  The  poorness  of  pasturage 
and  want  of  food  had  caused  the  cattle  to 
diminish  in  size  from  one  generation  to 
another,  till  they  had  become  stunted  and 
small,  and  were  not  improperly  termed  "  lit- 
tle runts,"  or  "natives." 

In  color,  the  natives,  as  already  indicated, 
are  exceedingly  various.  Crosses  of  the  Den- 
marks  with  the  Spanish  and  Welsh  would 
naturally  have  made  a  dark  brindlc  ;  crosses 
of  the  Denmarks  and  the  Devons  often  made 
a  lighter  or  yellowish  brindle  ;  while  the 
more  recent  importations  of  Jerseys  and 
short-horns  have  generally  produced  a  beau- 
tifully spotted  progeny.  The  prejudice  in 
favor  of  deep  red,  which  was  long  the  fa- 
vorite color  of  New  England,  is  fast  giving 
way  to  more  variegated  colors. 

In  the  year  1553,  some  Portuguese  had 
taken  cattle  to  Newfoundland  and  Nova 
Scotia,  while  in  1604,  a  Frenchman  had  in- 
troduced the  small  French  cattle  into  Acadia, 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


39 


from  whence,  in  1608,  they  were  carried,  to 
Canada,  and  from  there  several  animals  were 
taken  into  what  is  now  known  as  the 
"American  Bottom,"  in  Illinois,  in  1682, 
where  they  increased  rapidly.  The  first 
cattle  imported  into  Carolina  were  obtained 
in  England  in  1670,  and  we  find  that  the 
Indians  on  the  Red  River  in  Louisiana  had 
cattle  as  early  as  1690.  The  first  importa- 
tion into  Georgia  was  made,  so  far  as  we 
are  informed,  in  1732,  followed  by  others  in 
1735. 

In  1750  the  keeping  of  stock  had  assumed 
some  importance  in  certain  localities,  par- 
ticularly in  the  older  eastern  settlements, 
where  it  had  become  comparatively  safe 
from  molestation,  for  it  is  known  that  some 
large  farmers  in  Rhode  Island  kept  as  many 
as  one  hundred  cows  and  upward,  and  the 
sale  of  thirteen  thousand  pounds  of  cheese 
from  one  farm  is  recorded,  and  in  one  case 
seventy-three  cows  produced  ten  thousand 
pounds  of  butter  in  five  months,  or  an  aver- 
age of  very  nearly  a  pound  a  day  to  a  cow, 
which,  for  that  length  of  time,  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  good  yield. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  up  to  this 
time,  and  in  fact  for  nearly  half  a  century 
later,  no  well-directed  efforts  at  improve- 
ment had  been  made  even  in  England  ;  but 
at  that  time  some  localities  there  possessed 
classes  or  races  of  animals  peculiar  to  them- 
selves, whose  merits  had  begun  to  attract 
attention,  though  there  was  no  general  in- 
terest in  the  subject  before  the  days  of 
Bakewell,  who  "  sat  in  the  huge  chimney 
corner  of  a  log  kitchen,  hung  round  with 
the  finest  joints  of  his  dried  oxen,  preserved 
as  specimens  of  proportions ;  a  tall,  stout, 
broad-shouldered  man,  of  brown,  red  com- 
plexion, clad  in  a  brown,  loose  coat  and 
scarlet  waistcoat,  leather  breeches,  and  top 
boots,"  and  demonstrated  what  could  be 
done  by  attention  to  true  physiological  laws 
in  the  breeding  of  cattle.  The  choice  of 
breeds  and  obtaining  good  crosses  were 
nowhere  thought  of  previous  to  his  time. 
In  fact,  before  the  cultivation  of  the  natural 
and  artificial  grasses  and  the  introduction  of 
the  turnip  and  other  root  crops,  the  farmer 
had  comparatively  little  control  over  the 
frames  of  his  cattle.  He  was  obliged  to 
give  them  such  food  as  he  had,  or  rather 
they  were  obliged  to  take  such  as  they 
could  get,  which,  on  a  vast  majority  of  the 
farms,  both  of  England  and  the  American 
provinces,  at  that  time,  was  what  would 


now  be  considered  pretty  hard  fare.  Hard 
seasons  and  the  want  of  winter  feeding  and 
shelter  were  obstacles  vastly  more  difficult 
to  overcome  then  than  now. 

Those  who  should,  "  during  the  space  of 
one  year,  keep  the  greatest  weight  of  horned 
cattle,"  got  the  premiums  offered  by  the 
London  Society  of  Arts,  rather  than  those 
who  should  exhibit  the  greatest  degree  of 
improvement  in  their  animals.  But  with 
the  increase  and  abundance  of  good  food, 
the  tide  of  improvement  set  in,  and  size 
began  to  be  the  grand  aim  of  the  earlier 
graziers,  and  the  production  of  enormous 
monstrosities  was  the  result.  Now  Bake- 
well,  a  man  of  remarkable  sagacity  and  close 
observation,  steps  in  and  establishes  a  new 
system  of  animal  development.  With  him 
mere  size  was  no  object.  He  wanted  to 
build  up  a  breed  which  should  give  the 
greatest  amount  of  saleable  beef  for  the 
amount  of  food  consumed,  having  the  best 
parts  bearing  a  larger  proportion  to  the 
offal  than  what  was  usually  found.  Small- 
ness  of  bone,  and  tendency  to  fatten  and 
mature  early,  he  thought  indispensable  in 
cattle  bred  for  the  shambles.  Up  to  his 
day,  both  in  England  and  America,  it  had 
been  customary  to  keep  oxen  till  they  were 
seven  or  eight  years  old,  before  they  were 
fatted  for  the  butcher.  He  travelled  over 
England,  Ireland,  and  Holland  to  find  ani- 
mals adapted  to  his  purposes.  "  The  old 
notion  was,"  says  Arthur  Young,  "that where 
you  had  large  bones  there  was  plenty  of 
room  to  lay  the  flesh  on.  This,  Mr.  Bake- 
well  has  proved  to  be  a  mistake.  He  asserts 
the  smaller  the  bones,  the  truer  will  be  the 
make  of  the  beast,  the  quicker  she  will 
fatten,  and  her  weight  will  have  a  larger 
proportion  of  valuable  meat."  The  greatest 
physiologists  have  shown,  upon  the  highest 
scientific  principles,  that  the  formation  of  a 
large  bony  system  is  the  result  of  defective 
nutrition. 

Other  breeders,  stimulated  in  part  by 
Bakewell's  efforts,  and  the  wide  and  honora- 
ble reputation  he  achieved,  immediately  en- 
tered the  field  of  competition,  and  Chaplin 
became  the  champion  of  the  Lincolnshire 
sheep,  as  Bakewell  of  the  Leicesters ;  and  the 
brothers  Charles  and  Robert  Colling  direct- 
ed their  efforts  to  improving  the  short-horns, 
as  Bakewell  the  long-horns ;  while  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  Quartly,  and  others,  not  to  be 
outdone,  espoused  the  claims  of  the  Devons, 
and  Benjamin  Tomkins  those  of  the  Here- 


40 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


fords.  So  successful  were  these  enterprising 
breeders,  both  in  preserving  purity  of  blood 
in  their  stock,  and  in  extending  the  reputa- 
tion of  their  several  herds,  that  at  Charles 
Colling's  sale  on  the  llth  of  October, 
1810,  Comet  was  bid  off  at  1,000  guineas, 
or  |5,000,  and  many  other  animals  about 
as  high  in  proportion  ;  the  forty-eight  head 
sold,  including  considerable  young  stock, 
bringing  no  less  than  $35,579.  The  cow 
Lily,  sired  by  Comet,  brought  410  guineas, 
or  $2,050;  the  bull  Petrarch,  also  by 
Comet,  sold  for  365  guineas,  or  $1,825,  and 
the  calf  Cecil  for  130  guineas,  or  $650. 
There  were  seventeen  cows,  eleven  bulls, 
seven  bull  calves,  seven  heifers,  and  five 
heifer  calves,  for  which  this  successful  breeder 
received  an  average  of  $741  a  head.  That 
sale,  and  that  of  Robert  Colling  in  1818, 
that  of  Lord  Spencer  in  1846,  that  of  the 
Bates,  or  Kirkleavington  herd  in  1850,  that 
of  Lord  Ducie  two  years  later,  and  some 
still  more  recent  and  extensive  sales,  are  the 
marked  eras  in  the  history  of  the  short-horns 
in  England,  and  it  was  through  these  sales, 
and  the  universal  enthusiasm  awakened  by 
them,  that  the  short-horns  have  become  more 
widely  spread  over  Great  Britain,  and  more 
generally  fashionable  than  any  other  breed. 

Tomkins  began  with  the  Herefords  in 
a  small  way  about  the  year  1766,  and  at  his 
decease  in  1819,  his  whole  herd,  consisting 
of  fifty-two  animals,  including  twenty-two 
steers,  and  varying"  in  age  from  calves  to 
two-year-olds  and  upward,  was  sold  at  auc- 
tion, and  brought  an  aggregate  of  $23,368, 
or  over  $445  a  head ;  one  bull  sold  to  Lord 
Talbot  for  $2,943,  while  several  cows  brought 
from  $1,000  to  $1,200  a  head. 

Both  these  breeds  are  celebrated  for  early 
maturity.  Either  of  them  may  be  prepared 
for  market  at  two  or  three  years  of  age,  far 
better  than  the  old  style  of  cattle  could  be 
at  five,  six,  and  seven  years,  and  be  of  nearly 
equal  weights.  I  have  mentioned  these  facts 
to  show  how  it  was  that  the  average  weight 
o:'.  cattle  sold  in  the  Smithfield  market  in- 
creased from  370  pounds  in  1710,  to  over 
800  pounds  at  the  present  time.  A  select 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  a 
report  printed  in  1795,  after  a  full  investiga- 
tion, stated  that  since  the  year  1732,  their 
neat  cattle  had,  on  an  average,  increased  in 
weight  and  size  at  least  one-fourth,  or 
twenty-five  per  cent.,  which  would  fix  the 
average  weight  in  1795  at  about  462  pounds. 
The  average  age  had  formerly  been  over  five 


years.  In  1830,  owing,  in  a  large  measure, 
to  the  enthusiasm  which  had  been  created, 
commencing  first  by  the  efforts  of  indi- 
viduals, and  radiating  out  through  tie  com- 
munity in  every  direction,  the  average 
weight  had  increased  to  656  pounds,  an  in- 
crease, in  twenty-five  years,  of  more  than 
forty  per  cent,  in  weight,  while  the  average 
age  had  been  reduced  to  four  years  instead 
of  five.  What  a  contrast !  A  saving  of  one 
whole  year's  consumption  of  forage,  and  an 
increase  of  forty  per  cent,  in  the  profitable 
results,  in  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury !  But  since  then  the  average  age  has 
been  still  further  reduced,  and  the  average 
weight  a  good  deal  increased. 

Such  being  the  striking  results  in  England, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  when  an  interest 
was  awakened  in  the  improvement  of  our 
agriculture,  a  desire  was  felt  by  intelligent 
breeders  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advan- 
tages which  had  already  been  gained  abroad. 
Importations  began,  and  a  more  systematic 
course  of  breeding  was  adopted ;  at  first,  by 
a  very  limited  number  of  enterprising  far- 
mers, till,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  that 
number  has  rapidly  increased,  and  the  re- 
sults have  become  more  marked  and  percep- 
tible. 

It  may  be  remarked  in  passing,  that  two 
modes  of  improvement  were  open  to  the 
farmer  and  breeder,  either  of  which,  appar- 
ently, promised  good  results.  The  first 
was  to  select  from  among  our  native  cattle 
the  most  perfect  animals  not  known  or  sus- 
pected to  belong  or  to  be  related  to  any  of 
the  well-established  breeds,  and  to  use  them 
as  breeders.  This  mode  of  improvement  is 
simple  enough  if  adopted  and  carried  on 
with  animals  of  any  known  race  or  breed, 
and,  indeed,  it  is  the  only  course  of  improve- 
ment ,  which  preserves  the  purity  of  blood. 
This  was  chiefly  the  course  adopted  in  Eng- 
land by  Bakewell  with  the  long-horns,  by 
the  Collings  and  others  with  the  short-horns, 
by  Tomkins,  Price,  and  others,  with  the 
Herefords,  and  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and 
others  with  the  Devons.  Had  they  resorted 
to  any  other,  they  would  have  run  the  risk 
of  a  total  failure  and  ruin  of  those  valuable 
races.  Their  object  was  not  to  build  up  a 
new  breed  by  crossing,  so  much  as  to  im- 
prove and  perfect  the  races,  already  valuable, 
which  were  to  be  found  in  particular  localities 
or  counties,  which  gave  them  their  name. 

But  our  circumstances  were  entirely  dif- 
ferent. We  had  no  race  and  no  breed  of 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


41 


cattle  among  us.  The  term  race,  properly 
understood,  applies  only  to  animals  of  the 
same  species,  possessing,  besides  the  general 
characteristics  of  that  species,  other  charac- 
teristics, which  they  owe  to  the  influence  of 
soil,  climate,  nourishment,  and  habits  of  life 
to  which  they  have  long  been  subjected  by 
man,  and  which  they  transmit  with  certainty 
to  their  progeny,  and  it  is  essential  that  they 
should  have  possessed  these  characteristics 
from  a  time  to  which  "  the  memory  of  man 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary."  The  term 
breed,  on  the  other  hand,  applies  to  a  family 
of  animals  built  up  by  a  long  series  of  care- 
ful breeding,  till  certain  desired  character- 
istics become  fixed,  capable,  and  sure  of 
being  transmitted.  As  might  be  supposed, 
the  characteristics  and  peculiarities  of  races 
are  more  inherent,  more  fixed  and  strongly 
marked  than  those  of  families,  or  breeds 
built  up  artificially.  But  in  general  the 
characteristics  of  both  races  and  breeds 
are  so  permanent,  and  so  well  marked,  that 
if  an  individual  supposed  to  belong  to  any 
one  of  them  were  to  produce  an  offspring 
not  possessing  them  or  possessing  them  only 
in  part,  with  others  not  belonging  to  the 
race  or  breed,  it  would  be  just  ground  for 
suspecting  a  want  of  purity  of  blood. 

This  being  the  acknowledged,  and  only 
proper  sense  and  use  of  these  terms,  it  fol- 
lows that  no  grade  animals,  and  no  animals 
not  possessing  fixed  peculiarities  or  charac- 
teristics which  they  share  with  all  other  ani- 
mals of  the  class  of  which  they  are  a  type, 
and  which  they  are  capable  of  transmitting 
with  certainty  to  their  descendants,  can  be 
recognized  by  breeders  as  belonging  to  any 
one  distinct  race,  breed,  or  family. 

The  term  "  native,"  or  "  scrub,"  is  applied 
to  a  vast  majority  of  our  American  cattle, 
which,  though  born  on  the  soil,  and  thus  in 
one  sense  natives,  do  not  constitute  a  breed, 
race,  or  family.  They  do  not  possess  char- 
acteristics peculiar  to  them  all,  which  they 
transmit  with  any  certainty  to  their  off- 
spring, either  of  form,  size,  color,  milking,  or 
working  properties.  It  does  not  follow,  to 
be  sure,  that  because  an  animal  is  made  up 
of  a  mixture  of  blood,  almost  to  infinity,  he 
may  not  be,  as  an  individual  animal,  and  for 
specific  purposes,  one  of  the  best  of  the  spe- 
cies ;  and  for  particular  purposes  individual 
animals  might  be  selected  from  among  those 
commonly  called  "natives"  in  New  England, 
and  "scrubs"  at  the  south  and  west,equal,  and 
perhaps  superior,  to  any  among  the  families 


produced  by  the  most  skilful  breeding,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  they  have  sprung 
from  a  great  variety  of  cattle  procured  at 
different  times  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
in  England,  and  in  the  Spanish  West  Indies, 
brought  together  without  any  regard  to  fixed 
principles  of  breeding,  but  from  individual 
convenience,  and  by  accident ;  but  it  is  true 
that  our  native  cattle  possess  neither  the  size, 
the  symmetry,  nor  the  early  maturity  of  the 
short-horns ;  they  do  not,  as  a  general  thing, 
possess  the  fineness  of  bone,  the  beauty  of 
form  and  color,  nor  the  activity  of  the  Dev- 
ons  or  the  Herefords ;  nor  do  they  possess 
that  uniform  goodness  and  quantity  of  milk 
of  the  Ayrshires,  nor  the  surpassing  richness 
of  milk  of  the  Jerseys ;  but  above  all  they  do 
not  possess  the  power  of  transmitting  the 
many  good  qualities,  which  they  often  pos- 
sess in  an  extraordinary  degree,  to  their  off- 
spring, which  is  a  characteristic  of  all  well- 
established  breeds. 

Now,  to  build  up  a  breed,  or  family,  on 
such  a  foundation,  in  the  mode  already  indi- 
cated, requires  great  'experience  in  selection, 
a  quick  and  sure  eye,  and  judgment  of  the 
true  points  in  stock,  a  mind  eminently  un- 
prejudiced, and  a  patience  and  perseverance 
perfectly  indefatigable  and  untiring.  It  is 
absolutely  necessary,  also,  to  pay  special  at- 
tention to  the  calves  thus  produced — to  fur- 
nish them  at  all  times,  summer  and  winter, 
with  an  abundant  supply  of  nutritious  food, 
and  to  regulate  it  according  to  their  growth. 

Few  men  could  be  found  either  capable  or 
willing  to  undertake  the  herculean  task  of 
building  up  a  new  breed  in  that  way  from 
grade  stock.  A  prominent  and  almost  insu- 
perable objection  would  meet  them  at  the 
very  outset,  that  it  would  require  a  long  se- 
ries of  years — longer  than  the  natural  life 
of  most  men — to  arrive  at  any  very  satisfac- 
tory results,  from  the  fact  that  no  two  ani- 
mals, made  up,  as  our  "  native"  cattle  are,  of 
such  a  variety  of  elements  and  crosses,  could 
be  found  sufficiently  alike  to  produce  their 
kind.  The  principle  that  like  produces  like 
is  perfectly  true,  and  in  the  well-known 
breeds  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  two  animals 
that  will  be  sure  to  transmit  their  own  char- 
acteristics to  their  offspring ;  but  with  two 
animals  which  cannot  be  classed  with  any 
breed,  the  defects  of  an  ill-bred  ancestry  will 
be  liable  to  appear  through  several  genera- 
tions to  thwart  and  disappoint  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  breeder. 

The  second  method  is  more  feasible,  and 


42 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


that  is,  to  select  animals  from  races  already 
improved  and  well-nigh  perfected,  to  cross 
with  our  cattle,  selecting  such  animals  from 
the  well-established  breeds  as  are  best  calcu- 
lated for  the  special  purposes  for  which  we 
want  them.  If  our  object  is  to  improve 
stock  for  the  dairy,  taking  such  only  as  be- 
long to  a  race  distinguished  for  dairy  qual- 
ities ;  or,  if  resort  must  be  had  to  other 
breeds  less  remarkable  for  such  qualities, 
such  only  as  have  descended  from  large  and 
generous  milkers.  We  ought  to  be  able  to 
rely  with  some  confidence  upon  getting  the 
qualities  which  we  seek.  Milking  or  dairy 
qualities  do  not  belong  to  any  one  breed  or 
race  exclusively,  though,  as  they  depend 
mainly  on  structure  and  temperament,  which 
are  hereditary  to  a  considerable  extent,  they 
are,  themselves,  transmissible.  In  almost 
every  breed  we  can  find  individual  milkers 
which  greatly  surpass  the  average  of  the 
cows  of  the  same  family,  and  from  such, 
many  suppose  good  crosses  may  be  expected 
without  much  regard  to  other  circumstances. 
It  is  not  accidental  good  qualities  that  we 
want,  so  much  as  those  which  are  surely 
transmissible.  We  do  not  want  to  breed 
from  an  animal — a  cow  for  instance — that  is 
an  exception  to  the  rule  of  her  race  or  fam- 
ily. A  good  calf  from  her  would  be,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  result  of  chance.  We 
cannot  expect  nature  to  go  out  of  her  course, 
to  give  us  a  good  animal,  if  we  violate  her 
known  laws  as  developed  by  our  knowledge 
of  physiological  structure. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  considerations 
which,  no  doubt,  led  the  early  importers  of 
the  modern  improved  foreign  stock  to  make 
an  effort  on  our  native  and  grade  cattle. 
What  has  been  the  result  ?  It  can  be  clearly 
shown  that  there  has  been  a  large  increase 
in  the  number  of  the  cattle  of  the  country. 
Of  that  there  could,  of  course,  be  no  ques- 
tion, since  this  increase  would  naturally  fol- 
low from  an  addition  of  new  territory  and 
the  more  perfect  development  of  the  agricul- 
tural resources  of  the  country.  But  I  think 
it  can  be  clearly  shown,  also,  that  there  has 
been  a  positive  improvement  in  the  intrinsic 
qualities  of  the  common  stock  of  the  coun- 
try as  a  whole.  I  am  far  from  detracting 
from  the  merits  of  our  native  cattle.  They 
are  far  better  than  could  have  been  expected 
from  the  loose  manner  in  which  they  were 
"made  up."  Many  of  them  have  great 
merit,  and  individual  animals  are  to  be  found 
among  them,  as  already  remarked,  which 


would  be  hard  to  beat  by  any  pure  bred  an- 
imals. As  working  oxen,  the  native  cattle 
of  New  England  are  unsurpassed  by  any  in 
the  known  world,  and  they  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  so,  both  in  other  parts  of  this 
country  and  in  Europe,  where  their  qualities 
are  known.  But  they  have  their  defects, 
and  it  is  useless  to  blind  our  eyes  to  them. 

I  expect,  therefore,  to  be  able  to  show 
that  some  actual  progress  has  been  effected 
upon  the  common  stock  of  the  country. 
But  to  what  is  this  progress  owing  ?  Is  it 
merely  that  which  is  due  to  better  keeping, 
both  summer  and  winter?  I  have  already 
intimated  that  the  treatment  the  cattle  of 
the  country  received  during  the  most  of  the 
last  century  was  far  from  being  calculated 
to  improve  them,  scarcely,  even,  to  keep 
them  on  foot.  Even  so  late  as  1841,  Mr. 
Colman  asserted  that  the  general  treatment 
of  cows  at  that  time,  in  New  England,  would 
not  be  an  inapt  subject  of  presentment  by  a 
grand  jury.  I  was  cognizant  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  stock  was  kept  in  many  a  coun- 
try town  at  that  time,  and  I  am  strongly  in- 
clined to  agree  with  him ;  and,  judging  from 
the  well-known  anxiety  of  those  who  enter 
milch  cows  now  for  premiums  at  the  fairs,  to 
show  that  their  yield  has  been  enormous, 
and  that  they  have  lived  upon  little  or  noth- 
ing, one  would  suppose  their  keeping  was 
not  much  improved,  even  yet. 

But,  as  compared  with  the  last  century 
and  the  earlier  part  of  this,  there  has  been  a 
vast  improvement  in  the  shelter,  mode  of 
feeding,  and  the  general  treatment,  and  this 
has,  of  course,  had  its  effect  in  increasing 
their  milking  qualities  and  their  appearance. 
But,  apart  from  this,  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  I  think,  that  there  has  been  a  positive 
improvement  in  our  stock  as  a  whole ;  that 
is,  the  general  average  of  the  stock  of  New 
England  is  better  than  it  was  forty  or  fifty 
years  ago.  There  were  individual  animals 
then,  among  the  native  or  common  stock  of 
the  country,  whose  yield  of  milk  was  quite 
remarkable,  and  would  be,  at  the  present 
day,  and  among  the  best  stock  of  the  present 
time ;  but  we  cannot,  and  ought  not  to  rea- 
son from  individuals,  but  from  the  general 
average  stock  of  the  country. 

These  remarks  have  special  reference  to 
the  stock  kept  in  the  eastern  and  older 
sections  of  the  country — those  parts  where 
the  herds  are  small,  and  kept  not  so  much 
for  raising  for  beef  as  for  their  other  prod- 
ucts, as  milk,  butter,  cheese,  and  labor. 


MILCH    COW. 

Engraved  for  C.  L.  Flint's  "  Treatise  on  Milch  Cou  s  und  Dairy  Fanning. 


SHORT-HORN    BULL.        DOUBLE   DUKE. 

Owned  by  the  Harvest  Club,  Springfield,  Mass.     From  Film's  Sixth  Anmu.l  Report. 


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AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


47 


In  the  great  west,  where  the  cattle  are,  and 
have  for  some  years,  been  kept  to  supply 
the  stalls  in  our  eastern  markets,  and  where, 
after  all,  as  compared  with  other  sections 
and  other  objects,  early  maturity  and  a  ten- 
dency to  fatten  are  of  transcendant  impor- 
tance, no  one  could  be  so  blind  to  the  facts 
as  to  deny  that  there  has  been  a  vast  and 
most  gratifying  progress  even  in  the  intrinsic 
qualities  of  the  stock.  Every  car-load  of 
those  splendid  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois  cattle  shows  this  in  a  manner  not  to 
be  mistaken.  Compare  them  with  the  class 
of  animals  formerly,  and  even  now  in  some 
sections,  to  be  found  at  the  west,  and  more 
commonly  at  the  east,  and  mark  the  con- 
trast. The  one  is  thrifty,  grows  rapidly,  fats 
easy,  and  is  ready  at  a  very  early  age  for  the 
market,  while  from  an  eighth  to  a  quarter 
part  of  the  cost  of  labor  and  of  keeping, 
which  must  be  incurred  every  year  in  rais- 
ing such  a  class  of  animals  as  the  other,  is 
wholly  lost  from  misapplication. 

In  1850,  there  were  18,378,907  head  of 
cattle  in  the  United  States,  of  which  over 
six  millions  (6,385,094)  were  milch  cows, 
nearly  two  millions  (1,700,744)  were  work- 
ing oxen,  and  ten  millions  (10,293,069) 
other  cattle,  not  including  horses,  sheep, 
or  swine ;  and  the  value  of  animals  slaugh- 
tered amounted  to  the  vast  sum  of  more  than 
one  hundred  and  eleven  millions  of  dollars 
($111,703,142).  Now  if  by  the  keeping 
of  better  stock  we  add  to  their  value  and 
the  profit  derived  from  them,  without  in- 
creasing the  cost,  Ave  make,  of  course,  an 
absolute  gain  on  the  receipts  from  the  same 
amounfof  capital  invested.  A  distinguished 
breeder  places  this  in  a  clear  light  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Suppose  that  the  eighteen  millions 
of  neat  cattle  now  in  the  United  States,  by 
the  infusion  of  better  breeds  among  them 
generally,  should,  in  their  earlier  maturity 
and  increased  product  of  milk  and  flesh, 
with  an  equal  consumption  of  food,  and  by 
a  moderately  increased  amount  of  care,  pro- 
duce an  additional  profit  of  one-fifth,  or  only 
twenty  per  cent. — certainly  a  moderate  es- 
timate— the  annual  value  of  such  improve- 
ment will  be  that  which  is  derived  from  an 
additional  invested  capital  of  thirty  millions 
of  dollars ;  a  vast  sum  in  the  aggregate  of 
our  agricultural  wealth."  This  is  a  true 
statement  now,  and  it  applied  with  still 
greater  force  when  the  spirit  of  improvement 
began. 

But   to    return    to    the    importation    of 


modern  improved  stock  from  abroad  for  the 
specific  purpose  of  improving  the  stock  of 
this  country.  In  the  year  1783,  three  gen- 
tlemen of  Baltimore — Messrs.  GofF,  Ringold, 
and  Patton — sent  to  England  for  superior 
cattle ;  and,  in  1785,  a  bull  from  this  impor- 
tation was  taken  to  Kentucky,  followed,  not 
long  after,  by  another  lot  of  the  same  im- 
portation. A  half-breed  bull  was  taken  to 
the  same  section  about  the  year  1804,  and 
is  said  to  have  greatly  improved  the  stock 
of  that  state.  Some  of  the  cattle  of  that 
early  importation  were  commonly  called  the 
"  milk  breed,"  and  others  the  "  beef  breed." 
For  a  long  time  they  went  by  the  name  of 
the  "  Patton  stock."  The  beef  breed  were, 
probably,  long-horns —  large,  coarse,  and 
rough  animals,  but  slow  in  maturing.  The 
others  are  said  to  have  been  short-horns. 
Others  were  also  taken  from  Virginia  to 
Kentucky,  but  none  of  them  were,  probably, 
pure  bloods,  although  the  Patton  stock 
gained  a  wide  and  deserved  reputation. 

In  1817,  Colonel  Sanders,- of  Kentucky, 
sent  for  twelve  head  of  the  best  that  could 
be  found  in  England.  Six  of  them  were 
short-horns,  or  Teeswaters.  Two  of  these 
short-horns  were  also  imported  for  Kentucky 
in  1818.  These  various  importations,  com- 
mencing with  the  first  high-bred  animals 
taken  to  the  west  in  1 785,  were  the  pioneers; 
and  though  the  pedigree  of  some  of  them 
could  not  be  given,  they  not  only  infused 
superior  blood  into  the  stock  of  that  region, 
but  excited  a  spirit  of  emulation  among  the 
farmers  there  which  had  an  exceedingly 
salutary  effect.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
some  of  the  best  cattle  in  southern  Ohio 
owe  their  origin  to  the  early  imported  ani- 
mals of  Kentucky. 

A  few  short-horns  were  brought  into 
Westchester  county,  New  York,  as  early  as 
1792  and  1796.  They  were  kept  pure  for  some 
years,  but  finally  became  scattered,  leaving 
their  descendants  in  that  section  to  this  day. 
Other  importations  into  New  York  were 
made  as  early  as  1816  and  1822.  In  July, 
1818,  a  short-horn  bull,  widely  known  as 
"  Coelebs,"  and  a  heifer,  "  Flora,"  were  im- 
ported into  Massachusetts  by  Mr.  Coolidge, 
and  sold,  in  1820,  to  Colonel  Samuel  Jaqucs, 
of  Somerville.  From  "  Ccelebs,"  by  select- 
ing superior  native  cows,  Colonel  Jaques 
succeeded  in  raising  a  fine  milking  stock, 
long  known  as  the  "  Creampots."  "  Flora  " 
had  fourteen  calves  between  1819  and  1833, 
ten  of  which  were  by  "  Coelebs."  The  same 


48 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


year  (1818),  also,  Grorham  Parsons,  of 
Brighton,  Massachusetts,  imported  a  pure 
breed  short-horn  bull,  called  "  Fortunatus," 
or  u  llolderness,"  and  his  descendants  were 
widely  disseminated  through  New  England. 
Another  short-horn  bull  was  brought  into 
Massachusetts  by  Theodore  Lyman,  of  Bos- 
ton, from  whence  he  was  shortly  after  sent 
M  Maine;  and,  in  1825,  Mr.  W.  Pierce,  of 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  imported  a 
^celebrated  short-horn,  "  Nelson,"  and  the 
cow  "  Symmetry,"  the  parents  of  the  great 
ox  "  Americus,"  so  large  as  to  be  taken  about 
on  exhibition,  for  which  purpose  he  was 
afterward  taken  to  England. 

It  was  also  in  1818  that  Stephen  Wil- 
liams, of  Northboro',  Mass.,  imported  the 
famous  bull  "  Young  Denton,"  the  sire  of 
many  very  excellent  grade  animals,  the 
heifers  proving  fine  milkers.  Many  other 
fine  short-horns  were  taken  into  Massachu- 
setts after  the  year  1820,  but  though  they 
left  some  superior  grades,  they  were  not  ap- 
preciated by  the  farmers  generally,  and  at- 
tention was  gradually  directed  to  other 
breeds.  New  England,  as  a  whole,  is  not 
the  place  for  short-horns.  They  do  better 
on  more  luxuriant  pastures.  Besides,  they 
are  not  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
small  dairy  farmer,  especially  since  the 
modern  improvements  of  this  justly  cele- 
brated breed  have  taken  all  the  milk  out  of 
them.  For  a  region  better  adapted  to  rais- 
ing beef,  and  on  naturally  rich  feed,  they 
arc  unsurpassed  for  beauty  and  symmetry  of 
form,  for  size  and  early  maturity,  and  con- 
sequently for  the  profits  they  yield  to  the 
breeder  and  the  grazier. 

In  1824,  Mr.  Powell,  of  Philadelphia,  com- 
menced the  importation  of  short-horns,  and 
continued  to  breed  them  with  great  enter- 
prise and  success  for  many  years.  He  had 
frequent  sales,  some  of  his  stock  going  into 
Kentucky,  others  to  Ohio,  and  elsewhere. 

But  the  great  impulse  given  to  the  im- 
portation of  short-horns,  was  the  formation 
of  the  Ohio  Company  for  Importing  English 
Cattle,  in  1834.  The  sum  of  $9,200  was 
subscribed  in  shares  of  $100  each,  and  agents 
sent  abroad,  who  returned  with  nineteen 
head,  selected  from  the  herds  of  celebrated 
breeders,  arriving  in  October  of  that  year. 
They  were  kept  together  under  the  care  of 
an  agent,  and  the  number  was  increased  by 
other  importations  till  1836,  when  they 
were  sold  at  public  auction  and  scattered 
extensively  over  Ohio.  A  dividend  of  $280 


per  share  was  immediately  declared  on  the 
ninety-two  shares,  amounting  to  $25,760. 
The  following  year  they  made  another  ex- 
tensive importation,  which  sold  rapidly  and 
well.  Immense  benefits  have  resulted  from 
these  efforts. 

The  sketch  given  above  of  some  of  the 
earlier  importations  of  short-horns,  has  been 
somewhat  extended  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing the  gradually  increasing  and  extending 
interest  and  enterprise  in  breeding,  but  since 
1840,  importations  of  this  magnificent  breed 
have  so  far  multiplied,  that  it  would  be  out 
of  place  to  attempt  to  follow  them.  The 
cream  of  the  finest  and  most  celebrated 
herds  in  England  has  been  taken  to  this 
country,  without  regard  to  cost.  Fabulous 
prices  have  been  asked,  and  five  and  six 
thousand  dollars  for  a  single  animal  have,  in 
some  cases,  been  paid,  to  which  was  added 
the  cost  of  transportation.  So  successful, 
indeed,  have  the  more  recent  efforts  been, 
that  England  has  sent  over  here  to  buy 
short-horns  from  us ;  and  so  admirably  adapted 
to  stock  raising  is  the  climate  of  Kentucky, 
that  this  fine  breed  has  been  improved  there 
to  such  an  extent,  that  very  few  of  the  last 
150  cows  selected  from  among  the  best  in 
England,  could  win  the  prizes  from  those 
born  and  bred  on  our  native  soil. 

These  superior  animals  are  not  all  held  in 
the  hands  of  a  few.  They  are  within 
the  reach  of  thrifty  farmers,  who  are  now 
awake  to  the  profit  of  raising  cattle  that 
will  make  as  much  beef  at  two  or  three 
years  old,  as  a  native  at  double  that  age. 

It  is  proper  to  refer  very  briefly  to  the 
efforts  made  at  various  times  to  introduce 
and  experiment  with  the  other  well-estab- 
lished English  breeds,  and  the  success  which 
has  attended  these  efforts. 

In  1817,  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay,  of  Ken- 
tucky, made  an  attempt  to  introduce  the 
Herefords  into  that  state,  by  the  purchase 
of  two  bulls  and  two  heifers,  at  a  cost  of 
£105,  or  about  $500.  This  Avas  the  first 
well  authenticated  importation  of  this  breed 
of  any  note.  The  Herefords  belong  to  the 
class  of  middle-horned  cattle,  and  were  in- 
digenous to  certain  districts  of  England, 
where  they  were  known  as  far  back  as  tra- 
dition extends.  They  have  undergone  con- 
siderable changes  within  the  last  hundred 
years,  commencing  with  the  efforts  of  Tom- 
kins,  already  alluded  to — not  however,  by 
means  of  crosses  with  other  races,  but  by 
careful  and  judicious  selections. 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


49 


In  point  of  symmetry  and  beauty  of  form, 
the  well-bred  Herefords  may  be  classed 
with  the  improved  short-horns,  arriving,  per- 
haps, a  little  slower  at  maturity,  though  re- 
markably inclined  to  take  on  fat.  They 
never  attain  to  such  weights,  but  they  gen- 
erally arrive  at  the  Smithfield  market  at 
two  or  three  years  old,  and  so  highly  is 
their  beautifully  marbled  beef  esteemed,  that 
it  is  eagerly  sought  by  the  butchers  at  a 
small  advance,  pound  for  pound,  over  the 
short-horn.  Weighing  less  than  the  short- 
horns, they  yield  a  larger  weight  of  tallow, 
which  is  one  reason  of  the  preference  for 
them.  The  short-horn  produces  more  beef 
at  the  same  age  than  the  Hereford,  but  con- 
sumes more  food  in  proportion. 

They  have  never  been  bred  for  milking 
or  dairy  qualities,  and  no  farmer  would  think 
of  resorting  to  them  for  that  purpose. 

In  1824,  Admiral  Coffin,  of  the  royal 
navy,  presented  the  Massachusetts  Society 
for  Promoting  Agriculture,  a  Hereford  bull 
and  heifer,  bred  by  Sir  J.  G.  Cottrel  from 
the  Tomkins  stock.  The  bull  was  kept  by 
the  Hon.  J.  C.  Bates,  of  Northampton,  Mass., 
and  left  a  numerous  progeny,  which  was  very 
highly  esteemed  in  that  neighborhood.  The 
largest  importation  into  this  country  was 
that  of  Messrs.  Corning  and  Sotham,  of  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  in  1 840,  consisting  of  five  bulls 
and  seventeen  cows  and  heifers.  Other  im- 
portations of  the  same  breed  were  added  to 
this  herd  in  subsequent  years.  The  Hon. 
L.  A.  Dowley,  of  Boston,  imported  several 
animals  of  the  same  breed  in  1852,  apart  of 
which  were  kept  for  some  time  on  the  State 
Farm  at  Westboro',  Mass.,  and  were  after- 
ward sold  to  Mr.  John  Merryman,  of  Bal- 
timore Co.,  Md.,  who  has  one  of  the  largest 
and  finest  herds  of  Herefords  in  the  country. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  from  the  character- 
istics of  the  race,  as  stated  above,  that  they 
would  be  ill  adapted  to  the  wants  of  New 
England  farmers  as  a  general  thing.  They 
are  profitable  for  the  grazier ;  though,  in  a 
country  of  extreme  fertility,  like  many  parts 
of  the  west,  and  capable  of  bringing  the 
short-horns  to  their  highest  development  and 
perfection,  they  might  not,  on  the  whole,  be 
able  to  compete  successfully  with  them. 

The  importation  of  Devons  into  this 
country  has  been  more  numerous.  Indeed, 
there  are  some  who  assert  that  the  native 
cattle  of  New  England  owe  their  origin 
chiefly  to  the  Devons,  since  the  cattle  first 
brought  into  the  Plymouth  colony  are  pretty 


well  known  to  have  been  shipped  on  the 
Devonshire  coast.  But  that  they  were  any 
thing  like  the  modern  Devons  there  is  little 
evidence ;  they  certainly  have  very  few  of 
the  highest  characteristics  of  that  race  left. 
The  general  impression  has  arisen  mainly 
from  the  fact  that  many  of  the  native  cattle 
of  New  England  are  red,  and  that  is  the 
favorite  color. 

However  this  may  be,  the  improved  North 
Devon  is  a  very  different  animal  from  any 
that  could,  at  that  day,  have  been  procured 
on  the  coast  of  Devonshire,  or,  in  fact,  any- 
where else.  This  race  dates  further  back 
than  its  history  goes.  It  has  long  been 
bred  for  beef,  and  for  the  working  qualities 
of  its  oxen,  which,  perhaps,  excel  all  other 
races  in  quickness,  docility,  and  beauty,  and 
the  ease  with  which  they  are  matched.  But 
as  milkers  the  North  Devon  cows  do  not  ex- 
cel, nor  indeed  do  they  equal,  some  of  the 
other  breeds. 

Some  years  ago  a  valuable  importation 
was  made  by  Mr.  Patterson,  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  who  has  bred  them  with  special  refer- 
ence to  developing  their  milking  qualities, 
and  now  they  would  be  remarkable  as  dairy 
stock  as  compared  with  any  other  pure 
breed,  but  they  are  very  different  animals 
from  the  common  modern  improved  Devons, 
the  dairy  qualities  of  which  have  been  very 
much  disregarded. 

The  North  Devons  were  also  imported  by 
the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture,  and  were  kept  together  for  some 
time,  and  then  disposed  of.  So  far  as  size 
is  concerned,  they  are  better  adapted  to  New 
England  farms  than  either  the  short-horns  or 
the  Herefords,  while  the  form  and  color  are 
so  beautiful  as  to  make  them  admired  by 
many.  But  the  milking  qualities  having 
been  to  a  considerable  extent  bred  out  of 
them,  especially  those  more  recently  im- 
ported, we  have  little  to  gain  by  preferring 
them  over  our  native  stock.  They  are  good 
for  beef,  for  which  purpose  they  are  chiefly 
raised  in  their  native  country,  but  the  pro- 
duction of  beef  throughout  most  of  the  older 
sections  of  the  country  is  an  entirely  secon- 
dary object.  They  are  good  for  labor,  on  ac- 
count of  their  quickness  and  ease  of  motion, 
but  New  England  has  equally  good  working 
oxen  in  its  natives.  They  give  rich  milk, 
but  the  Jerseys  give  richer. 

The  Ayrshires  and  the  Jerseys  are,  and 
have  for  a  long  time  been  bred  with  special 
reference  to  the  dairy.  The  former,  though 


50 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


a  comparatively  recent  breed,  were  early  im- 
ported into  this  country,  and,  I  think,  have, 
as  a  whole,  proved  very  satisfactory,  partic- 
ularly as  giving  valuable  crosses  with  our 
common  stock.  Grade  Ayrshires  are  among 
the  best  animals  for  the  use  of  small  and 
dairy  farms,  and  the  cross-breds  are,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  equal  to  the  pure  breds. 

One  of  the  cows  originally  imported  by 
John  P.  Gushing,  of  Massachusetts,  gave  in 
one  year  3,864  quarts  of  milk,  beer  measure, 
being  an  average  of  over  ten  quarts  a  day 
for  the  year  ;  and  the  first  Ayrshire  cow  im- 
ported by  the  Massachusetts  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture,  in  1837,  yielded 
sixteen  pounds  of  butter  a  week  for  several 
weeks  in  succession  on  grass-feed  only.  Our 
climate  is  not  so  favorable  to  the  production 
of  milk  as  that  of  England  and  Scotland. 
No  cow,  imported  after  having  arrived  at 
maturity,  could  be  expected  to  yield  as  much 
under  the  same  circumstances,  as  one  bred 
on  the  spot  where  the  trial  is  made,  and  per- 
fectly acclimated.  The  Ayrshire  cow  gen- 
erally gives  a  larger  return  of  milk  for  the 
food  consumed  than  a  cow  of  any  other 
breed. 

Within  the  last  ten  years  the  Jerseys 
have  been  extensively  imported  into  this 
country  by  the  Massachusetts  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture,  and  by  many  in- 
dividuals in  New  England,  New  York,  and 
Maryland.  They  have  their  place  among 
us,  but  it  is  not  on  the  majority  of  our 
farms.  They  give  richer  milk,  and  that 
with  greater  uniformity,  than  any  other 
known  breed,  but  the  quantity  is  usually 
small,  which  would  not  do  for  the  milk 
dairyman.  They  are  usually  small  in  body, 
and  rather  large  consumers.  On  a  dairy 
farm  devoted  exclusively  to  the  making  of 
butter,  an  infusion  of  Jersey  blood  is  highly 
desirable.  One  or  two  Jerseys  in  a  herd  of 
twenty  will  often  make  a  perceptible  differ- 
ence in  the  quantity  and  richness  of  butter. 
For  gentlemen  in  the  vicinity  of  cities,  who 
keep  but  one  or  two  cows  to  supply  their 
own  table,  they  are  also  especially  adapted. 

They  have  consequently  multiplied  rapid- 
ly in  the  vicinity  of  cities  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  In  1853  there  were,  for  instance, 
but  about  seventy-five  pure-bred  Jerseys  in 
Massachusetts;  now  they  number  several 
hundred,  while  the  grades  are  innumerable, 
many  of  them  proving  to  be  very  fine. 

The  influence  which  the  introduction  of 
superior  foreign  stock  has  exerted,  has  not 


been  confined  to  their  own  intrinsic  merits, 
nor  to  the  actual  improvement  which  they 
have  effected  by  means  of  crossing  upon  the 
common  stock  of  the  country.  It  has  led 
to  better  treatment  of  native  stock,  partly 
by  increasing,  to  some  extent,  the  interest 
in  cattle  and  the  knowledge  of  their  wants 
and  requirements,  and  partly  from  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  general  disposition  among 
the  mass  of  farmers  to  say  that  if  the  natives 
were  kept  as  well,  they  would  outstrip  the 
fancy  stock. 

But  still  the  improvement  in  the  common 
stock  of  the  eastern  and  middle  states,  or 
those  portions  devoted  to  the  dairy  and 
other  stock  interests  than  the  raising  of 
beef,  over  and  above  what  can  be  ascribed  to 
better  treatment,  has  been  small  compared 
with  what  it  has  been  in  those  states  de- 
voted more  exclusively  to  grazing.  During 
the  past  ten  or  twelve  years,  for  example,  the 
live  stock  of  Ohio  has  increased  in  valuation 
— according  to  the  official  returns  made  to  the 
state  auditor — more  than  two  hundred  per 
cent.,  while,  in  the  same  time,  no  class  of 
stock  has  increased  in  numbers  one  hundred 
per  cent.  A  part  of  this,  to  be  sure,  may 
be  fairly  ascribed  to  an  increased  demand 
for  stock,  and  a  consequent  higher  value,  but 
there  can  be  no  question  that  intrinsically 
better  animals  have  superseded  the  inferior 
native  stock  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
number  of  horned  cattle  in  that  state,  in 
1836,  was  372,866,  valued  at  $2,982,928. 
In  1846  the  number  had  increased  to  920,- 
995  head,  and  the  valuation  to  $7,527,123. 
In  1850  the  number  was  1,103,811,  and  the 
valuation  $11, 3 15, 5 60.  In  1857  the  number 
was  1,655, 41 5,  and  the  valuation  was  $2 1,662,- 
223.  The  ratio  of  increase  in  value  has  been 
greatly  accelerated  since  the  means  of  commu- 
nication by  railway  have  so  greatly  increased 
the  facilities  for  information.  When  the  first 
great  importation  and  sale  was  made,  in 
1834-6-7,  it  was  not  accessible  to  the  mass  of 
cattle  breeders,  and  acquired  more  of  a  local 
than  a  general  reputation.  W'hat  is  true  of  Ohio 
is  true  to  nearly  an  equal,  if  not  even  greater 
extent  of  most  of  the  other  western  states. 

While  speaking  of  the  different  objects 
for  which  cattle  are  kept  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  it  may  be  interesting  to  com- 
pute the  actual  products,  per  cow,  in  butter 
and  cheese  in  the  several  sections.  Accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1850,  the  average  num- 
ber of  pounds  of  butter  produced  per  cow,  per 
annum,  in  the  various  states,  was  as  follows : — 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Ibs.  per  cow 

Florida 5 

Texas 10 

Georgia 13 

South  Carolina.  ..15 
North  Carolina.  ..18 

Alabama 18 

Arkansas 19 

Mississippi 20 

Tennessee 33 

Missouri 34 

Virginia 34 

Rhode  Island 34 

Kentucky 39 

Louisiana 41 

Illinois 42 


Ibs.  per  cow. 

Maryland 43 

Indiana 45 

Iowa 47 

Delaware 50 

Wisconsin 56 

Massachusetts 62 

Ohio 63 

Maine 69 

Michigan 70 

New  Hampshire.. 73 

Connecticut 75 

Pennsylvania. . .  .75 

New  Jersey 79 

Vermont 83 

New  York 85 


Some  of  the  states,  like  New  York,  for  in- 
stance, sell  vast  quantities  of  milk  in  its 
natural  state,  and  yet  the  quantity  of  butter 
per  cow  will  be  found  to  be  large  compared 
with  those  states  where  cattle  are  kept  more 
especially  for  beef.  To  conclude  that  the 
stock  of  Kentucky,  Illinois,  or  Ohio  is  infe- 
rior to  that  of  New  York  because  the  yield 
of  butter  per  cow  is  inferior,  would  be  pre- 
mature. The  objects  for  which  the  stock  of 
those  states  is  kept  are  different,  and  for 
the  purposes  of  grazing,  the  cattle  of  the 
western  states  may  be  far  better  adapted 
than  any  other  would  be. 

Let  us  now  see  what  is  the  amount  of 
cheese  annually  produced  per  cow  in  the 
several  states.  In  some  of  them  it  appears 
to  be  infinitesimally  small.  The  list  stands 
as  follows,  beginning  with  a  hundredth  part 
of  a  pound : — 


lb?.  per  cow 

Louisiana 01 

South  Carolina. .     .02 

Maryland 04 

Alabama 13 

Georgia 14 

Delaware 16 

Florida 24 

Arkansas 30 

Texas 40 

North  Carolina  . .     .43 

Tennessee 70 

Kentucky 88 

Missouri 89 

Virginia 1.37 


,  Ibs.  per  cow. 

Indiana 2.25 

Illinois 4.00 

Iowa 4.00 

Wisconsin 6.00 

Mississippi 10.00 

Rhode  Island.  ..11.00 

Maine 18.00 

New  Jersey 30.00 

New  Hampshire.31.00 

Ohio 36.00 

New  York 53.00 

Massachusetts.  ..54.00 

Vermont 59.00 

Connecticut 62.00 


Vermont  produced  more  cheese  than  all 
other  states  put  together  except  New  York, 
Ohio,  Maine,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts, 
and  New  Hampshire,  and  that,  too,  from 
146,128  cows.  The  total  number  of  pounds 
of  cheese  produced  in  the  United  States,  as 
shown  in  the  census  of  1850,  was  105,535,- 
219,  or  about  four  and  a  half  pounds  to  each 
individual  of  the  whole  population.  The 
export  for  that  year  was  10,361,189  pounds, 


which  left  for  consumption  in  this  country, 
not  far  from  four  pounds  for  each  individual. 
If  we  suppose  the  consumption  to  be  equal 
in  all  the  states,  it  would  appear  that  only 
seven  of  the  states  produce  their  own  cheese ; 
these  are  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  and 
Ohio.  If  now  we  consider  the  proportion 
of  the  number  of  cows  kept  in  the  various 
states  to  the  population,  it  will  throw  addi- 
tional light  on  the  mode  and  object  of  keep- 
ing stock ;  for  while,  in  many  of  the  states, 
the  products  in  milk,  butter,  and  cheese  are 
husbanded  with  the  greatest  care,  the  farms 
are  comparatively  small,  and  the  number  of 
cows  an  individual  can  keep  and  manage  is 
limited,  in  others  a  large  number  are  kept  and 
allowed  to  roam  over  the  heavy  and  luxuri- 
ant pastures,  to  grow  and  fatten,  no  account 
whatever  being  made  of  their  dairy  prod- 
ucts. 

The  number  of  cows  per  individual  was 
as  follows,  stated  in  decimals  : — 


Maine 

New  Hampshire. . 

Vermont 

Massachusetts. ... 
Rhode  Island. . . . 

Connecticut 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina. . . 
South  Carolina . . . 
Georgia. ........ 


.22  Alabama 29 

.29  Florida 83 

.46  Mississippi 35 

.13  Louisiana 20 

.13  Texas 1.01 

.23  Kentucky 25 

.30  Tennessee 24 

.24  Arkansas 44 

.21  Missouri 33 

.14  Ohio 27 

.22  Indiana 28 

.25  Illinois 34 

.28  Iowa 24 

.36  Wisconsin 21 


The  products  from  stock  might  be  stated 
in  another  interesting  point  of  view  as  fol- 
lows :  The  northern  states,  comprising  New 
England,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Penn- 
sylvania, with  166,358  sq.  miles,  and  a  popu- 
lation of  8,626,852,  keeping  2,058,604  milch 
cows,  produced,  according  to  the  last  census, 
251,593,899  pounds  of  butter  and  cheese, 
valued  at  $25,159,389.  They  kept,  also, 
494,280  oxen,  and  1,834,297  other  cattle, not, 
of  course,  including  horses,  sheep,  or  swine. 
At  the  same  time  the  western  states,  com- 
prising Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  California,  Minnesota,  and 
the  territories,  with  an  area  of  1,918,216  sq. 
miles  and  a  population  of  4,900,369,  had 
1,363,253  milch  cows,  and  manufactured 
98,266,884  pounds  of  butter  and  cheese, 
valued  at  $9,826,688.  They  had  also  341,- 
883  oxen,  and  2,236,056  other  cattle.  The 
southern  states,  comprising  Delaware,  Mary- 


52 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


land,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Missouri,  with  851,448  sq.  miles 
and  a  population  of  9,664,656,  had  2,963,- 
237  milch  cows,  and  manufactured  68,634,- 
224  pounds  of  butter  and  cheese,  valued  at 
$6,863,422.  They  also  had  2,835,358  oxen, 
and  5,632,717  other  cattle.  These  aggre- 
gates are  computed  by  Mr.  Kettell,  the  au- 
thor of  a  valuable  treatise  on  Southern 
Wealth  and  Northern  Profits,  New  York, 
1860,  and  they  show  that,  contrary  to  the 
opinion  quite  prevalent  in  some  of  the 
northern  states,  the  south  is  largely  en- 
gaged in  raising  and  keeping  stock,  an  in- 
terest which  might,  indeed,  be  very  greatly 
extended,  owing  to  the  unrivalled  advan- 
tages of  climate. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  number  of  milch 
cows  and  oxen  was  not  given  in  the  census 
of  1840.  We  have,  consequently,  no  accu- 
rate details  with  regard  to  the  increase  of 
particular  classes  of  stock ;  but  we  know 
that  the  rate  of  increase  during  that  decade 
was  about  twenty  per  cent.  The  aggregate 
number  of  neat  cattle  was  given  in  1840  at 
14,971,586,  and  in  1850  at  17,778,907. 
The  amount  of  butter  produced  in  1850 
was  313,266,962  pounds,  and  that  of  cheese 
105,535,219  pounds;  neither  of  which  were 
given  in  1 840  as  separate  items.  We  had, 
in  1850,  about  two  millions  of  working 
oxen,  or  more  accurately,  1,700,744;  and  of 
other  cattle,  16,078,163.  The  amount  in- 
vested in  neat  stock,  it  will  thus  be  seen, 
cannot  be  less  than  two  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  at  the  present  time. 

A  -branch  of  farming  involving  so  vast  an 
amount  of  capital  cannot  be  considered  of 
small  importance.  Its  development  is  worthy 
to  command  the  highest  intelligence  and  the 
most  consummate  skill,  and  its  rewards  are 
ample  and  encouraging. 

HORSES. 

That  the  horses  in  this  country  have  un- 
dergone a  vast  change  and  improvement  dur- 
ing the  last  century — or,  rather,  during  the 
last  half  century — there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  will  take 
the  trouble  to  investigate  the  history  of  this 
animal.  A  simple,  though  complete  change 
of  the  principal  uses  to  which  horses  are 
put,  would  naturally  have  produced  a  change 
in  the  horses  themselves,  without  any  well- 
directed  effort  at  breeding.  For,  as  we  have 


seen  in  our  previous  sketch  of  the  condition 
of  things  during  the  last  century,  which  con- 
tinued with  slight  local  modifications  even 
into  the  present  century,  the  chief  means 
of  carrying  on  our  inland  business,  including 
a  vast  amount  of  heavy  transportation,  was 
the  horse.  The  roads  were  in  a  most 
wretched  condition,  compared  with  the  ad- 
mirable roads  of  the  present  day,  except,  of 
course,  those  in  the  more  thickly  settled  por- 
tions around  the  larger  centres  of  popula- 
tion. They  were  seldom  built  of  any  thing 
but  the  natural  soil  thrown  up  from  the  sides, 
and  often  not  this.  The  forest  was  felled, 
and  the  ground  left  for  many  a  thousand 
miles  without  the  precaution  of  making  any 
side  ditches  at  all,  and  over  such  a  pathway 
the  freight  of  a  great  part  of  the  country 
was  to  be  moved,  in  wagons  made  so  as  to 
be  capable  of  the  hardest  usage.  Over  such 
roads  light  carriages  would  have  been  com- 
paratively useless,  and  a  speed  now  seen 
every  day,  would  have  been  unsafe  for  them. 
The  mail  contracts  over  a  very  large  part  of 
the  country  were  made  at  a  speed  lower  than 
four  and  five  miles  an  hour,  and  heavily 
loaded  teams,  and  heavy  mail  and  passen- 
ger coaches,  kept  the  roads  for  a  considera- 
ble part  of  the  year  in  a  state  not  calculated 
to  encourage  fast  driving.  The  farmer  had 
to  haul  his  produce  often  long  distances  to 
market,  and  needed  a  heavy  kind  of  horse. 
Now  he  has  a  market  almost  at  his  very 
door.  The  long  line  of  lumbering  teams 
is  rarely  seen.  The  old  mail  coach  has  little 
left  to  do.  As  many  horses  are  now  re- 
quired, and  even  more  than  before,  but  their 
work  is  very  different.  The  vast  improve- 
ments in  agricultural  implements  have  also 
lightened  the  labors  of  the  horse.  Our 
wagons  are  of  lighter  construction,  our 
ploughs  run  easier,  our  lands  are  freer  from 
rocks  and  stumps,  and  quick,  hardy  horses _ 
often  take  the  place  of  oxen,  and  of  the 
larger,  heavier,  and  much  slower  horses  of 
half  a  century  ago. 

The  farmer  or  the  country  gentleman  who 
is  accustomed  to  ride  in  the  cars  at  the  rate 
of  thirty  or  forty  miles  an  hour,  would  not 
be  satisfied  to  step  out  of  them  and  have  to 
travel  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  miles  an  hour. 
So  that  the  purposes  for  which  horses  are 
now  wanted  are,  as  a  general  thing,  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  used  to  be.  Speed, 
which  was  formerly  little  required,  is  now 
considered  an  indispensable  requisite  in  a 
good  horse,  and  though  our  horses  are  made 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


63 


up,  as  we  shall  see,  of  almost,  if  not  quite 
as  great  a  variety  of  blood,  and  with  as  little 
regard  to  the  true  principles  of  breeding,  as 
our  native  cattle,  yet  they  are,  in  many  re- 
spects, distinct  from  all  other  horses.  They 
possess,  in  many  sections  of  the  country,  a 
surpassing  degree  of  speed  and  power  of 
endurance,  the  result,  in  part,  of  the-altered 
condition  of  things,  and  greatly,  also,  of 
more  attention  to  breeding  and  training. 

The  first  horses  taken  from  Europe  to  the 
western  continent,  were  brought  over  by 
Columbus  in  his  second  voyage,  in  1493, 
and  the  first  introduced  into  any  part  of  the 
territory  now  comprised  within  the  United 
States,  were  brought  over  and  landed  in 
Florida  by  Cabega  de  Vaca,  in  1527.  These 
numbered  forty-two,  but  all  perished  for 
some  cause  or  other  soon  after  their  arrival. 
The  horses  found  wild  on  the  plains  of 
Texas  and  the  western  prairies  are,  probably, 
descendants  of  the  fine  Spanish  horses  aban- 
doned by  De  Soto  on  the  failure  of  his  expe- 
dition and  the  return  of  his  disheartened  ad- 
venturers. In  1604,  a  French  lawyer,  M. 
L'Escarbot,  brought  over  horses  to  Acadia, 
and  from  there  the  French,  who  extended 
their  settlements  into  Canada  in  1608,  took 
the  horses  which,  probably,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  what  are  now  known  as  Canadian 
ponies,  having,  no  doubt,  lost  much  of  their 
original  size  by  the  severity  of  the  climate 
and  limited  summer  forage.  Though  degen- 
erated in  size,  they  still  show  traces  of  Nor- 
man blood,  from  which  they  probably  sprang. 

In  1609  six  mares  and  a  horse  were  taken 
to  the  settlement  at  Jamestown,  in  Virginia, 
and  in  1657  the  exportation  of  horses  from 
that  colony  was  strictly  prohibited.  In 
1629-30  horses  were  introduced  into  the 
colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  by  Higgin- 
son.  These  were  brought  from  Leicester- 
shire, in  England.  The  Dutch  West  India 
Company  had  imported  horses  from  Flan- 
ders, probably,  into  New  York,  in  1625,  and 
it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  Conestogas 
derive  their  origin  from  this  source.  The 
French,  who  settled  in  Illinois  in  1682,  had 
many  Canadian  horses,  which  were  allowed 
to  run  on  the  extensive  "ranges"  in  their 
vicinity. 

Thus  we  see,  in  part,  the  varied  sources 
from  which  the  native  horses  of  this  country 
came.  To  these  were  added,  from  time  to 
time,  in  the  middle  and  southern  states,  more 
or  less  of  thorough-bred,  or  racing  stock, 
which  essentially  modified  the  stock  with 


which  it  became  mixed.  The  horses  of 
New  England,  especially  of  Yermont  and 
Massachusetts,  have  been  used  chiefly  as 
roadsters  and  for  general  utility.  They  pos- 
sess the  most  admirable  qualities  of  power, 
speed,  and  endurance, -and,  for  quick  work 
and  travel  on  the  road,  they  are  unsurpassed 
by  any  horses  in  the  world.  Low,  in  his 
"History  of  Domestic  Animals,"  says  of  the 
people  of  this  country :  "  They  prefer  the 
trot  to  the  paces  more  admired  in  the  old 
continent,  and,  having  directed  attention  to 
the  conformation  which  consists  with  this 
character,  the  fastest  trotting  horses  in  the 
world  are  to  be  found  in  the  United  States." 
Among  the  changes  which  have  been 
effected  within  the  last  fifty  years  in  the 
horses  of  New  England,  on  which  the  high 
encomium  given  by  Prof.  Low  is  chiefly 
based,  none,  certainly,  have  been  more  mark- 
ed than  the  increase  of  speed.  Fast  trotting 
was  scarcely  known  in  the  time  of  the  old 
"Justin  Morgan,"  nor  was  the  speed  of  the 
horse  considered  of  any  special  money  value 
till  the  invention  of  the  modern  light  buggy 
and  the  improvement  of  the  roads,  already 
alluded  to.  This  quality  has  now  become 
essential  to  the  convenience  and  comfort  of 
nearly  all  classes  of  society.  Most  people 
want  a  horse  to  go  off  easily  at  the  rate  of 
eight,  ten,  or  twelve  miles  an  hour,  and  the 
horses  that  do  it  are  now  very  common, 
whereas  formerly,  they  were  only  the  very 
rare  exception  to  the  general  rate  of  speed. 
A  demand  very  soon  creates  a  supply,  and 
the  farmer  who  breeds  horses  knows  his 
own  interest  well  enough  to  study  the  tastes 
of  the  community,  and  to  breed  accordingly. 
In  point  of  speed,  therefore,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  a  very  great  increase  has  been 
attained  by  careful  breeding,  particularly 
within  the  last  twenty  years.  In  other 
points  some  improvement  has  been  made, 
such  as  general  good  qualities  of  style,  ac- 
tion, temper,  form,  constitution,  and  endur- 
ance. The  aggregate  money  value  has  been 
greatly  increased,  because  the  number  ot 
fast  horses  and  the  general  average  of  in- 
trinsic good  qualities  in  horses  has  been  in- 
creased, and  these  command  their  value. 
But,  perhaps,  the  tendency  has  been  to  con- 
gregate the  best  horses  in  the  cities  arid 
large  towns,  and  to  draw  them  from  the 
country.  Few  farmers  want  to  keep  a  horse 
for  farm  and  general  purposes,  that  will 
bring  from  two  or  three  to  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. 


54 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Two  distinct  varieties  of  horses  are  now, 
and  have  for  the  last  few  years  been  favorites 
for  the  road.  Neither  of  these  can  have  any 
pretensions  to  the  claim  of  being  a  distinct 
race,  though  they  have  both  become  distinct 
families,  well  known,  under  their  respective 
names.  The  peculiarities  of  both  are  so 
well  marked,  as  not  to  deceive  the  practised 
eye.  Of  these,  the  Morgan  has  been  alluded 
to,  as  deriving  its  name  from  the  owner  of 
the  founder  of  the  family,  or  the  old  "  Justin 
Morgan,"  foaled  in  West  Springfield,  Mass., 
in  1793.  The  sire  of  this  remarkable  stal- 
lion is  supposed  to  have  been  "  True  Briton," 
a  half  thorough-bred.  The  old  "Justin 
Morgan"  soon  went  to  Vermont,  1795,  and 
there  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Morgans  of 
that  state,  producing  the  celebrated  "  Bul- 
rush," "  Woodbury,"  and  ",  Sherman  "  Mor- 
gans, all  of  which  added  vastly  to  the  wealth 
of  the  breeders  and  farmers  of  that  section. 
The  descendants  of  these  horses  have  been 
spread  far  and  wide.  The  "  Justin  Morgan  " 
was  a  small  horse,  only  about  fourteen  hands 
high,  and  weighing  only  about  nine  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  The  Morgan  horse  of  the 
present  day  is  of  somewhat  larger  size,  and 
usually  varies  from  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
to  ten  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  He  is  re- 
markable for  compactness  of  form,  strength, 
and  docility ;  and  for  the  infinite  variety  of 
purposes  for  which  the  New  England  horses 
are  wanted,  is  probably  unsurpassed.  He  is 
much  sought  after  for  use  on  the  road,  and 
in  omnibuses,  hacks,  and  lighter  carriages. 

The  other  family,  also  widely  known,  not 
only  in  New  England,  but  throughout  the 
country,  is  the  Black  Hawk.  The  foun- 
der of  this  family  was  a  horse  of  that  name, 
celebrated  for  transmitting  his  qualities  to 
his  offspring,  as  well  as  for  his  great  speed 
as  a  trotter.  He  was  kept  in  Vermont  till 
his  death  in  1856,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years.  As  roadsters,  the  Black  Hawks  are 
often  very  excellent,  possessing  a  high  and 
nervous  style  of  action,  an  elastic  step,  and 
a  symmetrical  and  muscular  form.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  those  two  classes  of 
horses  have  added  many  millions  of  dollars 
to  the  value  of  the  horses  of  this  country. 
They  infused  a  new  spirit  into  the  business 
of  breeding  in  New  England,  and  had  an 
effect  on  the  enterprise  of  the  farming  com- 
munity, similar  to  that  which  the  introduc- 
tion of  short-horns  had  on  the  general  im- 
provement of  the  stock  of  the  western  states. 

The  style  of  horse  which  has  been  most 


imported  and  bred  in  the  southern  states, 
especially  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  is  quite 
different.  The  cavaliers  cultivated  and  en- 
couraged the  sports  of  the  turf,  and  the 
thorough-bred  was  early  introduced,  and 
bred  with  much  enterprise.  Good  saddle 
horses,  which  in  New  England  are  compara- 
tively rare,  are  very  common  at  the  south, 
Avhere  the  manly  and  healthful  exercise  of 
horseback-riding  has  for  a  long  time  been 
almost  universally  practised,  both  as  a  pas- 
time and  a  common  mode  of  travelling. 
The  interest  in  breeding  thorough-bred 
horses  has  been  kept  up  in  Kentucky,  also, 
and  some  of  the  most  renowned  running 
horses  of  this  country  hail  from  that  state. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  among 
good  judges  of  horses,  as  to  whether  the 
cross  of  the  thorough-bred  horse  on  the 
common  horse  of  the  country  would  effect 
any  improvement  when  viewed  from  the 
stand-point  of  general  utility.  For  special 
purposes,  as  for  the  production  of  good  sad- 
dle horses,  the  value  of  this  cross  would,  no 
doubt,  be  conceded.  But  the  gait  most 
highly  prized  and  most  desirable  for  gen- 
eral utility  is  the  trot,  and  the  mechanical 
structure  best  adapted  to  trotting  and  run- 
ning is  quite  different.  At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  admitted,  I  think,  that  some  of 
our  best  trotters  have  had  strong  infusions 
of  thorough-bred  blood.  Some  say,  how- 
ever, that  the  form  of  the  thorough-bred  has 
been  changed,  and  so  far  as  compactness, 
muscle,  and  endurance  are  concerned,  degen- 
erated. This  is  an  opinion  merely,  which 
would  apply  with  greater  force  to  the  gen- 
eral average  of  thorough-breds  or  racers  in 
England  than  in  this  country.  The  experi- 
ment is  undergoing  full  and  fair  trial  in  New 
England  at  the  present  time. 

The  Conestoga  is  a  large  and  very  heavy 
breed  of  horses,  often  met  with  in  the  mid- 
dle states,  and  used  mostly  for  the  purposes 
of  slow  draught  in  the  drays  of  our  large 
towns  and  cities. 

But  while  it  is  evident  that  the  intrinsic 
value  of  our  American  horses  has  been  vast- 
ly improved,  their  aggregate  number  has 
also  been  greatly  increased  during  the  last 
fifty  years.  Unfortunately,  the  census  of 
1840  did  not  take  an  account  of  horses  by 
themselves,  and  we  cannot  tell,  with  exact- 
ness, the  ratio  of  increase  from  that  time 
to  1850,  when  the  number  of  horses,  exclu- 
sive of  those  of  large  cities  and  large  towns, 
which  were  not  returned,  was  4,336,719. 


g  I 

fi 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


59 


The  number  of  horses,  mules,  and  asses,  in 
1840,  was  4,335,669,  while  the  aggregate 
number  of  these  classes  in  1850  was  4,896,- 
050,  that  of  mules  and  asses  being  559,331. 
Why  the  number  of  horses  owned  in  the 
many  large  cities  of  the  country,  and  consti- 
tuting no  small  item  of  the  national  wealth, 
was  not  included  in  the  returns,  I  am  not 
fully  informed.  From  the  numbers  stated 
above,  it  appears  that  there  is  about  one 
horse  to  every  five  persons  in  the  United 
States.  New  York  had  one  horse  to  seven 
inhabitants ;  Pennsylvania  one  to  six  and 
six-sixteenths ;  Ohio  one  to  four ;  Kentucky 
one  to  three  free  inhabitants.  In  Ohio  and 
the  new  states  of  the  north-west,  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  horses  kept  pace  with  that 
of  the  population.  In  the  other  states, 
owing  partly,  probably,  to  the  multiplication 
of  railroads,  the  increase  was  in  a  somewhat 
slower  proportion.  The  number  of  horses 
in  the  United  States  is  more  than  three 
times  as  large  as  in  Great  Britain. 

The  south,  by  the  last  census,  had  2,044,- 
377  horses;  the  west  had  1,220,703;  and 
the  north  had  1,073,639. 

SHEEP. 

Another  branch  of  farming  which  has 
been  subject  to  more  or  less  vicissitude,  is 
that  of  sheep  husbandry.  The  first  sheep 
imported  into  this  country  were,  probably, 
those  taken  into  Virginia  in  1609.  They 
came  from  England,  and  thrived  so  well 
that  in  1648  they  had  increased  to  three 
thousand. 

About  the  year  1625,  some  sheep  were 
introduced  into  New  York  by  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company.  These  came  from 
Holland,  and,  together  with  others  which  ar- 
rived in  1630,  proved  to  be  too  much  of  a 
temptation  to  dogs  and  wolves,  for  it  is 
stated  that  in  1643  there  were  not  more 
than  sixteen  sheep  in  the  Avhole  colony. 

Sheep  were  brought  into  the  Plymouth 
colony,  and  that  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
very  soon  after  the  settlement.  They  were 
kept  on  the  islands  in  Boston  harbor  as 
early  as  1633,  and  in  1635  the  number  of 
sheep  in  the  New  Hampshire  settlement, 
near  Portsmouth,  was  ninety-two.  In  1652 
the  number  of  sheep  in  and  around  Boston 
had  largely  increased,  since  there  were  four 
hundred  in  Charlestown.  In  1660  they  were 
introduced  upon  the  island  of  Nantucket,  and 
the  raising  of  wool  grew  up  to  be  of  some 
importance  there. 


Sheep  husbandry,  in  the  earlier  history  of 
the  country,  was  carried  on  very  differently, 
for  the  most  part,  from  what  it  has  been 
more  recently.  There  were  few  extensive 
flocks,  but  in  the  days  of  homespun  it  was 
very  common  for  the  farmer  to  keep  a  num- 
ber sufficient  for  home  consumption.  In 
fact,  it  was  almost  a  matter  of  necessity. 
But  the  old  native  sheep  was  a  coarse,  long- 
legged,  and  unprofitable  animal.  The  first 
fine-woolled  sheep  introduced  into  the  coun- 
try were  those  brought  from  Spain  by  Mr. 
Wm.  Foster,  of  Boston,  in  1793.  He 
speaks  of  them  as  follows : — 

"  In  April,  1793,  on  returning  from  Cadiz, 
where  I  had  been  passing  several  years,  I 
brought  out  an  original  painting,  by  Mu- 
rillo,  and  three  merino  sheep — two  ewes 
and  a  ram — the  export  of  which,  at  that 
time,  was  severely  prohibited,  and  attended 
with  much  difficulty  and  risk.  We  had  a 
long  passage — seventy-five  days — and  the 
sheep  were  in  a  dying  condition.  Fortu- 
nately, there  was  on  board  a  Frenchman, 
that  had  been  with  the  Spanish  shepherds, 
who  cured  them  by  administering  injections. 
Being  about  to  leave  this  country  for  France, 
soon  after  my  arrival  in  Boston,  I  presented 
these  sheep  to  Mr.  Andrew  Craigie,  of  Cam- 
bridge, who,  not  knowing  their  value  at  that 
time,  '  simply  ate  them,'  as  he  told  me  years 
after,  when  I  met  him  at  an  auction,  buying 
a  merino  ram  for  $1,000." 

Another  small  importation  of  merinos  was 
made  in  1802,  and  again  in  1809  or  1810, 
abo'ut  which  time  a  complete  merino  fever 
ran  through  the  whole  farming  community, 
which  had  its  day,  and  then  subsided. 

The  embargo  of  1808  led  many  to  turn 
their  attention  to  wool  growing,  and  fine 
wool  soon  rose  to  the  high  price  of  $1.50 
and  $2.00  a  pound.  In  "l  809-10,  no  less 
than  3,650  merinos  were  imported  and  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  United  States.  The 
importance  of  these  early  importations  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  They  furnished 
our  woollen  manufactories  with  the  raw  ma- 
terial at  a  time  when  it  would  have  been  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  obtain  it  from  abroad. 

In  the  ten  years  from  1840  to  1850,  the 
sheep  of  the  United  States  increased  two  and  a 
half  millions,  and  numbered  about  twenty-two 
millions,  or  more  accurately,  21,723,220. 
But  in  New  England  there  was  a  remark- 
able falling  off  from  3,811,307  in  1840,  to 
2,164,452  in  1850,  making  a  loss  of  forty- 
five  per  cent.,  while  in  the  five  sea-board 


60 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


states  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware,  and  Maryland,  the  decrease 
was  twenty-two  per  cent.  The  increase  was 
chiefly  in  the  southern  and  western  states. 
The  production  of  wool  steadily  increased, 
for  in  1840  we  raised  35,802,114  pounds, 
valued  at  $11,345,318;  in  1850  we  raised 
52,516,959  pounds,  worth  $15,755,088;  and 
in  1855  we  raised  61,560,379  pounds,  worth 
$23,392,944,  being  a  gain  of  forty-six  per 
cent.  But  as  some  evidence  of  improve- 
ment, it  may  be  stated  that  the  average 
weight  of  fleece  increased  from  1.84  pounds 
in  1840,  to  2.43  in  1850. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  great  railway 
lines  to  the  west,  two  prominent  causes  have 
operated  to  diminish  the  number  of  sheep, 
and  attention  to  this  branch  of  farming,  in 
New  England.  One  was,  that  previous  to 
that  time,  we  had  rushed  into  fine  wools,  or 
merino  sheep,  almost  worthless  for  the  mar- 
ket. When,  therefore,  the  competition  of 
the  great  west  was  let  in  upon  us,  with  the 
facilities  for  transporting  wool,  we  had  little 
left  but  a  parcel  of  carcasses  worth  about  as 
much  as  so  many  cats.  , 

Massachusetts  cannot  and  ought  not  to 
attempt  to  raise  wool,  which  can  be  brought 
from  Ohio,  and  in  fact  from  the  extreme  west, 
or  from  Texas,  at  about  a  cent  a  pound 
freight.  And  so,  instead  of  changing  the 
breed,  and  raising  the  south-downs,  or  the 
cotswold,  or  some  other  adapted  to  the  mar- 
ket, the  farmer  discarded  sheep  altogether, 
thinking  they  didn't  pay,  and  the  kind  of 
sheep  he  had  did  not. 

Another  reason  was  the  extreme  annoy- 
ance of  dogs,  which  would  often  destroy 
the  profit  of  a  whole  year  in  a  single  night. 
We  are  not,  therefore,  surprised  to  find  that 
the  number  of  sheep  in  Massachusetts  de- 
clined from  378,226  in  1840,  to  188,651  in 
1850,  and  to  145,215  in  1855.  This  last 
evil  has  now  been  remedied  in  some  of  the 
eastern  states,  Massachusetts  taking  the  lead, 
by  a  law  designed  for  the  protection  of 
sheep  against  dogs,  which  offers  great  induce- 
ments for  entering  again  upon  the  business 
of  sheep  raising,  and  many  are  now  availing 
themselves  of  it.  Growing  mutton  and  lamb 
for  the  market  at  any  thing  like  the  present 
high  prices  of  those  articles  in  the  eastern 
market,  is  one  of  the  most  profitable,  and  at 
the  same  time  agreeable  branches  of  farm- 
ing. Our  provision  markets  must  be  sup- 
plied from  a  nearer  source  than  the  prairies 
of  the  west;  and  in  this  particular  the 


eastern  farmer  need  fear  no  competition. 
And  the  same  holds  good  to  a  great  extent 
along  the  Atlantic  coast,  or  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  great  markets. 

In  the  meantime  the  capacities  and  the 
adaptation  of  the  climate  of  the  south  for 
the  raising  of  wool  are  being  more  and  more 
appreciated,  and  that  section  is  growing 
more  wool.  It  has  been  shown  by  the  expe- 
rience of  the  last  ten  years,  that  by  proper 
attention  to  breeding,  the  hilly  portions 
even  of  the  extreme  south  may  be  profita- 
bly devoted  to  the  production  of  wool.  At 
the  World's  Fair  at  London,  in  1851,  the 
fleece  that  commanded  the  highest  premium 
for  the  fineness  and  beauty  of  staple,  was 
grown  in  Tennessee.  Germany,  Spain,  Sax- 
ony, and  Silesia  were  there  in  strong  and 
honorable  competition.  "  Nature,"  says  the 
owner  of  the  premium  fleece,  "  gave  me  the 
advantage  in  climate,  but  the  noble  lords  and 
wealthy  princes  of  Europe  did  not  know  it, 
neither  did  my  own  countrymen  know  it, 
until  we  met  in  the  Crystal  Palace  of  Lon- 
don, before  a  million  of  spectators.  While 
their  flocks  were  housed  six  months  in  the 
year,  to  shelter  them  from  the  snow  of  a 
high  latitude,  and  were  fed  from  the  grana- 
ries and  stock-yards,  mine  were  roaming 
over  the  green  pastures  of  Tennessee,warmed 
by  the  genial  influence  of  a  summer  sun  ;  the 
fleece  thus  softened  and  rendered  oily  by  the 
warmth  and  green  food,  producing  a  fine, 
even  fibre." 

So  that  whether  it  be  north  or  south,  east 
or  west,  sheep  are,  on  the  whole,  the  most 
valuable  of  the  domestic  animals  kept  on 
our  farms,  on  account  of  their  small  cost 
and  large  returns,  especially  since  they  are 
well  known  to  improve  the  land  on  which 
they  graze.  The  total  product  of  wool  in 
the  United  States,  as  shown  by  the  census  of 
1850,  was  52,516,959  pounds.  The  amount 
had  increased  in  nineteen  years,  or  from 
1832,  only  5,599,633  pounds,  and  that,  too, 
with  a  high  duty  on  wool  ranging  from  four 
cents  a  pound,  and  forty  per  cent,  ad  valo- 
rem, to  thirty  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  But 
in  Great  Britain  the  production  was  275- 
000,000  pounds— an  increase  in  twenty-two 
years,  with  a  duty  to  protect  and  encourage 
the  wool-grower,  of  163,376,271  pounds. 
The  value  of  wool  imported  into  this  coun- 
try in  1850  was  $1,681,691,  while  the  value 
of  this  article  exported  that  year  was  &'2,- 
778,  so  that  the  excess  of  value  of  imported 
over  that  exported  was  $1,658,913,  all  of 


80UTHEEN  PINE  WOODS  HOG. 


WESTERN  BEECH  JTUT  HOG. 


IMPROVED  SUFFOLK. 


IMPROVED  ESSES. 


BERKSHIRE  HOG. 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


63 


which  might,  and  ought  to  have  been  saved 
to  the  country.  But  while  we  imported  so 
large  an  amount  of  foreign  wool,  the  value  of 
woollen  manufactured  articles  imported  was 
no  less  than  $16,259,649.  The  value  of 
such  articles  exported  by  us  was  only  $171,- 
300,  leaving  an  excess  of  imported  woollen 
articles,  of  the  enormous  sum  of  $16,088,- 
349.  Putting  this  and  that  together,we  find 
the  value  of  raw  and  manufactured  wool  im- 
ported in  1850  over  that  exported,  $17,747,- 
262.  The  value  of  raw  wool  manufactured 
in  New  England  in  1850  was  $16,055,233, 
and  the  number  of  pounds  used  was  43,1 18,- 
059.  Probably  the  census  of  1860  will 
show  a  very  considerable  improvement  over 
that  of  1850.  The  immense  facilities  for 
wool-growing  in  Texas,  and  some  other 
localities,  were  not  sufficiently  known  to  be 
appreciated  ten  years  ago. 

Let  us  see  where  the  wool  we  did  raise  in 
1850  was  actually  produced.  The  south, 
including  Maryland,  Delaware,  the  District 
of  Columbia,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Louisiana, 
Florida,  Texas,  Missouri,  Mississippi,  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  and  Arkansas,  comprising 
an  area  of  851,448  sq.  miles  and  a  population 
of  9,664,656,  raised  6,821,871  sheep,  and 
12,797,829  pounds  of  wool,  valued  at  $3,- 
839,348. 

The  west,  comprising  Ohio,  Michigan,  Il- 
linois, Indiana,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  California, 
Minnesota,  and  the  territories,  having  an  area 
of  1,918,216  sq.  miles  and  a  population  of  4,- 
900,369,  had  7,396,331  sheep, and  produced 
17,675,129  pounds  of  wool,  valued  at  $5,- 
302,538. 

The  north,  comprising  New  England,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  an 
area  of  166,358  sq.  miles  and  a  population  of 
8,626,852  souls,  had  7,505,018  sheep,  and 
raised  21,972,082  pounds  of  wool,  valued  at 
16,591,624. 

To  conclude,  therefore,  we  have  made 
some  decided  progress,  both  in  the  numbers 
and  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  our  flocks. 
The  number  of  skilful  breeders  is  increasing, 
and  the  different  sections  of  the  country  un- 
derstand better  the  capacity  and  adaptation  of 
their  own  localities  for  the  production  of 
mutton  and  lambs  for  the  market,  or  the 
growing  of  wool  for  the  manufacturer. 

SWINE,  AND  THE  PORK  BUSINESS. 

Few  animals  are  so  susceptible  of  change 
and  improvement  in  the  hands  of  the  skilful 


breeder  as  the  hog.  This  animal  comes  to 
maturity  in  so  much  less  time  than  the 
horse  or  the  cow,  and  increases  with  so  much 
greater  rapidity,  as  to  offer  larger  induce- 
ments to  improve  and  perfect  it. 

Ferdinand  de  Soto  probably  brought  the 
first  swine  into  this  country,  in  1538.  These 
came  from  Cuba,  and  were  landed  in  Flor- 
ida. They  were  probably  descended  from 
some  brought  over  by  Columbus  in  1493. 
The  Portuguese,  it  is  well  known,  brought 
swine  into  Nova  Scotia  and  Newfoundland 
as  early  as  1553,  where  they  rapidly  multi- 
plied. 

The  London  Company  imported  swine  in- 
to Virginia  in  1609.  They  increased  so 
fast,  that  in  1627  the  colony  was  in  danger 
of  being  overrun  with  them,  while  the  In- 
dians fed  on  pork  from  the  hogs  that  had 
become  wild  from  running  at  large  in  the 
woods. 

Meantime,  they  were  introduced  into  the 
Plymouth  colony  in  1624,  by  Gov.  Winslow, 
and  into  New  Netherlands — now  New  York 
—in  1625,  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany. In  all  the  colonies,  as  well  as  in  the 
French  settlements  in  Illinois,  they  were  al- 
lowed to  run  at  large  with  considerable  free- 
dom, and  fed  on  mast,  though  it  was  soon 
found  that  pork  fed  on  Indian  corn  was  much 
sweeter  than  that  mast-fed. 

It  is  not  probable  that  any  special  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  breeding,  with  reference  to 
improving  this  animal,  till  near  the  close  of 
the  last  century.  The  first  improvements 
effected  that  excited  any  considerable  inter- 
est, seem  to  have  been  produced  by  a  pair 
of  pigs  sent  from  Woburn  Abbey  by  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  to  General  Washington. 
Parkinson,  the  Englishman  to  whom  they 
were  entrusted  for  delivery  to  the  general, 
was  dishonest  enough  to  sell  them  on  his  ar- 
rival in  this  country.  They  were  long  known 
as  the  Woburn,  and,  in  some  sections,  as  the 
Bedford  hog,  and  were  originated  by  a  for- 
tunate cross  of  the  Chinese  and  the  large 
English  hog.  There  is  no  doubt  they  were 
splendid  animals,  with  many  fine  points,  small 
bones,  deep,  round  barrel,  short  legs,  feeding 
easily,  and  maturing  early,  and  often  weighing 
at  a  year  or  a  year  and  a  half  old,  from  four 
to  seven  hundred  pounds,  with  light  offal,  and 
the  first  quality  of  flesh.  They  were  mostly 
white — somewhat  spotted.  They  were  very 
common  at  one  time  in  Maryland,  Delaware, 
and  Virginia,  and  were  bred  somewhat  exten- 
sively by  Gen.  Ridgeley,  of  Hampton — a  fine 


64 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


country  seat  in  Baltimore  county,  Md. — who 
sent  a  pair  of  them  to  Col.  Timothy  Pick- 
ering, of  Hamilton,  Mass.,  who  bred  them 
till  they  became  quite  noted  over  a  wide  ex- 
tent of  country.  They  are  now  extinct.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  Byfield  breed 
originated  in  the  same  way,  by  a  cross  of 
the  Chinese  and  the  common  hog,  bred  by 
Gorham  Parsons,  in  Byfield,  Mass.  This 
breed  became  famous,  and  was  very  much 
sought  after  for  many  years,  and  is  even  now 
found  in  Ohio. 

Previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  Wo- 
burn  hog,  the  classes  of  swine  that  had  pre- 
vailed in  the  eastern  and  middle  states  were 
coarse,  long-legged,  large-boned,  slab-sided, 
and  flab- eared,  an  unprofitable  and  an  un- 
sightly be"ast,  better  calculated  for  subsoiling 
than  for  filling  a  pork  barrel.  An  effort  had 
been  made  to  improve  them,  about  fifty 
years  ago,  and  before  the  valuable  breeds 
above  alluded  to  had  become  generally 
known,  by  the  introduction  of  an  animal 
commonly  called,  at  that  time,  the  grass-fed 
hog,  which  appeared  about  the  time  of  the 
introduction  of  merino  sheep,  and  were 
often  sneered  at  as  the  "merino  hog." 
Chancellor  Livingston  took  very  great  pains 
to  disseminate  them,  if,  indeed,  he  did  not 
originally  import  them.  They  are  said  to 
have  been  an  exceedingly  well-formed  beast, 
with  small  heads,  round  bodies,  compact 
and  well  made,  legs  short  and  small-boned, 
spotted  in  color,  with  a  kind  of  dusky  white 
on  a  black  ground.  As  they  were  looked 
upon  as  an  innovation,  they  had  to  encoun- 
ter the  force  of  public  sentiment,  but  their 
intrinsic  good  qualities  finally  prevailed,  and 
they  became  popular. 

Since  that  period  the  introduction  of  many 
varieties  of  superior  hogs,  both  from  Europe 
and  Asia,  has  effected  a  very  marked  im- 
provement in  the  common  hog  of  the  present 
day,  though  it  has  been  a  too  frequent  prac- 
tice to  breed  indiscriminately.  A  pure 
breed,  like  the  Suffolk,  the  Berkshire,  or  the 
Essex,  may  be  used  to  cross  for  a  specific 
purpose,  but  the  pure  breed  ought  again 
and  constantly  to  be  resorted  to,  or  the  re- 
sult will  be  likely  to  be  unsatisfactory.  It 
requires  great  skill  and  judgment  to  breed 
judiciously,  and  it  ought  to  be  made  a  spe- 
cial branch  of  farming  to  a  greater  extent 
than  it  usually  is,  in  order  to  insure  the 
preservation  and  perpetuation  of  purity  of 
blood. 

It  is  well  settled  that  neither  the  eastern 


nor  the  middle  states  can  compete  success- 
fully with  the  west  in  the  raising  of  swine 
and  the  production  of  pork  on  a  large  scale. 
The  cost  of  grain  in  those  sections  of  the 
country  would  prevent  it.  A  limited  num- 
ber of  hogs  can  be  kept  to  advantage  in  a 
section  of  small  farms,  sufficient  to  consume 
and  thus  economize  the  refuse  of  the  dairy 
and  other  farm  products,  that  would  other* 
wise  be  liable  to  waste,  but  beyond  this,  the 
keeping  of  swine  is  not  only  not  profitable, 
but  an  absolute  bill  of  expense. 

But  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
and  other  states  where  corn  can  be  raised 
with  little  labor,  and  in  unlimited  quantities, 
the  cost  of  pork  is  trifling  compared  with 
the  keeping  of  swine  in  the  eastern  states. 
The  raising  and  packing  of  pork  has,  there- 
fore, very  naturally  grown  up  in  the  western 
states,  and  vast  quantities  are  exported  from 
there  every  year,  including  pigs  on  foot,  by 
railway,  slaughtered  and  sent  off  in  the 
whole  carcass,  and  in  hams,  shoulders,  and 
sides,  smoked,  and  in  the  shape  of  barrelled 
pickled  pork. 

The  native  hogs  of  the  west — that  is,  the 
descendants  of  those  taken  there  by  the 
earlier  settlers,  and  common  there  till  within  a 
very  recent  period — were  admirably  calcula- 
ted for  the  primitive  condition  of  civiliza- 
tion in  which  they  were  placed.  They  were 
well  calculated  to  shirk  for  themselves,  as 
they  had  to  do,  and  became  as  fleet  as  the 
deer,  while  their  strength  of  head,  neck,  and 
tusks  enabled  them  to  fight  any  wild  beast  of 
the  forest,  and  withstand  any  extent  of  ex- 
posure to  the  weather.  They  were  diamet- 
rically opposite  in  every  prominent  good 
quality  to  the  improved  swine  of  the  present 
day.  Instead  of  speed  and  fleetness  of  foot, 
the  farmer  wants  sluggishness  in  his  hogs ; 
instead  of  coarse,  rawny  bones,  he  wants 
fine,  small-boned  animals ;  and  instead  of  a 
thick,  hard  coat,  he  wants  a  fine  head,  thin  • 
coat,  ready  fattening  qualities,  and  general 
thriftiness.  And  so  the  Suffolks  became  the 
favorites,  and  produced  many  most  excellent 
crosses  with  the  old  natives.  In  other  parts 
of  Ohio,  where  improvement  has  taken 
place,  the  Byfield,  the  Chester  County,  the 
Berkshire,  the  China,  the  Irish  Grazier,  or 
some  other  of  the  many  excellent  improved 
breeds  have  been  introduced,  and  effected  a 
great  and  perceptible  change.  The  western 
farmer  wants  greater  size  than  he  finds  in 
the  pure  Suffolk  or  the  pure  bred  Essex, 
but  he  also  wants  most  of  the  excellent 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


65 


qualities  which  a  cross  of  these  breeds  on 
the  large  and  coarser  natives  produces. 

It  is  a  somewhat  singular  fact,  that  accord- 
ing to  the  last  census,  the  number  of  swine 
kept  in  the  United  States  exceeds  that  of 
sheep  by  nearly  ten  millions  ;  that  of  the 
former  being  over  thirty  millions,  or  30,354,- 
213,  while  that  of  the  latter  was  21,723,220. 
In  point  of  numbers,  Tennessee  takes  the 
lead  of  all  the  states,  having  no  less  than 
3,104,800,  while  her  number  of  sheep  was 
only  811,591.  Kentucky,  at  the  same  time, 
had  2,891,163  swine,  and  1,102,091  sheep. 
Indiana  is  ahead  of  Ohio  in  the  number  of 
swine,  the  former  having  2,263,776,  to  1,- 
964,770  in  the  latter.  The  geographical 
distribution  of  the  aggregate  number  of 
swine  in  the  country  was  as  follows :  The 
south,  embracing  the  states  mentioned  on  a 
previous  page,  had  20,808,948;  the  west 
had  6,874,996,  and  the  north  had  2,670,- 
469. 

But  no  one,  with  a  simple  knowledge  of 
the  aggregate  number  of  swine,  would  form 
an  adequate  idea  of  the  enormous  extent  to 
which  the  business  of  raising  and  packing 
pork  for  exportation  has  grown  up  within 
the  last  few  years,  and  it  is  important  to 
look  at  the  statistics  of  this  business,  espe- 
cially as  it  is  carried  on  at  the  west.  And 
as  Cincinnati  is  the  largest  pork  market  in 
the  United  States,  and  indeed  in  the  world, 
not  even  excepting  Cork  and  Belfast,  it  will 
be  interesting  to  state  in  brief  the  manner 
in  which  the  business  is  conducted  there, 
from  which  the  mode  of  management  in  the 
other  large  cities  of  the  west  may  be  ob- 
tained. The  following  facts  are  gathered 
chiefly  from  statistics  published  by  Mr.  Cist, 
of  Cincinnati. 

The  slaughter  houses  are  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  fifty  by  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  each  in  extent,  the  frames  boarded  up 
with  movable  lattice-work  at  the  sides,  ordi- 
narily kept  open  to  admit  the  air,  but  shut 
during  intense  cold,  so  that  the  hogs  may 
not  be  frozen  so  stiff  as  not  to  be  cut  up  to 
advantage.  Each  establishment  employs  as 
many  as  one  hundred  hands,  selected  for  their 
strength  and  activity. 

The  hogs  being  confined  in  adjoining 
pens,  are  driven,  about  twenty  at  a  time,  up 
an  inclined  bridge,  opening  into  a  square 
room  at  the  top  just  large  enough  to  hold 
them.  As  soon  as  the  door  is  closed,  a  man 
enters  from  an  inside  door,  and  with  a  ham- 
mer weighing  about  two  pounds,  fixed  to  a 


long  handle,  knocks  each  hog  down  by  a 
single  blow  between  the  eyes.  In  the  mean- 
time, a  second  adjoining  apartment  is  being 
filled  with  as  many  more.  A  couple  of  men 
seize  the  stunned  hogs,  and  drag  them 
through  the  inside  door  to  the  bleeding  plat- 
form. Here  each  gets  a  cut  in  the  throat 
with  a  sharp-pointed  knife,  and  the  blood 
falls  through  the  lattice  floor.  After  bleed- 
ing a  minute  or  two,  they  are  slid  off  this 
platform  into  the  scalding-vat,  about  twenty 
feet  long,  six  feet  wide,  and  three  feet  deep, 
kept  full  of  water  heated  by  steam,  the  tem- 
perature being  easily  regulated.  As  the 
hogs  are  slid  into  one  end  of  this  vat,  they 
are  pushed  along  slowly  by  men  standing  on 
each  side  with  short  poles,  turning  them 
over  so  as  to  get  a  uniform  scalding,  and 
moving  them  onward  so  that  each  will  reach 
the  other  end  of  the  vat  in  about  two  min- 
utes from  the  time  it  entered.  Ten  hogs  are 
usually  passing  through  this  scalding  process 
at  the  same  time,  being  constantly  received  in 
at  one  end,  and  taken  out  at  the  other,  where 
there  is  a  contrivance  for  lifting  them  out  of 
the  water  two  at  a  time,  by  one  man  opera- 
ting a  lever  which  raises  them  to  the  scrap- 
ing table,  five  feet  wide  and  twenty-five  feet 
long,  with  eight  or  nine  men  on  each  side, 
and  usually  as  many  hogs  on  it  at  the  same 
time,  each  pair  of  men  performing  a  sepa- 
rate part  of  the  work  of  removing  the  bris- 
tles and  hair;  the  first  two  take  off  only 
those  bristles  which  are  worth  saving  for  the 
brush  makers,  taking  only  a  double  handful 
from  the  back  of  each  hog,  which  are  depos- 
ited in  a  box  or  barrel  close  at  hand.  The 
hog  slides  on  to  the  next  two, who  with  scrap- 
ers remove  the  hair  from  one  side,  then  turn 
it  over  to  the  next  two,  who  scrape  the  other 
side ;  the  next  scrape  the  head  and  legs ; 
the  next  shave  one  side  with  sharp  knives ; 
the  next  shave  the  other ;  the  next  do  the 
same  to  the  head  and  legs.  Each  pair  of  men 
have  to  do  their  part  of  the  work  in  twelve 
seconds,  or  at  the  rate  of  five  hogs  a  minute, 
for  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time  !  When 
the  hog  arrives  at  the  end  of  this  table,  all 
shaved  smooth,  another  pair  of  men  put  in  a 
gambril  stick  and  swing  the  hog  off  on  the 
wheel,  which  is  about  ten  feet  in  diameter, 
revolving  on  a  perpendicular  shaft  extending 
from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  the  height  of 
the  wheel  being  about  six  feet  from  the  floor. 
Around  its  outer  edge  are  placed  eight  large 
hooks,  about  four  feet  apart,  on  which  the 
hogs  are  hung  to  be  dressed. 


66 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


As  soon  as  the  hog  is  swung  from  the  ta- 
ble to  one  of  these  hooks,  the  wheel  turns 
one-eighth  of  its  circuit,  and  brings  the  next 
hook  to  the  table,  and  carries  the  hog  a  dis- 
tance of  four  feet,  where  a  couple  of  men 
dash  it  with  clean  cold  water  and  scrape  it 
down  with  knives  to  remove  any  loose  hair 
or  dirt  that  it  may  have  brought  along  off  the 
table.  Then  it  moves  again  and  carries  the 
hog  four  feet  further,  where  another  man 
cuts  it  open  in  a  single  second  and  removes 
the  larger  intestines,  or  such  as  have  no  fat 
on  them  worth  saving,  and  throws  them  out 
at  an  open  doorway  at  his  side ;  another 
move  of  four  feet  carries  it  to  another  man, 
who  lifts  out  the  rest  of  the  intestines,  the 
heart,  liver,  etc.,  and  throws  them  upon  a 
large  table  behind  him,  where  four  or  five 
men  are  engaged  in  separating  the  fat  and 
other  valuable  parts;  another  move  and  a 
man  dashes  a  bucket  of  clean  water  inside 
and  washes  off  all  the  filth  and  blood.  This 
completes  the  cleaning,  and  each  man  has  to 
do  his  part  of  the  work  in  just  twelve  sec- 
onds, as  there  are  only  five  hogs  hanging  on 
the  wheel  at  the  same  time,  and  this  number 
are  removed  and  as  many  more  added  every 
minute.  The  number  of  men  inside,  not  in- 
cluding the  drivers  outside,  is  fifty,  so  that 
each  man  in  effect  kills  and  dresses  a  hog 
every  ten  minutes  of  working  time,  or  forty 
in  a  day.  At  the  last  move  of  the  wheel  a 
strong  fellow  shoulders  the  hog,  and  another 
removes  the  gambril  stick,  and  backs  it  off 
to  the  other  part  of  the  house,  where  it  is 
hung  up  for  twenty-four  hours,  to  cool,  on 
hooks,  in  rows  on  each  side  of  the  beams  just 
over  a  man's  head,  where  there  is  space  and 
hooks  for  2,000  hogs,  or  a  full  day's  work  at 
killing.  The  next  day  they  are  taken  off  by 
teams  to  the  packing  houses. 

The  hauling  of  the  hogs  from  the  slaughter 
to  the  packing  houses  is  of  itself  a  great  busi- 
ness, keeping  more  than  fifty  of  the  largest 
class  of  wagons  employed,  each  loading  from 
sixty  to  one  hundred  and  ten  hogs  at  a  load. 
They  are  unloaded  and  piled  up  near  the 
scales  in  rows  as  high  as  possible.  Another 
set  of  hands  is  engaged  in  carrying  them  to 
the  scales,  where  they  are  weighed  singly. 
From  the  scales  they  are  taken  to  the  blocks, 
where  the  head  and  feet  are  first  struck  off 
with  such  precision  that  no  blow  requires  to 
be  repeated.  The  hog  is  then  divided  into 
three  parts,  separating  the  ham  and  shoulder 
ends  from  the  middle,  when  these  are  again 
divided  into  single  hams,  shoulders,  and 


sides.  The  leaf  lard  is  then  torn  out,  and 
every  piece  distributed  with  the  exactness 
and  regularity  of  machinery  to  its  appro- 
priate pile.  The  tenderloins — about  two 
pounds  to  a  hog — are  sold  to  the  sausage 
makers.  The  shoulders  and  hams  thus  cut, 
undergo  further  trimming  to  get  them  into 
shape,  and  are  sorted  for  their  appropriate 
markets.  When  lard  is  high,  the  packer 
trims  so  close  as  sometimes  to  make  the  en- 
tire shoulder  into  lard.  If  the  pork  is  in- 
tended to  be  shipped  off  in  bulk,  or  to  be 
smoked,  it  is  piled  in  great  masses  and  cov- 
ered with  fine  salt,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  pounds 
of  salt  to  two  hundred  pounds  of  meat.  If 
otherwise,  the  pork  is  packed  in  barrels  with 
coarse  and  fine  salt. 

The  different  classes  of  cured  pork  are 
made  up  of  different  sizes  and  conditions  of 
hogs ;  the  finest  and  fattest  make  clear  and 
mess  pork,  and  the  rest,  prime  pork  or  ba- 
con. According  to  the  inspection  laws, 
clear  pork  is  to  be  put  up  of  the  sides,  with 
the  ribs  out,  and  none  but  the  largest  class 
of  hogs  can  receive  this  brand.  Mess  pork 
is  made  up  of  all  sides,  with  two  rumps  to 
the  barrel.  Pork  of  lighter  weights  may 
pass  as  prime.  The  shoulders,  two  joles, 
and  sides — enough  to  fill  up  the  barrel — 
constitute  prime  pork. 

The  mess  pork  is  used  for  the  commercial 
marine  and  the  United  States  navy.  The 
prime  is  usually  packed,  also,  for  ship  use 
and  the  southern  markets ;  while  the  clear 
pork  goes  out  to  the  cod  and  mackerel  fish- 
eries. Bulk  pork  is  intended  either  for  im- 
mediate use  or  smoking.  That  for  immedi- 
ate use  is  sent  off  in  flat  boats  to  the  lower 
Mississippi ;  but  the  great  mass  is  sent  to 
the  smoking  houses,  each  of  which  can  cure 
from  175,000  to  500,000  pounds  at  a  time. 
The  bacon  is  sold  to  the  iron  manufactur- 
ing regions  of  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  and 
Ohio,  the  fisheries  of  North  Carolina,  Mary^ 
land,  and  Virginia,  and  to  the  coast,  or  Mis- 
sissippi region  above  New  Orleans.  Of 
500,000  hogs  cut  up,  the  produce  will 
be  about  180,000  barrels  of  pork,  25,- 
000,000  pounds  of  bacon,  and  16,500,000 
pounds  of  lard.  The  lard  is  shipped  for  the 
Havana  market,  where  it  is  extensively  used 
for  cooking,  and  takes  the  place  of  butter  to 
a  great  extent.  Large  quantities  of  it  are 
also  shipped  to  England  and  France. 

One  establishment  is  devoted  to  the  put- 
ting up  of  hams  and  the  trying  out  of  grease 
from  the  rest  of  the  hog,  and  its  operations 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


67 


reach  from  thirty-five  to  forty  thousand  hogs 
in  one  season.  The  entire  carcasses,  except 
the  hams,  are  put  into  large  tanks,  and  sub- 
jected to  steaming  at  the  rate  of  seventy 
pounds  to  the  square  inch,  which  reduces 
the  whole  to  the  same  consistency,  and  every 
bone  to  powder.  The  fat  is  drawn  off  by 
cocks,  and  the  rest  taken  off  for  manure. 
The  great  masses  of  heads,  ribs,  back-bones, 
feet,  and  other  trimmings  cut  up  at  different 
pork  houses,  are  subjected  to  the  same  pro- 
cess, to  extract  every  particle  of  grease. 
This  concern  turned  out,  in  one  season, 
3,600,000  pounds  of  lard,  five-sixths  of 
which  was  No.  1.  It  is  refined  as  well  as 
steamed  by  the  process,  and  comes  out  of 
extreme  purity  and  beauty.  Six  hundred 
hogs  a  day  pass  through  these  tanks.  Be- 
sides, there  are  a  large  number  of  lard  oil 
factories  in  Cincinnati — thirty  or  forty,  at 
least — which  do  an  immense  business.  One 
of  them  has  manufactured  into  lard  oil  and 
stearine,  140,000  pounds  a  month  all  the 
year  round.  11,000,000  pounds  of  lard 
were  run  into  lard  oil  in  one  year,  making 
24,000  barrels  of  lard  oil,  of  forty  or  forty- 
two  gallons  each,  which  was  sent  to  the 
Atlantic  cities  to  be  used  as  such,  or  in  the 
adulteration  of  sperm  oil ;  much  of  it,  also, 
being  sent  to  France  to  be  used  in  the  adul- 
teration of  olive  oil,  the  cost  of  which  it 
very  much  reduces.  The  skill  of  French 
chemists  enables  them  to  incorporate  from 
65  to  70  per  cent,  of  this  miserable  lard  oil 
with  that  of  the  olive. 

Then  the  star  candle  factories  take  the 
stearine,  subject  it  to  hydraulic  pressure,  and 
are  prepared  to  manufacture  30,000  pounds 
of  star  candles  a  day.  More  than  3,000,000 
of  pounds  of  this  stearine  have  been  made 
in  one  year  into  star  candles  and  soap  in 
these  factories. 

Then  the  soap  manufactories  take  up 
the  offal,  try  out  the  grease,  and  make 
100,000  pounds  of  ordinary  soap  a  week, 
to  say  nothing  of  an  immense  quantity  of 
finer  soap,  soft  soap,  etc.  The  glue  factory 
uses  up  the  hoofs  of  the  hogs.  Then  come 
the  bristle  dressing  establishments,  employ- 
ing a  hundred  hands  preparing  bristles  for 
the  eastern  markets.  Then  come  the  prus- 
siate  of  potash  establishments,  using  up  the 
hair  part  of  the  hoofs  and  other  offal,  making 
vast  quantities  of  prussiate  of  potash  for  the 
use  of  the  print  factories  of  New  England, 
where  it  is  wanted  for  coloring  purposes, 
while  the  blood  of  the  hog  is  manufactured 


into  Prussian  blue.     Thus  every  part  of  the 
hog  is  economized,  no  part  being  lost. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of 
hogs  packed  in  Cincinnati  each  year  for 
twenty-seven  years : — 

1833 85,000  1847 250,000 

1834 123,000  1848 475,000 

1835 162,000  1849 410,000 

1836 123,000  1850 393,000 

1837 103,000  1851 334,000 

1838 182,000  1852 352,000 

1839 190,000  1853 361,000 

1840 95,000  1854 421,000 

1841 160,000  1855 356,786 

1842 220,000  1856 405,396 

1843 250,000  1857 344,512 

1844 240,000  1858 446,677 

1845 196,000  1859 382,826 

1846 205,000  1860 

But  in  addition  to  this,  there  are  very- 
many  other  points  where  the  business  is  car- 
ried on  extensively,  but  in  a  similar  manner 
to  that  described  above. 

The  magnitude  of  this  business  will  ap- 
pear more  striking  and  important  when  it  is 
considered  what  a  vast  amount  of  labor  it 
requires  and  creates,  furnishing  employment 
to  thousands,  at  a  season  when  their  regular 
work,  in  many  cases,  would  naturally  cease. 
Think  of  the  coopers,  not  only  in  and  around 
the  large  cities,  but  all  over  a  great  section 
of  country,  making  lard  kegs,  pork  barrels, 
and  bacon  hogsheads  in  winter,  many  of  them 
working  their  farms  in  summer.  Then  the 
vast  number  who  must  be  busy  in  getting  out 
staves,  and  hoop-poles,  and  headings,  which 
is  also  winter  work.  All  these  various  occu- 
pations, including  the  more  immediate  op- 
erations of  slaughtering  and  packing  in  the 
city  of  Cincinnati  alone,  give  work  proba- 
bly to  at  least  ten  thousand  men,  who,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  pork  business,  would  be 
earning  comparatively  little  during  fully  one- 
third  of  the  year.  And  this  in  and  around 
one  city,  and  the  adjacent  country  towns. 
But,  as  already  intimated,  other  states  are 
largely  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits,  as  the 
following  table,  showing  the  number  of  hogs 
killed  and  packed  during  the  last  two  years 
previous  to  the  present,  will  indicate : — 

No.  of  hogs  killed  in            1857-8.  ISSS^. 

Ohio 610,060  624,109 

Kentucky 372,609  377,117 

Indiana 441,885  407,636 

Illinois 463,577  596,136 

Missouri 176,386  155,774 

Tennessee 42,875  65,172 

Iowa   85,583  158,217 

"Wisconsin 16,000  32,702 

2,208,975  2,416,863 


68 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


An  increase  of  over  10^  per  cent.,  or  in  all, 
of  22 7,888  hogs  packed. 

In  the  above  statistics  of  stock  of  va- 
rious kinds,  no  account  has  been  taken  of 
the  enormous  increase  of  domestic  animals 
of  all  kinds  in  California  during  the  last  ten 
years,  which  will  be  found  to  be  vastly 
greater  than  most  people  have  any  idea  of. 
The  number  of  milch  cows  in  that  state,  at 
the  present  time,  is  but  little  short  of  three 
hundred  thousand,  or  about  one  to  every  two 
inhabitants,  while  the  increase  of  horses, 
oxen,  sheep,  and  swine  has  been  equally  as- 
tonishing. When  it  is  considered  that  the 
state  is  scarcely  yet  eleven  years  old,  and  that 
its  agricultural  resources  are  almost  wholly 
undeveloped  as  compared  with  its  capacities 
for  improvement  and  production,  some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  aggregate  agricultural 
wealth  which  it  is  destined  to  add  to  the 
country. 

We  have  thus  alluded  briefly  to  the  vari- 
ous classes  of  live  stock  in  the  United  States, 
and  shown  its  progressively  increasing  value, 
and  we  find  the  sum  total  of  all  classes  to 
be  nearly  five  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
dollars  ($544,180,516),  while  the  value  of 
slaughtered  animals  was  about  one  hundred 
and  twelve  millions,  or  more  accurately  $111,- 
703,142.  If  to  this  we  should  add  the  value 
of  farm  implements  and  machinery,  and  that 
of  the  farms  themselves,  we  find  the  whole 
investment  to  amount  to  about  four  billions 
of  dollars,  or  $3,962,353,395,  in  the  year 
1850,  while  local  or  state  statistics,  and  the 
previous  ratio  of  increase,  would  indicate  a 
large  increase  upon  that  sum  for  the  present 
time  ;  and  the  question  naturally  arises,  what 
is  the  annual  income  from  this  vast  capital 
invested  in  farming,  and  the  labor  which  is 
a  necessary  incident  to  it  ? 

Let  us  refer  to  the  leading  products  for  a 
satisfactory  reply : — 

PRODUCTS    OF    THE    SOIL. 

In  a  range  of  latitude  extending  almost 
from  the  tropics  to  the  regions  of  frost  and 
snow,  we  should  naturally  expect  to  find  a 
great  variety  of  climate,  and  the  products 
more  especially  adapted  to  it.  And  such  is 
the  case.  The  products  of  our  agriculture  are 
infinitely  varied,  and  all  the  great  staples 
form  a  most  important  part  in  promoting  the 
national  prosperity.  But  if,  among  them  all, 
one  can  be  said  to  hold  pre-eminence  over 
the  rest,  the  palm  must  be  yielded  to  the 


golden  corn,  rearing  its  imperial  form  and 
tasselled  banner  high  over  all  its  compeers, 
and  founding  its  claim  to  royalty,  as  the 
prince  of  cereals,  by  the  universality  of  its 
uses  and  its  intrinsic  importance  to  mankind. 

Its  flexibility  of  organization  is  truly 
wonderful;  for  while  it  grows  best  on  moist, 
rich  soils,  and  with  great  heats,  there  are  va- 
rieties of  it  which  can  be  raised  at  the  height 
of  more  than  eight  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  The  warmest  regions  of 
the  torrid  zone  produce  it  in  abundance, 
while  the  short  summers  of  Canada  have 
varieties  adapted  to  them  which  arrive  at 
maturity  with  almost  the  same  certainty  as 
those  under  a  hotter  sun  and  a  longer  season. 

INDIAN  CORN,  therefore,  as  being  the  great 
staple  crop  of  the  country,  demands  our  first 
attention. 

This  plant  is  of  American  origin.  It  was 
found  in  cultivation  among  the  aborigines 
of  the  country  at  the  time  of  its  disoovery 
by  Columbus.  It  is  referred  to  by  the  old- 
est historians  of  Peru.  It  has  been  found 
growing  wild  in  various  parts  of  Central 
America,  and  Humboldt,  who  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  eminent  authority,  says  : 
"It  is  no  longer  doubted  among  botanists  that 
Maize,  or  Turkish  corn,  is  a  true  American 
grain,  and  that  the  old  continent  received  it 
from  the  new." 

It  is  well  known  that  Indian  corn  entered, 
in  some  form  or  other,  into  the  mythology 
and  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Indians, 
both  of  North  and  South  America?  long 
before  they  were  disturbed  by  the  appear- 
ance and  approach  of  civilization.  School- 
craft  mentions  an  interesting  allegory  of  the 
Ojibwas,  which  has  since  been  clothed  with 
an  unusual  fascination  by  the  graceful  lan- 
guage of  Longfellow. 

A  young  man  went  out  into  the  woods  to 
fast,  at  the  period  of  life  when  youth  is  ex- 
changed for  manhood.  He  built  a  lodge  of 
boughs  in  a  secluded  place,  and  painted  his 
face  of  a  sombre  hue.  By  day  he  amused 
himself  in  walking  about,  looking  at  the  va- 
rious shrubs  and  wild  plants,  and  at  night  he 
lay  down  in  his  bower,  from  which,  being  open, 
he  could  look  up  into  the  sky.  He  sought  a 
gift  from  the  Master  of  Life,  and  he  hoped  it 
would  be  something  to  benefit  his  race.  On 
the  third  day  he  became  too  weak  to  leave 
the  lodge,  and  as  he  lay  gazing  upward  he 
saw  a  spirit  come  down  in  the  shape  of  a 
beautiful  young  man,  dressed  in  green,  and 
having  green  plumes  on  his  head,  who  told 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


69 


him  to  arise  and  wrestle  with  him,  as  this 
was  the  only  way  in  which  he  could  obtain 
his  wishes.  He  did  so,  and  found  his 
strength  renewed  by  the  effort.  This  visit 
and  the  trial  of  wrestling  were  repeated  for 
four  days,  the  youth  feeling  at  each  trial 
that,  although  his  bodily  strength  declined, 
a  moral  and  supernatural  energy  was  impart- 
ed, which  promised  him  the  final  victory. 
On  the  third  day  his  celestial  visitor  spoke 
to  him.  "  To-morrow,"  said  he,  "  will  be  the 
seventh  day  of  your  fast,  and  the  last  time  I 
shall  wrestle  with  you.  You  will  triumph 
over  me  and  gain  your  wishes.  As  soon  as 
you  have  thrown  me  down,  strip  off  my 
clothes  and  bury  me  on  the  spot,  in  soft, 
fresh  earth.  When  you  have  done  this, 
leave  me,  but  come  occasionally  to  visit  the 
place,  to  keep  the  weeds  from  growing. 
Once  or  twice  cover  me  with  fresh  earth." 
He  then  departed,  but  returned  the  next 
day,  and,  as  he  had  predicted,  was  thrown 
down.  The  young  man  punctually  obeyed 
his  instructions  in  every  particular,  and  soon 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  green  plumes 
of  liis  sky  visitor  shooting  up  through  the 
ground.  He  carefully  weeded  the  earth, 
and  kept  it  fresh  and  soft,  and  in  due  time 
was  gratified  at  beholding  the  mature  plant, 
bending  with  its  golden  fruit,  and  gracefully 
waving  its  green  leaves  and  yellow  tassels  in 
the  wind.  He  then  invited  his  parents  to 
the  spot  to  behold  the  new  plant.  "  It  is 
Mondamin,"  replied  his  father,  "  it  is  the 
spirits'  grain."  Tradition  says  they  imme- 
diately prepared  a  feast,  and  invited  their 
friends  to  partake  of  it ;  and  that  this  is  the 
origin  of  Indian  corn. 

However  this  may  be,  we  know  that  the 
first  attempt  by  the  English  to  cultivate  it 
within  the  present  limits  of  the  United 
States,  was  made  on  James  river,  in  Virginia, 
1608  or  1609.  They  adopted  the  mode  of 
culture  in  practice  by  the  Indians,  as  given 
on  a  preceding  page.  A  year  or  two  after, 
it  is  said  they  cultivated  in  all  as  many  as 
thirty  acres.  The  pilgrims  found  it  in  culti- 
vation by  the  Indians  around  Plymouth,  and 
immediately  began  its  cultivation,  manuring 
it  with  alewives.  As  early  as  1621,  Gov. 
Winslow  visited  the  Nemasket  Indians,  at 
Middleboro',  Mass.,  who  fed  him  on  mazium. 

The  cultivation  of  this  important  grain 
was,  then,  fairly  begun  at  the  very  first  settle- 
ment of  the  country,  and  it  has  been  con- 
tinued with  slio-ht  modification,  but  con- 

o  ' 

stantly  extending  and  increasing  in  its  ag- 


gregate product,  down  to  the  present  time. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  shown  by  a  compari- 
son of  the  censuses  of  1840  and  1850,  that  the 
product  largely  increased  during  the  ten 
years,  in  nearly  every  state  of  the  Union, 
and  in  no  state  did  it  retrograde.  In  New 
England  it  increased  50  per  cent,  in  that 
time,  and  its  increase  since  has  been  quite  as 
great,  if  not  even  greater,  than  previous  to 
1850. 

Among  the  earlier  exports  of  the  country 
we  find  frequent  mention  of  the  number  of 
bushels  of  Indian  corn,  showing  that  a  con- 
siderable surplus  was  produced  in  many  lo- 
calities a  century  ago.  Thus,  the  amount  ex- 
ported from  South  Carolina  in  1748  was 
39,308  bushels,  and  in  1754,  16,428  bush- 
els. The  amount  shipped  from  Savannah  in 
1655  was  600  bushels,  and  in  1770,  13,598 
bushels.  And  so  North  Carolina  exported 
no  less  than  61, 580  bushels  as  early  as  1753. 
Virginia  for  several  years  previous  to  the  Rev- 
olution exported  600,000  bushels  a  year, 
and  from  the  port  of  Norfolk  alone,  341,- 
984  bushels  in  the  year  1791  ;  while  in  1795 
the  amount  from  that  port  reached  442,075 
bushels.  At  the  same  time  the  amount  sent 
from  City  Point,  Virginia,  in  1791  was  21,- 
180  bushels,  including  meal,  and  in  1795, 
33,358  bushels. 

The  amount  shipped  from  Philadelphia  in 
1752  was  90,740  bushels,  and  in  1767  there 
were  exported  from  there  60,206  bushels. 
In  1771  it  reached  259,441  bushels,  and  in 
1796  it  amounted  to  179,094  bushels,  in  ad- 
dition to  223,064  barrels  of  Indian  meal'. 

There  were  2,510  bushels  shipped  from 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  1776;  and  in  1777, 
1,915  bushels  ;  which  amount  increased  in 
1778  to  5,306  bushels;  while  in  1779,  the 
export  amounted  to  3-,097.  The  export  of 
this  grain  from  the  same  place  was  6,711 
bushels  in  1780,  and  5,587  bushels  in 
1781. 

But  previous  to  the  first-mentioned  date 
(1776),  this  grain  was  on  several  occasions 
imported  into  Portsmouth,  and  up  the  Pis- 
cataqua  river,  to  the  extent,  in  1765,  of 
6,498  bushels,  owing,  probably,  to  a  severe 
drought  in  the  year  previous,  and  the  spring 
of  1765,  which  seriously  affected  the  corn 
crop.  And  again,  in  1769  the  import  to  that 
section  amounted  to  4,097  bushels,  followed 
in  1770  by  16,587  bushels.  During  that 
year  there  was  a  "  very  melancholy  dry  time," 
in  July  and  August ;  a  drought  of  such  se- 
verity that  there  was  little  prospect  of  corn. 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  worms  had  done  much  injury  in  the 
spring,  and  a  "  very  uncommon  sort  of  worm, 
called  the  canker  worm,  ate  the  corn  and 
grass  all  as  they  went,  above  ground,  which 
cut  short  the  crops  in  many  places."  And 
again,  in  1772  the  pastures  all  dried  up,  and 
there  was  very  little  corn,  and  all  kinds  of 
grain  suffered  very  much ;  so  that  the  amount 
of  corn  imported  into  Portsmouth  and  vi- 
cinity was  4,096  bushels  in  that  year. 

But  the  total  amount  of  Indian  corn  ex- 
ported from  the  colonies  in  1770  was  578,- 
349  bushels.  In  1 791  it  amounted  to  2,064,- 
936  bushels,  including  351,695  bushels  of 
Indian  meal.  In  1800  the  aggregate  num- 
ber of  bushels  exported  was  2,032,435,  in- 
cluding 338,108  bushels  of  meal ;  while  in 
1810  the  export  of  this  grain  was  only  140,- 
996  bushels,  of  which  86,744  bushels  were 
in  the  form  of  Indian  meal. 

The  product  of  Indian  corn,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  amount  exported,  had 
never  reached  any  thing  like  the  figures 
which  it  has  attained  within  the  last  thirty 
years.  This  was  not  owing  merely  to  the 
fact  that  the  avenues  to  the  great  west  were 
pot  then  opened — though,  of  course,  they 
have  vastly  multiplied  the  market  facilities 
for  this  and  other  products — but  chiefly  to 
the  fact  that  the  real  advantages  of  cultiva- 
ting this  as  a  staple  or  reliable  crop,  were 
not  then  appreciated  as  they  are  now.  Add 
to  this  the  fact  that  it  was  comparatively 
little  used  as  human  food  in  any  part  of 
Europe,  and  we  have  a  reason  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  fact  that  the  product  was 
comparatively  small.  The  inland  farmer  had 
no  market  for  it,  the  cost  of  transportation 
of  so  bulky  a  product  prevented  him  from 
teaming  it  to  any  great  distance,  and  the  lo- 
cal demand  was  so  limited  that  there  was  no 
object  in  raising  much  more  than  was  abso- 
lutely needed  for  home  consumption. 

In  the  year  1816  the  crop  of  Indian  corn  was 
very  generally  cut  off  throughout  the  north- 
ern states  by  frequent  and  severe  frosts,  so 
that  as  a  cultivated  crop  it  fell  into  disrepute 
in  many  sections,  and  was  cultivated  less  for 
some  years,  by  individual  farmers,  till  its  in- 
trinsic importance  as  a  sure  and  reliable  crop 
brought  it  gradually  into  favor.  At  the  time 
it  was  first  included  in  the  United  States  cen- 
sus, in  1 840,  the  aggregate  yield  of  the  coun- 
try was  377,531,875,  or  nearly  four  hundred 
millions  bushels.  In  1850  it  had  reached 
within  a  fraction  of  six  hundred  millions, 
*>eing  returned  as  592,071,104,  occupying 


31,000,000  of  acres.  The  value  of  this 
enormous  crop  was  $296,034,552.  This 
was  a  gain  of  57  per  cent.,  or  214,539,- 
229  bushels,  while  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion during  the  same  period  was  only  35 
per  cent.  According  to  the  estimate  ofc 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  the  crop  off 
Indian  corn  in  1855  was  between  seven  and 
eight  hundred  millions,  or  nearly  double  that 
of  1840.  But  this  estimate  was  entirely  too 
low,  the  crop  being  the  largest  and  best  that 
year  that  had  ever  been  raised  in  the  coun- 
try, and  amounting,  at  least,  to  1,000,000,000 
bushels,  and  its  value,  at  a  low  estimate,  was 
$400,000,000. 

We  see,  therefore,  on  reference  to  the 
census,  that  this  crop  formed  about  three- 
sixteenths  of  the  whole  agricultural  product 
of  the  country  in  1850,  and  that  the  propor- 
tion of  improved  land  devoted  to  corn  was 
.333,  while  the  number  of  bushels  to  each 
person  in  the  country  was  25.53.* 

From  the  amounts  of  corn  stated  above,  as 
raised  in  1840  and  in  1850,  it  will  be  seen 
that  we  had  a  very  large  surplus  over  and 
above  what  we  needed  for  home  consump- 
tion ;  though  it  must  be  evident  that  vast 
quantities  are,  and  must  be  required  to  feed 
to  the  large  number  of  cattle  and  swine, 
which  we  have  seen  are  annually  prepared 
for  the  shambles.  It  appears  from  official 
statistics  that  the  exportation  of  Indian 
corn  has  rapidly  increased  since  1820,  when 
it  amounted  to  only  607,277  bushels,  valued 
at  8261,099,  and  131,669  barrels  of  Indian 
meal,  valued  at  $345,180,  making  an  aggre- 
gate of  $616,279.  In  1830-1  the  number 
of  bushels  of  corn  exported  from  the  coun- 
try was  571,312,  valued  at  $396,617,  and 
207,604  barrels  of  Indian  meal,  valued  at 
$595,434.  In  1840-1  the  number  of  bush- 
els of  corn  exported  was  535,727,  valued  at 
$312,954,  with  232,284  barrels  of  me'a!, 
worth  $682,457. 

But  in  1845-6  the  amount  rose  to  1,826,- 
068  bushels,  valued  at  $1,186,663  ;  and  from 
that  in  1846-7  to  16,326,050  bushels  of  corn, 
worth  $14,395,212.  The  next  year,  1847-8, 
it  reached  nearly  six  millions  of  bushels  ;  and 
in  1848-9  to  upward  of  thirteen  millions, 
valued  at  $7,966,369. 


*  France  produced  in  1826  but  17,280,000  bush- 
els, while  in  1847  she  produced  33,400,000  bush- 
els— being  an  increase  of  nearly  100  per  cent, 
in  twenty  years.  Russia  produced  16,000,000  of 
bushels  in  1850. 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


71 


The  amount  of  Indian  corn  and  Indian 
meal  exported  from  the  country  from  1851 
to  1858  may  be  seen  as  follows : — 


1851, 
1852, 
1853, 
1854, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
1858, 


Bush,  of 

corn. 

3,426,811 
2,627,075 
2,274,909 
7,768,816 
7,807,585 
10,292,280 
5,505,318 
4,766,145 


Value. 
$1,762,549 
1,540,225 
1,374,077 
6,074,277 
6,961,571 
7,622,565 
5,184,666 
3,259,039 


Bbls.  of  In- 
dian meal. 
203.622 
181,'l05 
212,118 
257,403 
267,208 
293,607 
267,504 
237,637 


Value. 

$622,866 

574,380 

709,974 

1,002,976 

1,237,122 

1,175,688 

957,791 

877,692 


The  amount  of  exports  is,  of  course,  reg- 
ulated very  much  by  foreign  demand.  If 
breadstuff's  are  scarce  in  Europe  and  prices 
high,  they  are  immediately  shipped  from 
this  country  to  take  advantage  of  the  mar- 
ket. If  the  reverse  is  the  case,  and  prices 
are  low,  our  surplus  is  kept  at  home.  It  is 
but  a  few  years  since  the  foreign  demand  for 
breadstuff's  began  to  any  extent.  Now  and 
then  would  occur  a  year  of  unusual  scarcity, 
to  be  sure,  but  it  was  rare  to  find  any  exten- 
sive demand  year  after  year  for  our  surplus 
products.  The  increase  of  population  be- 
yond the  point  of  capacity  to  produce,  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  continent  of  Europe, 
now  gives  the  bread  question  an  importance 
paramount  to  all  others  with  the  European 
statesman,  and  it  is  having  and  will  have  a 
powerful  influence  on  our  agriculture.  Con- 
sumption has  overtaken  production — got  be- 
yond it,  in  fact,  in  some  of  the  countries  of 
Europe — and  henceforth  importation  must 
supply  an  ever  increasing  demand,  since, 
however  much  the  agricultural  production 
of  western  Europe  may  increase  by  the  im- 
proving condition  of  its  agriculture,  it  can- 
not hereafter  keep  up  with  the  natural  in- 
crease of  population,  which,  at  the  present 
time,  in  Great  Britain,  is  at  the  rate  of  a 
thousand  per  day.  This  crowding  popula- 
tion will  appear  in  its  true  light,  in  an  agri- 
cultural point  of  view,  when  it  is  considered 
that  if  the  United  States  and  its  territories 
were  as  thickly  populated  as  Great  Britain, 
they  would  contain  about  750,000,000  of 
people,  a  number  nearly  equal  to  the  whole 
population  of  the  globe. 

The  year  1824,  it  is  asserted  by  some,  was 
the  turning  point  at  which  consumption 
overtook  and  exceeded  production  in  Eng- 
land. Since  that  time  the  agricultural  pro- 
duction of  Great  Britain  has  been  vastly  in- 
creased by  the  improvement  of  agriculture 
and  live  stock ;  but  great  and  perceptible  as 
improvement  has  been,  it  has  not,  and  can- 


not fully  supply  its  overgrown  population. 
The  famine  in  Ireland  in  1847,  causing  the 
loss  of  half  a  million  of  lives  by  starvation, 
and  the  political  revolution  which  soon  fol- 
lowed on  the  continent  in  1848,  growing  out, 
to  a  great  extent,  of  a  short  supply  of  food, 
are  fresh  in  the  minds  of  every  one. 

Now  this  surplus  of  population  and  the 
consequent  permanent  demand  for  the  pro- 
ductions of  our  soil  are  of  comparatively 
recent  date,  and  we  have  hardly,  even  yet, 
begun  to  realize  their  importance  and  the  in- 
fluence which  they  are  hereafter  to  exert  in 
developing  the  resources  of  our  soil.  It  was 
only  a  century  ago  (1756)  when  D'Anque- 
ville,  a  political  economist  of  France,  said : 
"  England  could  grow  corn  enough  in  one 
year  to  supply  herself  for  four."  Now, 
though  she  has,  at  least,  three  times  as  much 
land  under  cultivation  as  then,  and  though 
the  yield  of  her  products  to  the  acre  has 
been  more  than  doubled,  yet  she  imports 
food  in  the  shape  of  corn,  wheat,  oats,  meal, 
and  flour  to  the  extent  of  more  than  £45,- 
000,000,  or  $225,000,000.  Now,  though 
western  Europe  has  been  supplied,  to  a  large 
extent,  from  Russia  and  other  parts  of  the 
world,  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  evident 
that  it  has  got  to  look  more  and  more  to  this 
country  for  its  supplies,  and  this  fact  is 
recognized  by  many  of  the  leading  journals 
and  statesmen  of  Europe,  as,  for  instance, 
the  Mark  Lane  Gazette,  which  says  :  "  One 
fact  is  clear,  that  it  is  to  western  America 
that  we  must,  in  future,  look  far  the  largest 
amount  of  cereal  produce." 

It  was  fortunate,  therefore,  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country,  and  especially  for  the 
prosperity  of  its  agriculture,  constituting  by 
far  the  largest  and  most  important  interest, 
that  just  about  the  time  when  a  more  exten- 
sive demand  for  its  surplus  products  grew  up 
in  Europe,  the  means  were  provided  for 
throwing  this  surplus  into  good  markets. 

After  the  triumphant  termination  of  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  the  importance  of 
developing  the  material  resources  of  the 
country  impressed  itself  upon  the  minds  of 
far-seeing  statesmen.  Washington  himself 
projected  a  canal,  extending  up  the  Potomac, 
to  connect  the  great  west — then  compara- 
tively uninhabited — with  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  though  the  enterprise  was  premature, 
and  the  requisite  capital  could  not,  at  that 
time,  be  procured,  it  shows  the  grand  con- 
ception of  his  noble  mind,  and  that  he  fore- 
saw the  vast  importance  which  the  agricul- 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


ture  of  that  great  country  was  destined  to 
assume.  But  that  state  of  things  could  not 
always  remain  in  a  country  rapidly  recover- 
ing from  the  stagnation  of  a  long  protracted 
struggle  for  independence,  and  the  events 
of  a  second  war  showed  most  clearly  the  ne- 
cessity of  increased  facilities  of  intercommu- 
nication. Then  we  had  no  canals  to  speak 
of,  and  no  good  roads.  The  great  extent  of 
sea  coast,  the  magnificent  bays,  and  the 
mighty  rivers  which  intersected  the  country 
were  the  chief  means  of  industrial  inter- 
course, and  these  could  be  blockaded,  crush- 
ing our  commerce  and  bankrupting  individ- 
uals, to  the  serious  injury  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. Then  DeWitt  Clinton  conceived  the 
project  of  connecting  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  with  those  of  Lake  Erie,  by  a  canal 
so  vast  in  extent  as  to  strike  everybody  with 
astonishment.  President  Madison  went  so 
far  as  to  express  the  opinion  that  it  could 
not  be  accomplished,  even  with  the  treasures 
of  the  whole  federal  government.  But  Clin- 
ton persisted,  and  in  1825,  eight  years  from 
the  time  it  was  begun,  a  canal  of  three  hun- 
dred miles  in  extent,  costing  over  $9,000,000, 
bore  the  produce  of  the  west  to  the  New 
York  market. 

The  success  of  this  grand  enterprise  stim- 
ulated other  improvements  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, and  opened  up  sources  of  wealth,  the 
mere  enumeration  of  which  would  appear  to 
be  fabulous.  Railroads  soon  followed,  anni- 
hilating distance,  as  it  were,  and  bringing 
the  growing  centres  of  trade  into  close  com- 
munication. We  now  have  nearly  30,000 
miles  of  railroads,  forming  a  complete  net- 
work all  over  the  country.  At  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  the  great  state  of  Ohio  was 
a  wild  forest  that  had  rarely  been  penetrated 
by  any  white  man,  except,  perhaps,  the  ad- 
venturous hunter.  In  1800  she  had  but  lit- 
tle over  40,000  inhabitants.  Now  railroads 
connect  her  many  large  and  prosperous 
cities  and  her  innumerable  villages,  and  take 
the  produce  of  her  fertile  farms  to  the  sea- 
board markets. 

These  means  of  communication  are  of  so 
recent  date,  Uhat  any  prediction  of  their  ulti- 
mate results  in  developing  the  agricultural 
resources  of  these  states  would  be  prema- 
ture. Indeed,  the  capacity  for  the  produc- 
tion of  human  food,  which  is  still  compara- 
tively undeveloped  in  that  section,  can  hard- 
ly be  estimated.  The  progress  within  the  last 
twenty  years  has  been  so  rapid  and  unprec- 
edente^,  as  to  appear  altogether  marvellous. 


But  Indian  corn,  though  by  far  the  most 
important  product,  is  not  the  only  great  sta- 
ple production  of  the  country,  and  we  turn 
our  attention  to 

WHEAT. 

The  wheat  crop  of  the  country  is  scarcely 
less  important  than  that  of  Indian  corn,  and, 
in  some  respects,  it  is  even  more  important. 
This,  like  the  other  grains,  was  cultivated  in 
this  country  at  a  very  early  date,  having 
been  sown  by  Gosnold,  on  the  Elizabeth 
Islands,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Massachu- 
setts, as  early  as  1602,  at  the  time  he  first 
explored  that  coast.  In  1611  it  seems  to 
have  been  first  cultivated  in  Virginia,  and  so 
much  did  it  commend  itself  to  the  early  set- 
tlers, that  in  1648,  if  history  is  to  be  relied 
on,  there  were  several  hundred  acres  in  that 
colony.  It  soon  fell  into  disrepute,  howev- 
er, as  a  staple  crop,  for  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco  was  found  to  pay  better,  and  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years  it  was  compara- 
tively little  cultivated.  Premiums  were 
offered  to  encourage  its  culture,  but  they 
were  not  sufficient  to  check  the  growing  at- 
tention to  tobacco. 

It  is  certain  that  wheat  had  been  cultiva- 
ted by  the  Dutch  colony  of  the  New  Neth- 
erlands, for  it  is  recorded  that  samples  of 
this  grain  were  taken  to  Holland  in  1626,  to 
show  what  could  be  done  in  the  new  coun- 
try. 

It  is  not  certain  that  it  was  cultivated  in 
the  Plymouth  colony  immediately  upon  its 
settlement,  though  it  is  highly  probable  that 
not  more  than  a  year  or  two  would  have 
been  allowed  to  pass  before  so  important  a 
plant  would  have  received  its  due  attention. 
In  1629,  wheat  and  other  grains  for  seed 
were  ordered  from  England,  and  in  1631 
there  arrived  a  vessel  with  thirty-four  hogs- 
heads of  wheat  flour. 

The  culture  of  wheat  was  undoubtedly 
commenced  almost  simultaneously  with  the 
settlement  of  the  country,  but  it  seems  never 
to  have  attracted  any  very  great  attention 
for  more  than  a  century,  Indian  corn  and 
potatoes  being  more  relied  upon  for  subsist- 
ence. It  was  never  raised  in  New  England, 
in  early  times,  with  so  much  success  as  it 
has  been  during  the  present  century.  As 
early  as  1663,  it  was  found  to  be  very  sub- 
ject to  blast  and  mildew.  Early  in  July  of 
that  year,  "the  best  wheat,"  says  an  old 
manuscript  diary  that  I  have  consulted,  "  as 
also  some  other  grain,  was  blasted  in  many 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


73 


places,  so  that  whole  acres  were  not  worth 
reaping.  We  have  had  much  drought  the 
last  summer  (1662),  and  excess  of  wet  sev- 
eral other  springs,  but  this  of  blasting  is  the 
first  so  general  and  remarkable  that  I  yet 
heard  of  in  New  England." 

But  this  blasting  is  frequently  "  heard  of 
afterward,  for  the  very  next  year  (1664)  the 
wheat  was  very  generally  blasted,  "  and  in 
sundry  towns  scarce  any  left."  And  the 
blast  returned  again  in  1665  and  1666  with 
great  severity.  This  explains  why  it  never 
became  a  prominent  crop  in  New  England. 
There  never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  this 
section  of  the  country  when  it  was  a  sure 
and  reliable  crop,  unless  it  be  the  present, 
with  our  improved  modes  of  culture,  our 
better  knowledge  of  proper  modes  of  tillage, 
deep  ploughing,  and  thorough  drainage.  I 
have  no  patience  to  read  the  cant  which  is 
constantly  paraded  in  the  papers  of  this  and 
other  countries  about  the  exhausted  soils  of 
New  England.  How  often  do  we  see  it 
stated  that  they  are  "run  out,"  that  .they  won't 
bear  wheat,  and  the  return  of  the  census  of 
1850  is  compared  with  that  of  1840  to  show 
an  enormous  falling  off,  as  if  it  were  owing 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  impossible  to  grow 
wheat.  It  is  not  so.  As  good  crops  can  be 
and  are  grown  in  Massachusetts  now  as 
there  ever  were.  It  is  as  safe  a  crop  now  as 
it  ever  was,  and  as  profitable.  But  "  the 
census  shows  a  falling  off,"  is  constantly 
sounded  over  the  country,  till  people  are  led 
to  believe  it  cannot  be  raised  on  account  of 
the  impoverished  condition  of  the  soil.  The 
census  does  show  a  decline  of  this  crop  in 
New  England  between  1840  and  1850,  and 
a  large  one.  But  the  wheat  crop  was  injured 
in  1849 — that  being  the  year  on  which  the 
statistics  of  the  crops  of  1850  are  returned 
— to  a  degree  wholly  unprecedented,  not 
only  in  New  England,  but  in  several  of  the 
largest  wheat-growing  states.  The  returns, 
therefore,  made  in  June,  1850,  do  not  cor- 
rectly indicate  the  usual  quantity  of  grain 
grown  in  the  United  States.  Nor  will  the 
census  of  1860  give  anything  like  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  magnificent  crop  of  wheat 
produced  in  that  year  (1860)  throughout  the 
•northern,  middle,  and  western  states. 

But  wheat  is  subject  to  many  losses  by  in- 
sects, rust,  smut,  frost,  drought,  storms,  and 
other  casualties,  as  well  as  poverty  of  the 
soil.  In  some  recent  years  it  has  been  very 
greatly  damaged  in  central  and  western  New 
York,  and  in  Ohio,  by  the  wheat  fly;  in 


other  years,  the  weevil.  When  the  former, 
the  wheat  fly,  makes  its  appearance,  there  is 
no  known  remedy  but  to  discontinue  the 
culture  of  wheat  in  that  locality  till  it  dis- 
appears. After  a  time,  the  culture  of  wheat 
may  be  resumed  with  a  reasonable  hope  of 
freedom  from  this  pest.  This  is  one  reason 
of  the  little  attention,  comparatively,  paid 
to  the  culture  of  this  crop  in  New  England 
for  the  last  few  years.  The  farmers  in  many 
localities  are  resuming  its  culture  again.  I 
know  many  and  many  a  magnificent  field 
of  wheat  in  Massachusetts  this  year  (1860), 
that  will  average  twenty-five,  thirty,  and 
thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  of  as  full  and 
fair  a  kernel  as  ever  grew ;  and  many  an 
acre  in  Massachusetts  has  averaged  over  forty 
bushels  this  year.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many 
practical  farmers  that  they  can  raise  thirty- 
five  bushels  of  wheat  as  easy  as  fifty  bushels 
of  corn  to  the  acre.  But  the  census  of 
1860  will  not  return  the  full  crop. 

There  were  other  reasons  for  the  falling  off 
than  the  impoverishment  of  the  soil.  A 
part  of  these  have  been  alluded  to,  and  are 
to  be  found  in  the  comparative  uncertainty 
of  the  crop ;  but  a  more  direct  and  important 
cause  was  the  opening  of  direct  railroad 
communication,  and  the  cheap  freight  sys- 
tem, with  the  west.  The  farmer  could  pro- 
duce other  crops  for  the  market  which  paid 
well,  and  it  was  better  for  him  to  buy  flour 
than  to  raise  it.  He  could  not  compete 
with  the  west  in  raising  wheat,  but  he  could 
in  raising  milk  for  the  market,  in  raising 
fruit — which  finds  a  ready  sale  at  his  door — 
in  raising  vegetables,  which  the  multiplica- 
tion of  manufacturing  villages  in  his  neigh- 
borhood created  a  demand  for.  And  so  his 
industry  was  merely  turned  into  another 
channel  for  a  time,  and  very  wisely  too. 

During  the  last  century  considerable 
quantities  of  wheat  were  raised  along  the 
Hudson  and  the  Mohawk,  and  in  New  Jer- 
sey and  Pennsylvania ;  and,  as  we  have  seen 
in  the  case  of  Indian  corn,  the  exports  were 
somewhat  respectable  in  years  of  scarcity  in 
Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
the  West  Indies,  even  previous  to  172  3.  In 
1750  New  Jersey  took  the  lead  of  all  the 
colonies  in  growing  wheat. 

The  amount  of  flour  exported  from  New 
York  in  1749-50,  was  6,721  tons,  besides 
many  bushels  of  grain ;  in  1756  it  was  80,000 
barrels.  The  amount  exported  from  New 
Jersey  in  1751  was  6,424  barrels.  The 
amount  shipped  from  Philadelphia  in  1752 


74 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


was  125,960  barrels,  and  86,500  bushels  of 
wheat.  In  1771  the  export  of  flour  from 
that  place  was  252,744  barrels,  and  in  1772, 
284,827  barrels;  in  1784,  201,305  barrels; 
in  1787,  193,720  barrels;  in  1791,  315,785 
barrels.  Virginia,  for  some  years  prior  to 
the  Revolution,  exported  about  800,000 
bushels  of  wheat.  The  aggregate  amount 
of  flour  exported  from  the  United  States  in 
1791  was  619,681  barrels,  and  1,018,339 
bushels  of  wheat.  In  1800  the  export 
amounted  to  653,052  barrels,  and  26,853 
bushels  of  wheat.  In  1810  the  export  was 
798,431  barrels  of  flour,  and  325,024  bush- 
els of  Avheat. 

Considering  the  unfavorable  season  of 
1 849,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  the  in- 
crease of  the  wheat  crop  during  the  ten 
years  from  1840  to  1850  was  but  15  per 
cent  It  is  possible  that  with  a  good  wheat 
year  in  1849,  the  rate  of  increase  would 
have  appeared  to  keep  pace  with  that  of  In- 
dian corn.  In  the  eastern  states,  as  we  have 
seen,  it  declined;  in  the  middle  states  it  was 
nearly  stationary,  the  increase  being  little 
over  15  per  cent.  The  aggregate  num- 
ber of  bushels  in  1840  was  84,823,272;  in 
1850  it  was  100,485,944. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  changes  have  tak- 
en place  in  the  soils  and  productiveness  of 
some  sections  of  the  older  states,  owing  to 
careless  and  ignorant  management.  In  a 
new  and  very  sparsely  populated  country, 
where  each  man  had  to  rely  mainly  upon 
himself  for  every  thing  he  had,  it  could 
hardly  have  been  otherwise.  I  am  satisfied, 
however,  that  a  reaction  has  fairly  begun, 
that  more  attention  is  paid  to  the  manage- 
ment of  farms,  that  more  intelligence  and 
skill  are  brought  to  bear  upon  agriculture, 
which  statistics  will  eventually  show. 

But  by  far  the  most  extensive  and  aston- 
ishing changes,  in  an  agricultural  point  of 
view,  are  those  presented  to  us  in  the  rise 
and  development  of  the  west,  whose  almost 
illimitable  fields  are  the  wonder  and  admira- 
tion of  modern  times.  The  "  west "  is,  in- 
deed, in  the  understanding  of  most  people, 
an  imaginary  and  movable  line.  Fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago  it  was  understood,  in  the 
eastern  states,  to  be  somewhere  in  central  or 
western  New  York,  and  the  difficulty  of 
reaching  it  exceeded  in  magnitude  that  of 
visiting  the  most  remote  corner  of  Kansas, 
now.  This  line  has  been  moving  west  with 
the  advance  of  civilization  ever  since.  It 
now  comprises  several  of  the  largest  and 


most  prosperous  states  of  the  Union,  and  is 
destined  to  rank  as  the  granary  of  the 
world. 

The  first  foothold  that  modern  agriculture 
got  in  this  vast  field  was  secured  in  the  same 
year  of  the  founding  of  Philadelphia,  1682, 
when  white  settlements  were  made  in  the 
southern  part  of  what  is  known  as  the  "Amer- 
ican bottom,"  a  tract  of  country  extending 
for  about  a  hundred  miles  in  length — from 
Alton,  twenty  miles  above  St.  Louis,  down  to 
Chester,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia 
river — by  five  miles  in  width.  This  region 
lies  in  Illinois,  and  forms  the  eastern  border 
of  the  Mississippi  river.  Here,  far  removed 
from  eastern  civilization,  a  bold  and  hardy, 
but  honest  and  peaceable  company  of  French, 
from  Canada,  and  from  France  itself,  estab- 
lished the  old  villages  of  Kaskaskia,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  St.  Philip,  Cahokia,  etc.,  chiefly 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  fur  trade  with 
the  Indians.  A  part,  probably  at  least  half, 
of  the  settlers,  however,  finding  the  soil  ex- 
ceedingly rich,  devoted  themselves  to  the 
cultivation  of  land,  and  the  country  for  a  con- 
siderable extent  around  these  villages  soon 
became  productive  of  wheat  and  other  nec- 
essaries of  life. 

This  was  the  first  settlement  beyond  the 
Alleghany  mountains,  and  preceded  by  a 
whole  century  the  first  settlements  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  For  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  those  farmers  lived  in  peace  and 
harmony  with  the  natives.  They  were  not, 
to  be  sure,  very  skilful  in  the  art  of  agricul- 
ture. It  was  but  rudely  pursued  at  that 
time  in  the  mother  country.  The  imple- 
ments used  in  farming,  even  in  the  best  cul- 
tivated regions  of  Europe,  were  then  ex- 
tremely rude  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
present  day ;  but  here,  in  this  remote  out- 
skirt  of  civilization,  they  were  far  more  rude 
and  uncouth  than  those  used  by  fanners  who 
had  greater  facilities  for  making  them. 

But  notwithstanding  this  rude  and  imper- 
fect culture,  so  great  was  the  fertility  of  the 
virgin  soil  to  which  it  was  entrusted,  the 
wheat  grew  luxuriantly,  and  they  often  had 
a  surplus,  useless  and  comparatively  worth- 
less to  them,  since  the  expense  of  getting  it 
to  market  exceeded  its  value  when  it  had 
arrived  there.  Who  would  be  expected  to 
make  improvements  in  farming  under  such 
circumstances  ?  With  the  demand  for  home 
consumption  supplied  with  but  trifling  labor, 
with  no  inducements  beyond  a  supply  of 
their  own  limited  wants,  they  could  not  be 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


75 


expected  to  exhibit  the  enterprise  and  thrift 
of  farmers  having  greater  interests  at  stake. 
But  they  went  further,  and  entertained  the 
same  prejudice  against  any  new  notion,  and 
repugnance  to  any  change,  as  that  cherished 
at  the  same  time  in  the  older  colonies.  The 
old-established  practice  was  good  enough 
for  them,  and  they  clung  to  it  with  a  tenac- 
ity worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

The  cultivation  of  Indian  corn  was  not 
introduced  among  these  early  western  far- 
mers till  long  after  they  established  themselves 
in  that  region — not,  indeed,  till  after  Louisi- 
ana had  become  a  part  of  our  national  ter- 
ritory ;  but  then,  it  took  the  place  of  wheat 
to  a  considerable  extent,  it  being  thought  a 
more  reliable  crop,  while  the  stalks  furnished 
a  more  valuable  winter  fodder  for  cattle. 
When  once  introduced,  it  was  cultivated  on 
the  same  land  year  after  year,  for  many 
years  in  succession,  a  practice  which  was 
continued  in  that  section  till  a  very  recent 
date.  Instead  of  linens  and  woollens,  which 
were  mostly  worn  at  the  same  period  among 
the  country  people  at  the  sea-board,  these 
farmers  usually  raised  a  small  patch  of  cot- 
ton, and  made  their  own  garments,  often 
using,  also,  the  skins  and  furs  of  wild  beasts. 
These  latter  became  so  important,  as  to  be 
used  as  the  currency  in  business  negotiations, 
a  deer-skin  being  of  the  highest  kind,  and 
serving  as  the  unit. 

Thus  lived  these  quiet  colonists,  without 
change,  and  with  slight  improvements,  from 
one  generation  to  another,  poor  but  inde- 
pendent, with  food  enough,  cattle  and  hogs 
enough,  few  wants  to  supply,  clinging  with 
inveterate  tenacity  to  old  customs,  and  re- 
sisting innovations,  till  the  time  of  the  ces- 
sion of  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi 
by  France  to  England,  in  1763,  at  which 
time  the  colony  was  at  the  height  of  its 
prosperity.  The  horses  they  raised  were 
the  small  Canadians,  said  by  some  to  have 
been  derived  from  the  pure  Arabian,  and 
obtained  originally  through  Spain.  They 
were  very  hardy,  more  so  than  the  American 
horses  of  that  time,  and  were  rarely  crossed 
with  any  other  race  ;  but  little  or  no  care 
was  taken  of  them  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  and  they  were  allowed  to  run  on  the 
range  without  grain.  Their  cattle  were 
small,  with  black  horns,  derived  also  from 
Canada.  The  French  kept  large  numbers 
of  fowls,  usually  had  excellent  gardens,  and 
cultivated  some  fruit,  among  which  were 
some  valuable  varieties  of  pears  and  apples. 

6 


That  section  of  country  being  conquered 
and  taken  from  England  in  the  Revolution, 
not  a  few  of  the  American  soldiers,  finding 
the  country  so  fertile,  remained  and  settled 
there ;  and  it  is  said,  that  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  the  Americans  who  had  settled  in 
Illinois  previous  to  the  war  of  1812,  had 
served  as  soldiers  in  the  Revolution. 

After  the  Revolution,  in  fact,  numerous 
settlements  were  made,  till,  in  1817,  the 
state  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  After 
that  period,  farms  and  farmers  increased 
more  rapidly  than  they  had  hitherto  done, 
and  the  production  of  wheat  and  Indian 
corn  rapidly  increased.  The  cradle  soon, 
took  the  place  of  the  sickle.  In  1830  the 
first  successful  steam  flour  mill  was  erect- 
ed, and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  raising 
of  wheat.  Up  to  this  time,  comparatively 
few  cultivated  meadows  were  to  be  found, 
and  the  wild,  coarse  grasses  of  the  prairies 
and  river  bottoms  were  chiefly  relied  upon 
for  winter  fodder  for  horses  and  cattle.  Of 
course,  when  cattle  are  running  at  large,  but 
little  improvement  can  take  place  in  the 
breed,  and  but  little  had  actually  been  at- 
tempted in  this  direction.  But  now  the 
spirit  of  improvement  began  with  renewed 
vigor,  and  we  shall  see  how  rapidly  the  agri- 
cultural resources  of  that  great  state  have 
been  developed  within  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century. 

What  applies  to  this  particular  state, 
will  apply  with  nearly  equal  truth  to  almost 
the  whole  of  the  great  north-west.  The  prog- 
ress of  agriculture  in  Illinois  and  the  ad- 
joining states  cannot  be  better  illustrated 
than  by  referring  to  the  rise  and  growth  of 
the  city  of  Chicago,  which  has  now  become 
the  greatest  primary  grain  depot  in  the 
world,  its  exports  being  nearly  twice  as  great 
as  those  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  exceeding 
those  of  Galatz  and  Ibrail  combined,  by  up- 
ward of  five  millions  of  bushels  a  year. 

In  1829,  Chicago  may  be  said  to  have  had 
no  existence.  It  was  then  laid  out,  and  the 
sale  of  lots  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year.  In  1840  it  contained  but  447  inhab- 
itants. In  1845  its  population  had  grown  to 
12,088,  and  in  1850  that  number  had  doub- 
led, and  the  population  amounted  to  28,269. 
In  1855  i.t  had  increased  to  88,509,  and  in 
1860  to  109,263. 

The  pre-eminence  of  Chicago  as  a  grain  de- 
pot is  due  in  part  to  its  geographical  position, 
but  to  a  great  extent,  also,  to  the  great  facili- 
ties for  receiving,  warehousing,  and  shipping 


76 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


grain.  Her  immense  warehouses  are  erected 
on  the  river  and  its  branches,  and  railroad 
tracks  run  in  the  rear  of  them,  so  that  a 
train  of  loaded  cars  may  be  standing  at  one 
end  of  a  large  elevating  warehouse,  and 
while  its  load  is  being  raised  by  elevators 
at  the  rate  of  from  7,000  to  8,000  bushels 
per  hour,  at  the  other  end  the  same  grain 
may  be  running  into  vessels,  and  be  on 
its  way  to  Buffalo,  Montreal,  or  Liverpool 
within  six  hours'  time.  The  Illinois  Central 
railroad  grain  warehouse  can  discharge 
twelve  cars  loaded  with  grain,  and  at  the 
same  time  load  two  vessels  with  it,  at 
the  rate  of  24,000  bushels  per  hour.  It 
can  receive  grain  from  twenty-four  cars 
at  once,  at  the  rate  of  8,000  bushels  per 
hour.  And  numerous  other  immense  grain 
houses  can  do  the  same  thing.  Grain  can, 
therefore,  be  handled  with  wonderful  dis- 
patch as  well  as  with  cheapness.  The 
warehouse  alluded  to,  that  of  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad,  is  capable  of  storing  700,- 
000  bushels  of  grain.  It  can  receive  and 
ship  65,000  bushels  in  a  single  day,  or 
it  can  ship  alone  225,000  a  day !  But  this 
is  only  one  of  the  magnificent  grain  ware- 
houses, and  there  are  many  others,  some  of 
which  arc  of  nearly  equal  capacity,  and  in 
the  aggregate  they  are  capable  of  storing 
3,395,000  bushels.  They  can  receive  and 
ship  430,000  bushels  in  ten  hours,  or  they 
can  ship  alone  1,340,000  bushels  in  ten 
hours,  and  follow  it  up  the  year  round.  In 
busy  seasons  these  figures  are  often  doubled 
by  running  nights. 

The  amount  of  capital  in  grain  warehouses 
alone  exceeds  three  millions  of  dollars,  to 
say  nothing  of  a  large  amount  of  capital  in- 
vested in  other  incidental  means  of  conduct- 
ing this  immense  business. 

The  amount  of  wheat  shipped  from  Chi< 
cago  in  1853  was  1,680,999  bushels;  of  In- 
dian corn,  2,780,253  bushels ;  and  the  amount 
of  oats,  1,748,493  bushels.  The  amount  of 
wheat  shipped  from  there  in  1857  was  10,- 
783,292  bushels;  of  Indian  corn,  the  same 
year,  6,814,615  bushels;  and  of  oats,  416,- 
778  bushels.  The  shipment  of  flour  has 
kept  constantly  increasing.  In  1853  it  was 
131,130  barrels  ;  in  1854  it  was  224,575  bar- 
rels ;  in  1855  it  was  320,312  barrels  ;  in  1856, 
410,989  barrels;  and  in  1857,  489,934  bar- 
rels. 

The  shipment  of  all  kinds  of  grain,  and 
flour  as  grain,  in  1854  amounted  to  12,902,- 
320  bushels;  in  1855,  to  16,633,813  bush- 


els; in  1856,  to  21,583,291  bushels;  and  in 
1857,  to  18,032,678  bushels.  In  1860  the 
shipments  are  estimated  to  amount  to  at 
least  from  thirty  to  forty  millions  of  bush- 
els. In  the  first  eight  months  of  this  year 
(1860)  they  amounted  to  over  twenty -one 
millions ! 

It  is  to  be  considered  that  the  agriculture 
of  the  region  which  feeds  the  warehouses  of 
Chicago  is  but  yet  in  its  infancy.  The  re- 
sources and  the  capacity  for  production  are 
still  to  a  very  great  extent  undeveloped.  The 
country  is  still  sparsely  settled,  compared 
with  the  older  states,  and  the  operations  of 
agriculture  are  carried  on  under  great  disad- 
vantages, with  a  great  scarcity  of  labor,  and 
in  many  cases  a  want  of  capital. 

The  reader  will  now  be  able  to  appreciate, 
to  some  extent,  the  vast  importance  of  the 
improvements  in  agricultural  implements  and 
machinery,  which  have  already  been  de- 
scribed on  a  preceding  page  as  having  been 
made  within  the  last  twenty  years.  With 
the  implements  and  processes  in  use  within 
the  memory  of  most  men,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  attain  such  magnificent  results  in 
the  way  of  agricultural  produce.  There  are 
at  the  present  time,  in  the  city  of  Chicago, 
some  five  or  six  large  manufactories  engaged 
in  making  and  selling  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  machinery,  each  employing  from 
one  hundred  to  three  hundred  hands,  besides 
other  large  establishments  at  Rockford,  Free- 
port,  Alton,  and  many  other  places,  employ- 
ing throughout  the  state  more  than  ten  thou- 
sand persons.  There  are  at  least  a  dozen 
reaper  and  mower  manufactories,  and  other 
establishments  devoted  to  making  threshers, 
cultivators,  ploughs,  drills,  etc.,  and  the  de- 
mand for  these  improved  machines  is  rapidly 
increasing. 

But  Chicago  is  only  one  of  the  great  cen- 
tres for  the  receipt  of  agricultural  produce 
directly  from  the  farmer,  and  St.  Louis,  Cin- 
cinnati, Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Rochester,  and 
many  other  large  points  might  be  mentioned, 
of  nearly  equal  importance,  to  say  nothing 
of  many  of  the  large  grain-dealing  cities  of 
the  south,  like  Richmond,  for  instance. 

In  view  of  these  facts  we  can  realize  that 
agriculture  produces,  as  was  estimated  in 
1854  by  the  superintendent  of  the  census, 
more  than  sixteen  hundred  millions  of  dol- 
lars a  year ;  and  that  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  where  "the  assessed  vahie  of  the  real 
estate  is  eleven  hundred  millions  (1,107,272,- 
715)  of  dollars,  notwithstanding  the  enor- 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


77 


mous  wealth  of  the  metropolis,  the  agricul- 
tural interest  pays  four-fifths  of  the  taxes." 

Of  the  aggregate  number  of  bushels  of 
wheat  returned  by  the  census  of  1850,  and 
which,  as  has  been  intimated,  gives  an  ex- 
ceedingly inadequate  idea  of  the  ordinary 
produce  of  this  grain,  the  south,  embrac- 
ing the  states  mentioned  on  a  preceding 
page,  produced  27,878,815  bushels,  valued 
at  $25,090,933;  the  west  produced  41,- 
394,545  bushels,  valued  at  $37,255,088  ;  and 
the  north  produced  30,761,941  bushels, 
valued  at  $27,865,746. 

The  crop  of  wheat  of  the  present  year  is 
probably  the  largest  by  far  ever  raised  in 
this  country,  and  will  not  probably  fall  short 
of  230,000,000  of  bushels.  With  the  sur- 
plus of  last  year  still  on  hand  we  shall  have 
nearly  70,000,000  of  bushels  for  exportation 
to  foreign  countries. 

What  has  been  said  in  speaking  of  the 
exports  of  Indian  corn,  may  be  said,  also,  of 
wheat,  that  the  amount  sent  abroad  is  reg- 
ulated very  much  by  the  extent  of  the  de- 
mand there.  The  surplus  of  this  grain — that 
is,  the  amount  that  can  be  spared  for  ship- 
ment to  foreign  ports,  over  and  above  what 
is  required  for  home  consumption — is  as  elas- 
tic as  India-rubber.  If  Europe  wants  our 
wheat,  or  our  flour,  and  is  compelled  to  pay 
good  prices,  either  from  a  short  crop,  a  dis- 
turbed state  of  political  affairs,  or  any  other 
cause,  it  is  impossible  to  set  bounds  to  our 
surplus,  because  the  more  she  wants,  the 
more  we  have  to  spare,  and  the  less  Europe, 
or  any  foreign  country  wants,  the  less  we 
have  to  export.  If  little  wheat  is  wanted 
abroad,  it  is  used  more  freely  at  home,  and 
the  balance  is  stored  for  future  use.  If  large 
quantities  of  it  are  required  abroad,  less  will 
be  used  at  home,  the  people  resorting  to  In- 
dian corn  and  meal  to  a  large  extent.  The 
amount  of  export  is,  therefore,  regulated  by 
the  price.  If  foreign  countries  are  willing, 
or  are  compelled  to  pay  for  it,  we  can  supply 
them  to  any  extent  under  any  ordinary 
circumstances.  The  export  in  1846  was 
13,268,175  bushels;  in  1847,  12,309,972; 
in  1848  it  reached  26,312,431  bushels,  un- 
der the  stimulus  of  the  high  prices  conse- 
quent upon  famine  in  Ireland;  in  1849  it 
fell  off  to  10,366,417,  and  again,  in  1850,  to 
8,656,982  bushels,  when  it  began  to  increase 
again,  and  amounted  in  1851  to  13,948,499, 
jand  in  1852  to  18,680,686  ;  in  1853  it  was 
18,958,993  bushels,  and  in  1854  no  less  than 
27,000,000! 


In  the  statement  of  the  above  staple  crops, 
little  or  no  credit  is  given  to  the  productions 
of  California,  which  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  oh  the  9th  of  September,  1850.  At 
that  time  it  was  not  generally  thought  to 
rank  anywhere  as  an  agricultural  state.  Its 
wheat  crop  was  returned,  in  1850,  at  only 
17,228  bushels;  its  Indian  corn  at  only 
12,236  bushels;  and  its  other  agricultural 
products  in  proportion.  In  1852  the  wheat 
crop  of  that  state  was  less  than  300,000 
bushels,  and  the  imports  of  flour  in  1853 
were  no  less  than  500,000  bushels;  it  sold, 
at  times,  as  high  as  fifty  dollars  a  barrel.  In 
1859  the  wheat  crop  was  more  than  6,000,- 
000  of  bushels,  while  the  crop  of  1 860  very 
greatly  exceeded  that,  so  that  many  a  ship- 
load was  exported  to  South  America,  Aus- 
tralia, China,  and  even  to  New  York  and 
Liverpool. 

The  corn  crop  of  California  has  increased 
in  like  manner  since  1852,  when  it  amount- 
ed to  only  about  60,000  bushels.  It  was 
over  1,000,000  bushels  in  1860!  The  bar- 
ley crop  is  double  now  what  it  was  in  1852; 
and  the  oats,  which  then  were  worth  less 
than  $100,000,  are  worth  this  year  nearly 
$2,000,000.  Then  only  about  a  hundred 
thousand  acres  were  under  cultivation  in  the 
whole  state  ;  now  the  number  of  acres  is 
nearer  a  million  and  a  half.  Then,  nobody 
thought  the  state  would  ever  be  able  to  raise 
even  its  own  flour.  Now,  with  less  than  a 
fortieth  part  of  her  lands  under  cultivation, 
she  is  exporting  flour  to  foreign  countries. 
California  could  probably  support  a  popula- 
tion of  twenty  millions  under  a  full  develop- 
ment of  her  agricultural  resources. 

PRODUCTION    OF    OTHER    GRAINS. 

RYE  is  not,  at  the  present  time,  so  exten- 
sively used  for  food  as  formerly.  The  amount 
grown  is,  therefore,  comparatively  small. 
Rye  was  introduced  and  cultivated  in  all  the 
colonies  at  the  earliest  periods  of  their  set- 
tlement, and  its  meal  was  mixed  with  Indian 
meal  for  the  making  of  bread,  in  New  Eng- 
land, as  early,  certainly,  as  1648,  and  per- 
haps even  as  early  as  1630,  and  that  custom 
became  very  common.  The  export  of  this 
grain  has  never  been  very  extensive,  and 
since  the  demand  for  wheat  has  been  so 
much  increased,  its  extent  of  cultivation  has 
diminished  rapidly. 

In  1796,  no  less  than  50,614  barrels  of 
rye  meal  were  exported  from  Philadelphia, 
and  in  1801  the  United  States  exported 


78 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


392,276  bushels  of  rye.  In  1812  the  ex- 
port was  only  82,705  bushels. 

The  aggregate  product  of  rye,  as  returned 
in  the  census  of  1840,  was  less  than  nine- 
teen millions  of  bushels,  or  18,645,567,  and 
this  fell  off,  in  1850,  to  14,188,813  bushels, 
a  decrease  of  4,456,744.  The  use  of  rye 
for  the  purpose  of  distillation  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  malt  liquors  is  much  less  now 
than  formerly,  and  this  accounts  for  the  fall- 
ing off  in  its  cultivation.  It  is,  however,  a 
profitable  crop  in  New  England,  and  a  yield 
of  from  forty  to  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre  is 
bv  no  means  uncommon,  while  the  straw  is 
in  such  demand,  in  many  sections,  as  to  en- 
hance very  materially  its  value  as  a  crop. 

OATS. — The  culture  of  the  oat  is  more  ex- 
tensive than  that  of  rye.  It  was  introduced 
into  the  colonies  immediately  after  their  set- 
tlement by  Europeans,  having  been  sown  by 
Gosnold,  on  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  as  early 
as  1602,  and  cultivated  to  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent from  that  time  to  the  present.  But 
though  much  more  extensively  produced 
than  rye,  its  consumption  as  food  for  ani- 
mals is  so  great  in  this  country,  that  it  has 
never  formed  any  considerable  article  of  ex- 
port, though  an  average  of  about  70,000 
bushels  was  shipped  for  some  years  previous 
to  1820. 

The  yield  of  this  crop  in  1840  was  re- 
turned as  123,071,341  bushels,  and  in  1850 
it  had  increased  to  146,584,179  bushels,  a 
gain  of  23,512,838  bushels. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  this  crop 
was  as  follows : — 

The  south  raised  49,891,107  bushels,  val- 
ued at  $17,459,035;  the  west  produced 
37,122,771  bushels,  valued  at  $12,992,971 ; 
and  the  north  produced  59,570,301  bushels, 
valued  at  $20,817,175.  Oats  are  grown  in 
all  the  states,  but  by  far  the  largest  yield 
was  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
crop  of  oats  for  1860,  in  New  England,  was 
larger  and  more  abundant  than  was  ever  be- 
fore known,  unless,  possibly,  that  of  1816 
was  an  exception.  It  is,  probably,  at  least 
30  or  40  per  cent,  above  the  average, 
growing  with  a  luxuriance  which  was  a  sub- 
ject of  universal  remark  among  farmers. 

BARLEY,  like  the  other  grains  already 
mentioned,  was  sown  on  the  first  settlement 
of  the  colonies,  having  been  first  cultivated 
by  Gosnold  as  early  as  1602,  on  the  Eliza- 
beth Islands,  on  the  Massachusetts  coast,  and 
by  the  settlers  at  Jamestown,  in  Virginia,  in 
1611,  where,  however,  it  soon  gave  way  to 


the  more  lucrative  production  of  tobacco. 
Samples  of  it  were  sent  from  the  Dutch  col- 
ony at  New  York  in  1626.  Good  crops  of 
it  were  raised  in  the  colony  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  as  early  as  1630 ;  and  in  1796 
the  principal  agricultural  product  of  the  state 
of  Khode  Island  Avas  barley. 

But  this  crop  has  never  gained  root  to 
any  extent  in  this  country,  either  as  a  desir- 
able product  for  home  consumption  or  for 
foreign  export.  Its  chief  use  has  been  for 
malting  and  distillation. 

The  census  of  1840  returned  the  product 
of  barley  as  4,161,504  bushels,  and  this  had 
increased  in  1850  to  5,167,015  bushels,  a 
gain  of  1,005,511  bushels.  It  has  doubtless 
increased  some  since,  but  not  so  as  to  be- 
come a  crop  of  any  great  importance  in  a 
national  point  of  view. 

By  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  crop  of 
1850  was  raised  in  the  northern  states,  which 
returned  no  less  than  4,166,611  bushels,  val- 
ued at  $3,747,650;  while  the  west  raised 
only  842,402,  valued  at  $754,161,  and  the 
south  but  161,907  bushels,  which  was  val- 
ued at  $145,716. 

BUCKWHEAT. — This  grain  has  never  been 
cultivated  to  any  great  extent  in  this  coun- 
try, though  it  was  introduced  into  the  col- 
ony at  Manhattan  Island  by  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company,  and  raised  there  as 
early  as  1625  or  1626.  Its  culture  was  con- 
tinued by  the  Dutch  to  some  extent,  and 
they  used  it  as  provender  for  horses.  It 
was  also  cultivated  by  the  Swedes,  who  set- 
tled along  the  Delaware  in  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania. 

Not  being  extensively  cultivated,  it  has 
not,  of  course,  entered  much  into  our  com- 
merce, though  it  has  been  shipped,  to  some 
extent,  in  the  shape  of  flour.  The  quantity 
returned  by  the  census  of  1840  was  7,291,- 
743  bushels.  This  had  increased  in  1850  to" 
nearly  nine  millions,  or  8,956,912  bushels,  a 
gain,  in  the  ten  years,  of  1,665,169  bushels. 
It  is  probable  that  the  next  census  will  re- 
turn the  crop  of  1859  as  upward  of  eleven 
millions  of  bushels,  with  a  value  of  about 
$4,500,000. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  the  crop 
of  1850  was  very  nearly  as  follows: — 

The  south  raised  405,357  bushels,  valued 
at  $202,678 ;  the  west  raised  1,578,578  bush- 
els, valued  at  $789,289;  the  north  raised 
6,971,667  bushels,  valued  at  $3,485,833. 

The  cultivation  of  buckwheat  has  the 
eft'ect  to  cleanse  the  land,  which  has  been 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


one  reason  for  its  increase,  while  the  price  it 
commands  makes  it  a  profitable  crop. 

CLOVER  AND  GRASS  SEED. — In  connection 
with  the  smaller  grains  should  be  mentioned 
the  production  of  clover  seed,  and  that  of 
the  various  grasses,  which,  in  some  sections, 
has  become  an  item  of  some  importance. 

The  census  of  1850  returned  the  amount 
of  clover  seed  produced  as  468,978  bushels. 
Of  this,  Pennsylvania  raised  by  far  the 
largest  quantity  of  any  one  state,  and  Ohio 
came  next. 

The  amount  of  grass  seed  raised  was  416,- 
83 1  bushels,  and  in  this  product  New  York 
took  the  lead  of  all  the  states,  exceeding 
the  next  highest  producer,  New  Jersey,  by 
more  than  thirty  thousand  bushels. 

Of  the  clover  and  grass  seeds  together,  the 
south  raised  123,517  bushels,  valued  at 
$370,551  ;  the  west  raised  142,764  bushels, 
valued  at  $428,292  ;  and  the  northern  states 
raised  619,501  bushels,  valued  at  $1,858,503. 

THE    POTATO. 

The  potato  is  more  universally  cultivated 
in  this  country  than  any  other  crop,  except, 
perhaps,  that  of  Indian  corn.  At  what  time 
it  was  first  introduced,  as  a  cultivated  plant, 
into  the  American  colonies,  is  not  known, 
but  it  was,  no  doubt,  soon  after  the  settle- 
ment. It  is  mentioned  among  the  seed  or- 
dered for  the  Plymouth  colony,  as  early,  cer- 
tainly, as  1629,  but  it  was  not  recognized, 
probably,  as  an  indispensable  crop,  till  near 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been  very  widely  known  and 
esteemed.  As  many  as  700  bushels  were 
exported  from  South  Carolina  in  1747,  and 
in  1796  no  less  than  9,004  bushels  were 
shipped  from  Philadelphia. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  sweet  potato  was 
first  introduced,  and  came  to  be  regarded  as 
a  delicacy  in  England,  and  the  allusions  to 
the  potato  by  the  earlier  English  writers  who 
mention  this  plant,  refer  to  the  sweet,  and 
not  to  the  common  potato. 

It  has  formed  a  somewhat  important  arti- 
cle of  export,  though  by  no  means  to  be 
compared,  in  this  respect,  with  wheat  and 
Indian  corn.  We  exported  in  1821-2  about 
129,814  bushels,  valued  at  $45,758.  In 
1844-5  the  export  amounted  to  274,216 
bushels,  valued  at  $122,926,  and  exportation 
has  continued,  to  some  extent,  every  year 
since  then.  The  number  of  bushels  of  po- 
tatoes returned  by  the  census  of  1840  was 
108,298,060.  In  1850,  owing  to  the  preva- 


lence of  the  disease,  it  fell  off  to  104,056,- 
044  bushels,  of  which  38,268,148  bushels 
were  sweet  potatoes.  The  crop  may  now 
amount  to  125,000,000  bushels. 

PEASE  AND  BEANS. — Though  not  entering 
extensively  into  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  country,  the  product  of  pease  and  beans 
is  still  important,  both  from  its  extent  and 
value  for  home  consumption. 

Beans  are  said  to  have  been  first  cultivated 
by  Capt.  Gosnold,  on  the  Elizabeth  Islands, 
as  early  as  1602.  They  appear  to  have  been 
cultivated  by  the  Dutch,  at  Manhattan,  in 
1644,  and  about  the  same  time  in  Virginia. 
But  it  is  well  known  that  beans  were  culti- 
vated by  the  natives,  long  before  their  intro- 
duction by  the  whites,  and  it  is  probable 
that  pease  were,  also. 

In  the  year  1755,  the  amount  of  pease 
exported  from  Savannah  was  400  bushels, 
and  in  17 70,  601  bushels.  The  amount  ex- 
ported from  Charleston  in  1754  was  9,162 
bushels.  North  Carolina  exported  10,000 
bushels  in  1753. 

The  total  amount  exported  annually  from 
the  United  States  for  twenty  years  previous 
to  1817,  was  90,000  bushels,  while  the  beans 
annually  exported  during  the  same  period 
amounted  to  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand 
bushels. 

The  census  of  1850  returned  the  amount  of 
pease  and  beans  as  9,219,901  bushels.  The 
value  of  these  crops  exceeded  $16,000,000. 

THE  GRASS  AND  HAY  CROP. 

Owing  to  the  necessity  that  exists  through- 
out all  the  northern  portion  of  the  United 
States  to  stall-feed  the  stock  from  three  to  six 
months  of  the  year,  the  grass  and  hay  crop  as- 
sumes there  an  importance  which  it  has  not 
in  the  more  southern  portions  of  the  country. 

I  have  alluded,  briefly,  on  a  preceding 
page,  to  the  fact  that,  at  the  time  of  the 
early  settlement  of  the  colonies,  na  attention 
had  been  paid  in  the  mother  country  to  the 
cultivation  of  either  the  natural  or  the  arti- 
ficial grasses.  Attention  to  this  branch  of 
farming  was  gradually  forced  upon  the  set- 
tlers of  the  more  northern  portions  of  the 
country.  For  want  of  sufficient  and  suita- 
ble winter  nourishment,  the  cattle,  which 
were  scarce  and  expensive,  were  often  found 
dying  of  starvation,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  made  to  secure  a  supply  of  salt  hay 
from  the  many  marshes  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Plymouth  and  the  Massachusetts,  as  well 
as  the  Dutch  and  Swedish  colonies. 


80 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


It  was,  no  doubt,  many  years  before  it] 
became  possible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  to 
provide  full  supplies  for  their  cattle,  and  it 
was  not  unfrequently  the  case,  even  after  the 
culture  of  grasses  was  introduced,  that  the 
cattle  were  obliged  to  browse  in  the  woods 
in  a  long  and  hard  struggle  for  life,  owing  to 
the  loss  of  crops  by  drought  and  imperfect 
cultivation. 

The  cultivation  of  timothy,  the  most  im- 
portant and  valuable  of  the  forage  grasses, 
was  not  introduced,  according  to  Jared 
Eliot,  who  wrote  in  1750,  till  a  few  years 
previous  to  that  date,  having  been  found  by 
one  Herd,  in  a  swamp  near  Piscataqua.  He 
propagated  it  till  it  was  taken  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia  by  Timothy  Hanson,  after 
whom  it  is  most  frequently  called.  The 
well-known  orchard  grass  was  cultivated  as 
early  as  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  for 
we  know  it  was  introduced  from  Virginia 
into  England  in  1764,  or  thereabout.  The 
June,  or  Kentucky  blue  grass,  was  probably 
indigenous,  and  sprung  up  in  the  pathway 
of  the  settlers,  as  it  does  now,  wherever  the 
footstep  of  civilization  penetrates.  But  it 
was  not  till  a  recent  date  that  the  general 
culture  and  improvement  of  the  grasses  re- 
ceived the  attention  it  deserved. 

The  grasses  spring  up  almost  spontane- 
ously in  many  localities,  it  is  true,  other- 
erwise  the  settlers  would  have  suffered  far 
more  severely  than  they  did.  From  the 
time  when  the  great  mandate  went  forth, 
even  before  the  creation  of  man,  "  Let  the 
earth  bring  forth  grass,"  it  has  been  a  law 
of  nature  to  clothe  the  earth  with  verdure  as 
soon  as  the  advance  of  civilization  lets  in 
the  light  upon  the  soil  by  the  first  clearings 
of  the  pioneer  settler. 

The  progress  made  in  the  cultivation  of 
grasses  and  the  production  of  hay  has  been 
greater  within  the  last  half  century  than 
ever  before.  This  will  appear,  especially 
when  we  consider  the  improvement  in  the 
means  of  cultivating  and  harvesting  the 
crop.  The  culture  of  clover  had  been  com- 
menced, in  some  parts  of  the  country,  pre- 
vious to  that  time,  but  it  had  not  established 
itself  in  the  farmer's  favor  to  any  very  great 
extent,  and  the  indigenous  grasses  were  chiefly 
relied  on,  while  the  seed  used  in  many  parts 
of  the  country  was  that  which  had  fallen 
from  the  hay-mow,  foul,  of  course,  and  full 
of  weeds. 

According  to  the  census  of  1840,  the  hay 
crop  of  the  United  States  was  10,248,108 


tons.  In  1850  it  was  13,838,642  tons,  an 
increase  of  3,590,533  tons.  The  hay  crop 
of  the  present  year  cannot  be  less  than 
1 5,000,000  tons,  with  a  value  certainly  not 
less  than  $150,000,000.  To  this  is  to  be 
added  the  value  of  the  grass  crop,  which  is 
not  less  than  that  of  the  hay,  and  we  have 
an  annual  production  of  at  least  $300,000,- 
000,  an  amount  nearly  equal  to  all  the  other 
agricultural  products  of  the  country,  except- 
ing wheat  and  Indian  corn. 

The  production  of  hay  is,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, a  tax  upon  the  farmer  imposed  by  the 
severity  of  climate.  In  a  mild  climate  and 
short  winters,  the  necessity  for  curing  hay 
in  any  considerable  quantities  is  avoided. 
Less  hay  is  made,  of  course,  at  the  south 
than  at  the  north.  The  same  number  and 
size  of  cattle  would  require  less  artificially 
prepared  fodder  in  a  mild  climate  than  in  3 
severe  one.  Maine,  for  instance,  raised 
755,889  tons  of  hay,  and  kept  385,115  head 
of  cattle  and  horses,  consuming  about  two 
tons  a  head  on  an  average.  Illinois,  with 
601,952  tons  of  hay,  kept  1,190,264  head 
of  cattle  and  horses,  using  but  little  over 
half  a  ton  per  head ;  while  Alabama,  which 
made  only  32,685  tons  of  hay,  kept  915,911 
head  of  cattle,  the  proportion  being  but  one 
ton  of  hay  to  thirty  head  of  cattle.  There 
is,  it  is  true,  some  compensation  in  this,  as  in 
most  other  things,  and  that  is  the  extreme 
difficulty  of  growing  the  ordinary  natural 
grasses  in  a  southern  latitude,  on  account  of 
the  severe  drouths.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  produce  a  fine,  close,  permanent  turf  south 
of  the  39°  of  latitude,  and  considerable 
quantities  of  cured  hay  are  taken  from  the 
northern  and  eastern  ports  to  most  of  the 
southern  ports  every  year. 

There  is,  also,  another  most  important 
compensation  in  the  greater  facility  afforded 
by  the  wintering  of  cattle  for  economizing 
manure,  and  thus  keeping  up  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  For  example,  tobacco  culture  is 
said  to  have  impoverished  the  soil  of  Vir- 
ginia. One  reason  for  it  was,  that  keeping 
comparatively  few  cattle,  and  never  housing 
them,  but  rather  "  browsing"  them  from  one 
year's  end  to  another,  there  was  no  pos- 
sibility of  saving  and  making  a  great  quan- 
tity of  manure,  Till  the  introduction  of 
guano,  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  get  ma- 
nure for  the  tobacco  field,  and  exhaustion 
was  inevitable.  In  Massachusetts,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  no  crop  that  a  wheat  or 
corn  crop  will  follow  so  well  as  that  of  to- 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


81 


bacco,  for  the  reason  that  the  grower,  know- 
ing the  requirements  of  the  plant,  manures 
it  very  highly,  as  he  easily  can,  and  the  soil, 
instead  of  being  exhausted  from  year  to 
year,  is  actually  growing  richer.  Increasing 
the  hay  crop,  therefore,  notwithstanding  its 
cost,  enables  the  farmer  to  keep  more  stock 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  more  manure, 
and  more  manure  enables  him  to  keep  up 
the  fertility  of  the  land. 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find 
the  geographical  distribution  of  the  crop  as 
returned  in  1850  as  follows  : — 

The  north  produced  9,473,605  tons,  val- 
ued at  $94,736,050;  the  west  produced 
3,227,253  tons,  valued  at  $32,272,530;  the 
south  produced  1,137,784  tons,  valued  at 
811,377,846. 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
the  quality  of  hay  made  now,  over  that 
usually  made  in  former  times  in  this  country, 
has  been  improved,  to  say  nothing  more  of 
the  vastly  improved  facilities  for  harvesting 
it.  More  correct  ideas  are  entertained  of  the 
extent  and  mode  of  curing  it,  and  the  quality 
is  improved  in  proportion  as  a  higher  knowl- 
edge is  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

THE    CULTURE    OF    FRUIT. 

The  establishment  of  state  and  county 
agricultural  societies,  and  of  stated  exhibi- 
tions, in  which  the  products  of  the  orchard 
and  the  garden  had  a  prominent  place,  in- 
troduced a  new  era  in  the  culture  of  fruit. 
The  early  settlers  made  some  attempts  to 
introduce  apples  and  pears,  some  bringing 
with  them  the  seeds  of  these  fruits,  with  the 
supposition,  no  doubt,  that  they  should  have 
the  like  again. 

The  first  apples  raised  in  this  country 
were,  probably,  from  trees  planted  on  Gov- 
ernor's Island,  in  the  harbor  of  Boston, 
from  which,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1639, 
ten  fair  pippins  were  brought,  "  there  being 
not  one  apple  or  pear  tree  planted  in  any 
part  of  the  country,  but  upon  that  island." 
Governor  Endicott  had  on  his  farm  in  Salem, 
now  in  Danvers,  in  1640,  the  first  nursery 
of  young  fruit  trees  that  was  ever  planted  in 
this  country ;  and  it  is  related  that  he  sold 
five  hundred  apple  trees  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  at  the  rate  of  two 
trees  for  an  acre — a  good  bargain  for  the 
purchaser,  if  he  took  good  care  of  his  trees. 

But  the  cultivation  of  fruit  was  extremely 
rare  in  the  early  history  of  the  country. 
Indeed,  it  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  been 


cultivated  at  all,  as  a  part  of  the  produce  of 
the  farm,  till  a  comparatively  recent  date. 
At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and,  in  fact, 
at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  have  found  in  the  whole 
country  the  number  and  varieties  of  good 
fruits  which  might  now  be  found  in  a  single 
good  farming  town.  There  were  orchards 
of  seedling  apples,  and  many  of  them  were 
far  better  than  none,  but  that  is  nearly  all 
that  can  be  said  for  them.  They  were 
raised  chiefly  for  the  making  of  cider. 
Most  of  the  favorite  varieties  of  the  present 
day  had  then  no  existence ;  and  if  any  very 
superior  apple  had  existed  in  any  isolated 
locality,  it  could  not,  from  the  very  nature 
of  things,  have  become  generally  known  and 
appreciated,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  bar- 
riers which  separated  the  rural  population 
of  that  day  were  so  great  as  often  to  leave 
them  in  ignorance  of  what  was  passing, 
even  in  a  neighboring  town.  A  seedling 
equal  to  the  Baldwin  apple  might  have  re- 
mained unknown  twenty  miles  off"  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  last  century. 
Apples  were  apples,  and  all  apples  were  fit 
to  make  cider,  and  that  was  enough. 

It  was  regarded  as  absurd  for  any  but  a 
young  man  to  set  out  trees ;  and  when  a 
man  of  seventy  began  to  plant  an  orchard, 
the  idea  was  so  ludicrous  as  to  subject  him 
to  the  ridicule  of  the  whole  neighborhood. 

But,  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  many  large  orchards  were 
planted  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
still  with  particular  reference  to  the  pro- 
duction of  cider.  The  fruit  crop  of  the  coun- 
try was  of  so  little  importance  as  not  to  have 
been  thought  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  collec- 
tion of  our  national  statistics,  even  so  late 
as  1830;  now  it  amounts  to  considerably 
over  thirty  millions  of  dollars  a  year,  and  is 
fast  growing  to  be  one  of  the  most  important 
products  of  the  country,  the  annual  sales 
numbering  hundreds  of  thousands  of  bar- 
rels. 

The  oldest  horticultural  society  in  the 
United  States  was  founded  only  about  thirty 
years  ago  (1829).  For  some  years  such  asso-* 
ciations  were  few  and  feeble,  on  account  of 
the  want  of  sufficient  public  interest  in  the 
subject.  Fruit  of  the  choice  varieties  was 
a  luxury  which  could  be  enjoyed  only  by 
the  wealthy.  Now  there  is  scarcely  a  cot- 
tage in  a  country  town  or  village  which  has 
not  its  grape  vines,  or  its  apple  or  pear  trees. 
The  public  no  longer  ridicule  the  man  who 


82 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


plants  choice  trees,  with  the  hope  of  enjoy- 
ing their  fruit.  Modern  science,  in  this 
direction,  secures  speedy  returns. 

The  American  Pomological  Society  was 
established  in  1848,  and  since  then  kindred 
societies  have  been  established  in  several  of 
the  states,  and  are  exerting  no  small  degree 
of  influence.  It  is  scarcely  twenty-five  years 
since  two  or  three  small  nurseries  in  the 
vicinity  of  our  large  cities,  occupying  not 
over  five  hundred  acres  in  the  whole  coun- 
try, supplied  the  wants  of  the  United  States 
and  the  Canadas.  Now  there  exist  more 
than  a  thousand  nurseries ;  and  in  one 
county  of  New  York  alone — that  of  Mon- 
roe— there  are  between  three  and  four 
thousand  acres,  producing  every  year  more 
than  $500,000  worth  of  trees ;  while  there 
are  sold  every  year,  in  the  whole  country, 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  millions  of  trees, 
with  a  value  of  $5,000,000.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  nurseries  of  Onondaga,  and  the 
neighboring  counties  of  New  York,  contain 
at  this  moment  at  least  fifty  millions  of 
trees  for  sale.  These  figures  give  but  an  in- 
adequate idea  of  the  actual  present  extent 
of  this  great  business  of  the  country,  but 
they  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  wide-spread 
interest  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit  among 
the  people. 

It  is  a  gratifying  fact  that  our  native  fruits 
are  appreciated  as  they  deserve.  Of  the 
thirty-six  varieties  of  apples  recommended 
by  the  American  Pomological  Society  for 
cultivation,  thirty  are  natives;  of  the 
fourteen  varieties  of  plums,  ten  are  natives ; 
and  so  are  more  than  half  the  pears  and  all 
of  the  strawberries.  It  is  not  many  years 
since  all  the  strawberries  in  our  markets 
grew  wild  and  were  brought  from  the  fields, 
when  not  a  single  variety  had  been  produced 
by  hybridization  in  America.  Last  year  a 
single  cultivator  in  Massachusetts  grew  them 
at  the  rate  of  160  bushels  per  acre,  and  sold 
them  at  the  rate  of  $1,300  per  acre  ;  while 
others,  in  Connecticut  and  other  states,  did 
even  better  than  that,  from  seedling  varieties. 
The  fruit  crop  of  Massachusetts  was  officially 
returned  in  1845  at  $744,000;  while  in 
1855  it  amounted  to  $1,300,000;  and  in 
1860  to  upward  of  $2,000,000;  and  the  in- 
crease in  many  other  parts  of  the  country 
has  been  in  a  similar  or  even  greater  propor- 
tion. In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1858-59, 
there  were  exported  from  the  port  of  Bos- 
ton alone  no  less  than  120,000  barrels  of 
apples,  mostly  Baldwins.  The  product  of 


fruit  for  1860  is  larger,  by  200  per  cent., 
probably,  than  it  ever  was  before.  The 
two  or  three  preceding  years  were  com- 
paratively bad  fruit  years,  and  in  the  mean- 
time thousands  of  young  trees  have  come 
into  bearing  which  never  bore  before. 
The  crop  of  1860  is,  therefore,  wonderfully 
large,  and  of  unsurpassed  excellence. 

The  climate  of  the  southern  states  has 
often  been  stated  to  be  unfavorable  to  the 
growth  of  our  common  staple  fruits,  except 
peaches,  figs,  oranges,  and  the  like  ;  but  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  it  is  not  so.  There 
is  one  orchard  in  Mississippi  of  15,000  pear 
trees,  another  in  Georgia  of  9,500 ;  and  in 
other  sections,  Avhere  the  effort  has  been 
made,  success  has  almost  invariably  attended 
it.  It  is  true,  the  pomology  of  the  south  is 
in  many  respects  peculiar.  The  mistake 
has  been  in  selecting  northern  varieties,  in- 
stead of  seedlings  of  the  south  and  other 
native  varieties,  many  of  which  are  found  to 
exist,  and  to  be  superior  in  size,  flavor,  and 
beauty,  while  in  keeping  qualities  they  are 
not  inferior  to  good  northern  varieties. 

The  south  can,  therefore,  raise  apples  in 
large  quantities,  and  of  a  very  high  quality, 
by  the  selection  and  proper  cultivation  of 
varieties  adapted  to  its  soil  and  climate. 
The  few  earnest  and  intelligent  pomologists 
who  have  had  long  experience  there,  rank 
the  apple  as  the  surest  and  most  reliable  of 
all  fruits  except  the  grape.  So  far,  compar- 
atively little  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
culture  of  the  apple  and  the  pear  by  the 
mass  of  southern  planters  ;  partly,  no  doubt, 
from  an  impression  that  such  fruits  were  not 
suited  to  that  locality;  but  the  experience 
of  the  most  intelligent  horticulturists  in 
that  part  of  the  country  has,  I  think,  fully 
established  its  practicability,  especially  for 
the  native  southern  winter  varieties.  And 
so  of  the  pear.  Very  many  of  the  favorite 
varieties  at  the  north  grow  and  bear  well  at 
the  south,  either  as  standards  or  dwarfs,  in 
a  deep,  mellow,  well  tilled  soil,  care  being 
taken  to  train  the  top  of  the  tree  low  and 
spreading,  so  as  to  shield  the  trunk  and  the 
root  from  the  too  fierce  rays  of  the  sun. 
And  as  to  the  peach,  it  is  at  home  at  the 
south,  and  grows  in  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection.  One  grower  in  that  part  of  the 
country  sends  north  from  seven  to  ten 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  peaches  every 
year  before  they  are  ripe  in  the  middle 
states. 

Now  if  such  are  known  to  be  the  results 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


83 


of  only  ten,  fifteen,  and  twenty  years  of  en- 
terprise in  this  branch  of  rural  economy, 
what  may  we  not  anticipate  when  the  vast 
number  of  young  trees  planted  in  the  mid- 
dle and  eastern  states  within  the  last  five 
years,  come  into  bearing?  If  any  one  is 
disposed  to  feel  disheartened  at  the  prospect 
of  sales,  or  fear  the  market  will  be  glutted, 
let  him  take  courage  in  the  fact  that  the  de- 
mand is  ever  on  the  increase,  not  only  from 
the  multiplication  of  consumers,  but  from 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  growing  conviction 
that  fruit  is  the  most  healthful  food.  The 
exportation  of  fruits,  particularly  of  apples, 
is  rapidly  increasing.  But  that  the  present 
comparative  abundance  has  not  diminished 
the  profits  of  fruit-growing,  the  Fruit-Grow- 
ers' Society  of  Western  New  York  state 
through  a  committee  that  three  white  Do- 
yenne pear-trees,  owned  by  Mr.  Phinney,  of 
Canandaigua,  one  of  them  small,  produce 
annually  from  $50  to  $60  worth .  of  fine 
fruit,  while  another  of  the  same  variety, 
in  the  same  place,  seventy  years  old,  has  not 
failed  of  a  good  crop  for  forty  years,  and  has 
averaged  twenty  bushels  a  year  for  twenty 
years,  which  have  been  sold  on  the  tree 
for  $60  a  year.  This  one  tree  has  pro- 
duced for  the  New  York  market  $3,750 
worth  of  pears.  Three  large  trees  of  the 
same  kind,  owned  by  another  individual, 
yielded  in  1854  eleven  barrels,  which  sold 
for  $m. 

Then,  too,  we  are  to  include  the  luxuriant 
growth  of  fruits  in  California,  now  becoming 
celebrated  as  a  fruit-growing  region.  Five 
years  ago  the  apple-trees  in  that  state  scarcely 
numbered  a  hundred  thousand;  now,  in 
1860,  there  are  more  than  a  million  trees  in 
bearing.  Peach-trees  then  numbered  only  a 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand ;  now,  there 
are  more  than  a  million  and  a  half.  Pear- 
trees  have  increased  in  five  years  from  twenty 
thousand  to  three  hundred  thousand ;  apri- 
cots, from  four  thousand  to  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  trees ;  plums,  from  ten  thou- 
sand to  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand ;  and 
grape  vines,  from  three  hundred  thousand  in 
1855,  to  eight  millions  in  1860!  The  num- 
ber of  vines  more  than  doubled  in  two  years 
from  1856  to  185 8.  A  popular  writer  says 
the  growth  on  the  grape-vines  the  last  year 
would  make  one  long  green  creeper  that 
would  reach  from  San  Francisco  clear  across 
the  continent,  and  then  over  the  sea  to  Eng- 
land. "  Who  knows,"  says  he,  "  but  what 
Englishmen  will  yet  suck  their  wines  from 


California  cellars  ?  At  the  rate  we  are  going 
on,  somebody  has  got  a  great  deal  of  wine- 
drinking  to  do,  to  use  up  the  California  pro- 
duction of  ten  years  hence.  But  people 
must  make  up  their  minds,  or  their  palates, 
to  like  still  wines  that  are  at  once  fiery  and 
sour,  if  they  intend  to  patronize  California 
vineyards,  and  rejoice  in  the  plenty  and 
cheapness  of  our  products;  for  our  grapes 
insist  on  being  sweeter  than  the  best  grapes 
of  which  foreign  wines  are  made.  They 
contain  20  per  cent,  of  sugar  against  13 
11-100  per  cent,  in  foreign-grown  specimens, 
while  the  proportion  of  free  acid  is  much, 
less.  As  a  consequence,  there  is  15  per 
cent,  of  alcohol  in  our  light  wine,  which  is 
double  what  is  detected  in  the  European 
light  wines,  and  nearly  as  much  as  is  con- 
tained in  the  stronger  ports,  sherries,  and 
Madeiras."  The  value  of  the  grape  crop 
two  years  ago  (1858),  amounted  to  $1,000,- 
000,  and  it  amounts  now,  probably,  to  over 
$8,000,000. 

The  culture  of  the  vine  in  California  is  very 
simple,  and  gives  astonishing  profits.  An  acre 
in  ordinary  calculation  is  enough  for  a  thou- 
sand vines ;  and  each  vine  in  full  bearing  will 
produce  a  gallon  of  wine.  The  average 
of  well-managed  vineyards  is  often  much 
greater,  and  two  or  three  gallons  to  a  vine  is 
no  uncommon  product.  A  good  man,  with 
a  horse  and  plough,  and  at  work  only  about 
eight  days  in  the  year,  can  tend  from  eight 
to  ten  acres  of  vines.  The  grape  flourishes 
in  all  parts  of  California,  but  the  counties 
of  Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino,  and  San 
Diego  are,  perhaps,  the  most  noted,  though 
the  Napa  valley,  and  many  other  localities, 
are  about  equally  suited  to  it.  The  capabili- 
ties of  the  three  counties  above  named,  for 
the  production  of  the  grape,  are  ascertained 
to  be  equal  to  100,000,000  vines,  or  more 
than  100,000,000  gallons  of  wine  a  year! 

About  650  vessels  leave  the  Mediterranean 
for  this  country  every  year,  loaded  with  figs, 
lemons,  oranges,  limes,  almonds,  and  the 
products  of  the  vine,  the  whole  amounting 
to  about  seven  and  a  quarter  millions  of 
dollars.  Time  will  show  that  California  can 
easily  produce  all  these  products  of  an  oqual 
quality,  and  in  abundance  sufficient  to  sup- 
ply the  whole  country,  and  still  have  a  sur- 
plus for  her  own  consumption.  That  this 
statement  is  by  no  means  extravagant,  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  the  growth  of  the 
grape  during  the  last  three  years  surpasses 
any  thing  ever  known  in  the  most  highly 


84 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


favored  regions  of  the  Rhine,  Italy,  or 
France. 

A  pear-grower  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  has  one 
acre  devoted  to  this  fruit,  the  oldest  trees 
being  about  twenty  years  old,  but  more  than 
half  of  them  young.  From  two  trees,  the 
Dix  and  Beurre  Diel,  he  has  taken  more 
than  one  hundred  dollars  worth  a  year,  and 
from  the  whole  acre  more  than  a  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  Another  prominent  pear-or- 
chardist  in  Brighton,  Mass.,  commenced 
operations  in  1841  with  eight  trees  on  the 
ground.  He  has  now  1,200  trees,  set  out  in 
different  years,  more  than  half  of  them  since 
1854.  Since  that  time  he  has  received  from 
five  to  six  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  his 
crop,  and  says  that  if  he  had  confined  him- 
self to  a  judicious  selection  of  varieties,  his 
crop  would  now  bring  him  over  $2,000  a 
year. 

These  are,  of  course,  special  cases,  but  in" 
stances  of  a  similar  kind  might  be  multiplied 
almost  indefinitely,  showing  that  where  good 
judgment  and  skill  are  used,  success  is  com- 
paratively sure.  No  other  country  offers 
such  opportunities  to  the  scientific  pomol- 
ogist,  or  to  the  farmer,  for  the  growth  of 
apples  and  pears,  and  it  is  not  probable  that 
the  supply  will  reach  the  demand  for  many 
years  to  come. 

Nor  has  the  culture  of  the  cranberry,  and 
other  smaller  fruits,  been  neglected.  The 
practical  cultivation  of  the  cranberry  is  of 
very  recent  date,  having  commenced  on  Cape 
Cod,  where  several  hundred  acres  of  culti- 
vated plants  are  now  in  profitable  bearing 
condition.  Its  culture  is  rapidly  extending 
to  other  parts  of  the  country,  where  suitable 
lands  exist. 

The  census  of  1840,  the  first  to  take  note 
of  the  extent  and  value  of  the  orchard  and 
garden  products  of  the  country,  makes  the 
fruit  crop  of  that  year,  or  rather  of  1839,  to 
be  $7,256,904,  in  addition  to  124,734  gallons 
of  domestic  wine.  The  census  of  1850  states 
the  amount  of  orchard  products  at  $7,723,- 
186,  and  221,249  gallons  of  domestic  wine, 
showing  an  increase  of  only  $466,282  in  the 
value  of  fruit,  and  96,515  gallons  of  wine. 
This  was  thought  by  some  to  be  too  low,  but  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  interest  in 
fruit  culture,  now  so  very  general  and  wide- 
spread, had  hardly  begun  in  1840,  and 
though  it  rapidly  increased,  so  that  young 
orchards  had  very  greatly  multiplied  all  over 
the  country  in  1 850,  they  had  not  then  come 
into  full  bearing.  Nor  was  the  manufacture 


of  wine  any  thing  like  so  extensive  as  it  has 
since  become.  The  census  of  1860  wil\ 
present  us  Avith  far  more  gratifying  results. 

It  is  perfectly  proper  to  ascribe  a  large 
proportion  of  the  increase  of  orchards  and 
fruits,  and  of  the  interest  manifested  in  them, 
Avhich  for  the  last  ten  years  has  been  wholly 
without  a  precedent  in  this  country,  to  the 
influence  of  the  agricultural  exhibitions,  and 
to  the  multiplication  of  the  valuable  treatises 
and  periodicals  on  the  subject,  calling  the 
attention  of  the  people  to  the  vast  amounts 
of  money  which  had  been  spent  yearly  in 
importing  grapes,  wines,  figs,  prunes,  raisins, 
currants,  and  even  pears,*  from  foreign 
countries,  all  of  which  might  be  raised  here 
equally  well,  and  to  the  inexhaustible  treas- 
ures which  were  within  the  reach  of  every 
landholder ;  all  that  was  wanting  being  the 
proper  exertion  to  develop  them.  For  several 
years  Hovey's  Magazine  of  Horticulture  was 
the  only  periodical  exclusively  devoted  to 
the  garden  and  the  orchard,  and  that  was 
confined  chiefly  to  the  few  who  gave  their 
attention  especially  to  fruit  culture.  Previous 
to  the  appearance,  in  1845,  of  Dowuing's 
"Fruit  and  Fruit  Trees  of  America,"  Man- 
ning's "Book  of  Fruits"  and  Renwick's 
"American  Orchardist"  were  the  only  popu- 
lar works  which  had  any  considerable  circu- 
lation, the  admirable  treatises  of  Coxe,  Prince, 
and  a  very  few  others,  being  confined  chiefly 
to  professed  horticulturists  and  nurserymen. 
Downing's  work  was,  in  fact,  the  first  that  had 
a  quick  and  extensive  circulation  among  the 
people.  It  appeared  just  at  the  time  when 
the  want  of  such  a  work  began  to  be  widely 
felt ;  while  he  had  the  immense  advantage  of 
the  information  which  had  been  industriously 
accumulated  by  the  Massachusetts  and  the 
London  horticultural  societies,  and  by  the 
labors  of  some  of  the  most  noted  horticultu- 
rists in  the  country,  who  had  been  constant-" 
ly  experimenting  and  importing  new  fruits, 
multiplying  seedlings,  and  improving  the 
nomenclature  of  varieties. 

Then  appeared  Thomas'  "  American  Fruit 
Culturist,"  a  valuable  popular  work  after 
Downing's  plan,  and  Cole's  "  American  Fruit 
Book,"  a  storehouse  of  valuable  information, 
in  such  small  compass  as  to  come  within  the 
easy  means  of  every  one.  All  these  works 
contributed  largely  to  diffuse  a  more  correct 


*  So  recently  as  1851  a  considerable  quantity  of 
pears  were  actually  imported  from  France  by  the 
New  York  confectioners. 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


85 


taste,  and  to  excite  a  wide-spread  interest  in 
the  subject ;  and  they  are  entitled  to  great 
credit  as  being,  in  some  measure,  the  pio- 
neers in  this  department. 

But  yet,  though  many  grand  results  have 
already  been  obtained,  the  science  of  pomol- 
ogy is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  far  greater 
results  may  be  confidently  expected  hereafter. 

From  the  progress  in  the  cultivation  of 
fruits,  which  has  been  styled  by  some  the 
poetry  of  farming,  let  us  turn  to  the 

CULTURE    OF    TOBACCO. 

No  sooner  had  Columbus  landed  on  the 
island  of  Cuba,  in  1492,  than  a  gentlemanly 
chief  very  politely  offered  him  a  cigar.  From 
that  day  to  this  the  plant  has  grown  rapidly 
in  favor,  and  from  being  the  solace  of  the 
roaming  savage  of  America,  it  has  become  a 
luxury,  universal  as  the  habitation  of  the 
globe.  It  has  been  truly  remarked  that 
every  country  or  tribe  of  human  beings  has 
had,  from  time  immemorial,  its  own  peculiar 
narcotic,  either  aboriginal  or  imported,  and 
that  the  universal  instinct  of  the  human  race 
has  led,  somehow  or  other,  to  the  universal 
supply  of  this  want  or  craving ;  as,  for  in- 
stance, tobacco  in  America  and  its  islands ; 
the  thorn  apple,  cocoa,  tobacco,  and  hemp 
in  South  America ;  hops  and  tobacco  in 
Europe ;  hemp  in  Africa  ;  aminita,  opium, 
betel-nut,  and  tobacco  in  Asia ;  showing  that 
it  is  natural  for  man,  after  supplying  the  ne- 
cessities of  life  by  food,  to  desire  to  multiply 
his  enjoyments,  intellectual  and  animal,  and 
for  the  time  to  exalt  them ;  a^nd  we  cannot 
ascribe  so  universal  a  habit,  increasing  with 
the  growth  of  population,  to  mere  whim  or 
fancy  for  self-indulgence.  It  is,  perhaps,  a 
necessity  imposed  by  nature,  and  second 
only  to  that  greater  necessity,  the  satisfaction 
of  the  craving  of  hunger. 

Certainly,  the  extent  to  which  it  is  culti- 
vated, occupying  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
best  arable  lands  of  some  countries,  which 
are  equally  adapted  to  wheat ;  its  great  im- 
portance in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  and 
the  variety  of  ways  in  which  it  is  em- 
ployed to  gratify  the  senses,  present  a  strik- 
ing feature  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

"  Thy  quiet  spirit  lulls  the  lab'ring  brain, 
Lures  back  to  thought  the  flights  of  vacant  mirth, 
Consoles  the  mourner,  soothes  the  couch  of  pain, 
And  breathes  contentment  round  the  humble  hearth ; 
"While  savage  warriors,  soften'd  by  thy  breath, 
Unbind  the  captive  hate  had  doom'd  to  death." 

It  has  steadily  pushed  its  way  in  the  face 


of  every  opposition  which  ridicule,  prejudice, 
legislative  prohibition,  threats  of  excommu- 
nication, and  every  conceivable  persecution 
could  bring  against  it,  simply  because  nature 
demanded  its  use  in  some  form  or  other. 
The  celebrated  Locke  took  a  more  rational 
view,  and  said,  "  Bread  or  tobacco  may  be 
neglected,  but  reason  at  first  recommends 
their  trial,  and  custom  makes  them  pleasant." 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  "the  most  high  and 
mightie  prince,"  James  I.,  by  the  grace  of 
God  king  of  Great  Britain,  "  a  slave  to  vices 
which  could  not  fail  to  make  him  an  object 
of  disgust,"  took  a  different  view  of  the  prev- 
alent practice,  and  wrote  a  "Counterblaste  to 
Tobacco,"  stigmatizing  its  use  as  "  A  custom 
loathsome  to  the  eye,  hateful  to  the  nose, 
harmful  to  the  brain,  dangerous  to  the  lungs, 
and  in  the  black,  stinking  fume  thereof 
nearest  resembling  the  horrible  Stygian  smoke 
of  the  pit  that  is  bottomless."  Every  thing 
which  is  really  and  truly  founded  in  nature 
and  reason,  however  mysteriously,  will 
ultimately  prevail,  whoever  sets  himself  up 
to  oppose  it ;  and  the  progress  of  the  culture 
and  use  of  this  plant  is  an  instance  of  it. 
King  James  wrote  in  1616,  and  in  1624 
Pope  Urban  VIII.  published  a  decree  of  ex- 
communication against  all  in  the  church 
who  took  snuff;  and  in  1634  smoking  tobacco 
was  prohibited  in  Russia  under  penalty  of 
having  the  nose  cut  off;  and  in  Transylvania 
the  penalty  for  growing  this  plant  was  a  coi»« 
fiscation  of  the  farmer's  whole  property ;  and 
even  so  recently  as  1719  the  senate  of  Stras- 
burg  forbade  the  cultivation  of  it,  from 
the  fear  of  its  diminishing  the  culture  of 
corn.  But  "  they  manage  things  better  in 
France,"  and  the  far-sighted  Richelieu  im- 
posed upon  it  a  duty,  very  small  at  first, 
which  continued  till  1674,  when  the  govern- 
ment of  Louis  XIV.  increased  the  duty,  and 
made  the  culture  and  trade  in  tobacco  a 
monopoly,  and  granted  it  to  an  individual 
for  six  years,  in  consideration  of  the  payment 
to  the  government  of  the  large  sum  of  $145,- 
000.  Inl720the  consideration  was  increased 
more  than  1 00  per  cent.,  and  in  1 77 1  it  amount- 
ed to  $5,500,000  a  year.  In  1844  the  rev- 
enue from  tobacco  alone  yielded  the  French 
government  the  enormous  sum  of  $20,000,- 
000,  and  it  has  since  constantly  increased  on 
an  average  from  half  a  million  to  a  million 
dollars  a  year.  So  much  for  Richelieu ;  and 
it  must  be  admitted,  even  by  the  most  prej- 
udiced opponents  of  tobacco,  that  this  policy 
was  more  sensible  than  $at  of  his  neighbors 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


who  mutilated,  and  some  of  whom  cut  off 
the  heads  of  all  smokers. 

The  English  first  saw  it  cultivated,  and 
smoked  in  clay  pipes,  by  the  Indians  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  1585,  and  it  was  probably  intro- 
duced into  England  by  Ealeigh,  as  early  as 
1586.  In  1615,  the  gardens,  fields,  and 
streets  of  Jamestown,  Virginia,  were  planted 
with  tobacco,  and  it  became  not  only  the 
great  staple,  but,  according  to  Bancroft,  the 
chief  currency  of  the  colony,  and  in  1622 
the  product  was  60,000  pounds.  During 
the  next  twenty  years  it  doubled,  and 
amounted  to  120,000  pounds,  and  since 
1689  the  produce  of  Virginia  alone  has  in- 
creased to  twice  as  many  millions  of  pounds. 

The  introduction  of  tobacco  culture  into 
the  Dutch  colony  of  New  York  took  place 
as  early  as  1646,  and  it  sold  then  at  forty 
cents  a  pound.  The  "Company  of  the 
West"  introduced  it  into  Louisiana  in  1718. 
Previous  to  the  revolutionary  war  its  culture 
had  extended  into  Maryland,  the  Carolinas, 
Georgia,  and  Louisiana,  and  nearly  all  Europe 
was,  at  that  time,  supplied  from  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  Since  that  time  the  cultiva- 
tion has  greatly  extended  in  this  country, 
not  only  into  new  states  and  territories,  but 
in  the  aggregate  amount  raised.  The  quan- 
tity exported  has  also  very  largely  increased. 
The  amount  consumed  in  Great  Britain  alone 
exceeds  35,000,000  pounds,  and  that,  too,with 
a  duty  of  about  seventy-five  cents  a  pound. 

The  annual  export  from  the  colonies  for 
ten  years  previous  to  1709  was  28,868,666 
pounds.  From  1744  to  1776  the  exports 
of  tobacco  averaged  40,000,000  pounds 
a  year.  The  tobacco  exported  from  Vir- 
ginia in  1758  is  said  to  have  been  no  less 
than  75,000  hogsheads,  and  from  that  tune 
till  the  Revolution,  the  amount  averaged 
55,000  hogsheads  a  year.  About  30,000 
hogsheads  were  shipped  from  City  Point,  in 
Virginia,  in  1791,  and  in  1795  the  amount 
fell  to  9,475  hogsheads.  There  were  export- 
ed from  North  Carolina  100  hogsheads  in 
1753,  while  from  Georgia,  in  1722,  there 
were  shipped  176,732  hogsheads.  South 
Carolina  exported  2,680  hogsheads  in  1783, 
and  4,294  in  1795.  The  quantity  exported 
from  Philadelphia  in  1796  was  3,437  hogs- 
heads. 

According  to  the  census  of  1840,  the 
amount  raised  in  the  United  States  was  219,- 
163,319  pounds.  The  census  of  1850  re- 
turned but  199,752,655  pounds,  showing  a 
decrease  of  19,410,664  pounds.  There  has, 


no  doubt,  been  a  considerable  increase  in  its 
production  throughout  the  country,  notwith- 
standing an  apparent  falling  off  as  shown  by 
the  census.  The  crop  is  liable  to  many  cas- 
ualties— to  damage  by  insects,  hail,  drought, 
frosts,  or  an  otherwise  bad  season  at  harvest- 
ing— so  that  the  product  of  any  one  year, 
like  that  of  1849,  on  which  the  returns  of  the 
last  census  were  based,  cannot  be  taken  as  a 
fair  annual  average.  So  great  is  the  demand 
for  home  consumption  and  for  foreign  export- 
ation, that  the  profits  of  tobacco  are  usually 
very  great,  operating  as  a  constant  stimulus 
to  a  more  extended  culture. 

Of  the  amount  returned  by  the  last  cen- 
sus, Virginia  raised  56,893,218  pounds,  and 
Kentucky  55,501,196  pounds,  making,  to- 
gether, more  than  half  of  all  that  was  raised 
in  the  United  States.  But  since  1849  the 
use  of  guano  has  become  far  more  extensive 
than  it  had  previously  been,  and  the  yield 
of  this  ravenous  crop  on  the  lands  said  to 
have  become  exhausted  from  long-continued 
culture,  has  been  very  greatly  enlarged  in 
consequence.  In  the  meantime,  its  cultiva- 
tion has  gradually  been  extending  north- 
ward, and  the  produce  of  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts  has  been  much  increased. 
The  produce,  of  the  latter  state  has,  proba- 
bly, been  more  than  quadrupled  within  the 
last  five  years. 

Tobacco  is  usually  called  an  exhausting 
crop.  This  depends  very  much  upon  the 
kind  and  quantity  of  manure  used.  If  the 
mineral  constituents  taken  from  the  soil,  and 
represented  in  the  ash  of  the  plant,  are  sup- 
plied by  judicious  cultivation,  there  is  little 
difficulty  in  cultivating  and  producing  large 
crops,  and  it  is  a  common  remark  of  the 
best  farmers  along  the  Connecticut  river,  that 
wheat  or  any  other  crop  will  follow  tobacco, 
even  better  than  most  other  crops,  for  the 
reason  that  the  high  manuring  for  tobacco 
keeps  the  land  in  good  heart.  But  the 
planters  in  Virginia  cultivated  it  for  many 
years  in  succession  on  the  same  lands,  with- 
out supplying  a  sufficiency  of  manure.  The 
land,  of  course,  must  feel  the  loss  in  time, 
and  the  yield,  previous  to  the  introduction  of 
guano,  had  dwindled  down  in  many  locali- 
ties so  as  not  to  pay  the  producer.  Every 
ton  of  tobacco,  perfectly  dried,  carries  off 
some  three  or  four  hundred  weight  of  these 
most  important  mineral  substances,  and  it 
should  be  the  aim  of  the  farmer  to  supply 
them  liberally,  if  he  expects  a  liberal  reward 
in  an  abundant  harvest. 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  geographical  distribution  of  the 
product,  the  amount  of  which  has  already 
been  stated,  was  nearly  as  follows :  The 
south  raised  185,023,906  pounds,  valued 
at  $18,505,390.  The  west  raised  12,358,- 
879  pounds,  valued  at  $1,236,886.  The 
north  raised  2,383,208  pounds,  valued  at 
$238,320. 

In  this  connection,  it  would  be  a  matter 
of  no  small  interest  to  ascertain,  if  possible, 
the  number  of  hands  the  cultivation,  curing, 
and  the  various  processes  of  manufacture 
give  employment  to.  It  is,  unquestionably, 
very  large  in  this  country,  but  the  census 
does  not  appear  to  state  it.  In  the  city  of 
Hamburg  (Q-ermany)  alone,  this  manufac- 
ture gives  employment  to  upward  of  10r- 
000  persons,  and  it  supplies  150,000,000 
cigars  a  year,  with  a  value  of  $2,000,000 
— a  matter  of  no  small  importance.  Ham- 
burg imports  from  Havana  and  Manilla 
about  1 8,000,000  cigars  a  year ;  and, 
with  its  own  production,  the  aggregate 
number  is  168,000,000  cigars.  153,000,- 
000  of  these  are  exported,  and  the  re- 
mainder, or  15,000,000,  are  consumed  in 
that  city;  giving  40,000  as  the  daily  con- 
sumption, in  a  population  of  45,000  male 
adults.  The  consumption  of  tobacco  in 
England  in  1821,  with  a  population  of  21,- 
282,960,  was  no  less  than  15,598,152  pounds, 
or  12  ounces  per  head  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion. In  1831,  with  a  population  of  24,- 
410,439,  the  consumption  reached  19,533,- 
841  pounds,  or  13  ounces  per  head.  In 
1841,  with  a  population  of  27,019,672,  the 
consumption  Avas  22,309,360  pounds,  or  13i 
ounces  per  head.  And  in  1851,  popula- 
tion 2 7, 452, 692, the  consumption  of  tobacco 
was  28,062,841  pounds,  or  17  ounces  per 
head,  showing  a  steady  increase.  In  France 
the  consumption  amounts  to  I8h  ounces  per 
head,  nearly  half  of  which  is  in  the  form 
of  snuff.  The  consumption  of  Denmark,  in 
1848,  amounted  to  70  ounces  per  head,  or 
4i  pounds.  In  Belgium,  it  averages  at  the 
present  time  about  73i  ounces  per  head. 
The  average  consumption  of  tobacco  by  the 
whole  human  race  of  1,000,000,000,  is  70 
ounces  a  head,  the  quantity  consumed  being 
2,000,000  tons,  or  4,480,000,000  pounds. 
"  The  annual  production  of  tobacco  weighs 
as  much,"  says  a  popular  writer  on  this  sub- 
ject, "as  the  wheat  consumed  by  ten  mil- 
lions of  Englishmen ;  and  its  money  value 
is  as  great  as  that  of  all  the  wheat  consumed 
in  Great  Britain." 


But  as  it  is  estimated  that  the  earth  is 
capable  of  supporting  a  thousand  times 
more  people  than  at  present  exist,  the  large 
consumption  of  this  plant  need  not  alarm 
those  who  eschew  it,  especially  as  the  con- 
sumption of  tea  and  coffee,  thought  by  some 
to  be  equally  deleterious,  is  even  greater  and 
more  universal. 

That  the  lands  of  Virginia  should  have 
become  impoverished  from  long-continued 
cropping,  without  a  supply  of  manure,  is  not 
a  matter  of  surprise,  when  we  consider  the 
length  of  time  in  which  that  process  was 
going  on,  and  that,  instead  of  consuming 
the  product  on  the  ground,  or  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, it  was  mostly  exported  for  con- 
sumption to  foreign  countries  ;  but  it  is  not 
the  fact  that  the  soils,  now  said  to  be  im- 
poverished, were  ever  so  rich  as  the  prairies 
and  river  bottoms  of  many  sections  of  the 
west,  with  which  they  are  so  often  compared. 
Still,  the  tendency  of  farming  in  a  sparse 
population  is  to  deterioration,  from  the  very 
fact  that  the  bulk  of  farm  produce  must  be 
sent  off  the  farm  in  exchange  for  other  com- 
modities. The  most  profitable  farming,  in 
the  long  run,  is  that  which  combines  various 
kinds  of  produce,  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  which  must  of  necessity  be  con- 
sumed on  the  farm  itself,  or  at  least  near 
home.  Where  the  population  is  sparse, 
and  there  is  no  demand  at  home  for  farm 
produce,  the  farmer  is  compelled  to  raise 
such  articles  as  will  bear  distant  transporta- 
tion, and  follow  this  course  year  after  year. 
He  cannot,  if  he  would,  grow  the  articles 
which  would  be  the  least  exhausting  to  his 
land.  The  Virginia  tobacco  planter  of  the 
last  century  and  the  early  part  of  the 
present,  had  no  means  of  restoring  the  fer- 
tility of  his  soils  by  supplying  the  vast 
amount  of  mineral  constituents  which  the 
constant  cropping  and  removal  by  transpor- 
tation took  away  from  his  farm.  He  could 
not,  or  would  not  keep  much  stock  to  sup- 
ply sufficient  manure  ;  and  if  he  kept  stock, 
the  winters  were  mild,  and  they  were  never 
housed  and  so  managed  as  to  produce  much 
manure.  Cattle  allowed  constantly  to  run 
at  large,  and  browse  in  the  woods  summer 
and  winter,  would  do  little  to  prevent  the 
deterioration  of  the  soil.  It  would  have 
been  better  for  the  land  if  the  planter  had 
been  obliged  to  cultivate  and  cut  grasses 
for  winter  fodder,  and  then  keep  up  his 
stock  to  consume  it.  The  Belgian  proverb 
is  everywhere  true :  "  No  grass,  no  cattle ; 


88 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


no  cattle,  no  manure ;  no  manure,  no  crops." 
The  worst '  effect  of  a  system  of  exchange 
of  agricultural  products  with  other  nations, 
by  which  we  receive  their  manufactured 
goods,  which  possess  great  value  in  propor- 
tion to  their  bulk  and  the  raw  material  con- 
sumed in  them,  is  that  we  send  off  annually  to 
them  thousands  of  tons  of  the  highest  fer- 
tilizing elements,  which  nature  requires 
should  be  again  returned  to  the  land  in  the 
form  of  manure.  But  we  are  sending  off 
$35,000,000  worth  of  breadstuff's,  and  other 
products,  like  tobacco,  in  addition,  which  in 
themselves  must  of  necessity  draw  largely 
upon  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  while  we  do 
not  pretend  to  make  an  adequate  return  of 
fertilizing  substances  to  it. 

Other  nations,  like  England,  for  instance, 
importing  thirty  millions  worth  of  bread- 
stuffs,  have  the  benefit  of  their  consump- 
tion, in  addition  to  which  they  are  constantly 
importing  manures  of  every  description. 
While  we  are  constantly,  and  without  stint, 
shipping  off  a  continual  stream  of  the  most 
valuable  manures  concentrated  in  the  form  of 
our  cotton,  our  tobacco,  our  wheat,  and  In- 
dian corn,  they,  with  ceaseless  care,  are  hus- 
banding the  fertility  which  these  naturally 
carry  along  with  them,  and  adding  vast 
quantities  of  guano,  bones,  phosphates,  etc. 
They  reap  the  harvest  in  soils  growing  richer 
and  richer.  We  may  make  individual  profits, 
which  go,  for  the  most  part,  into  the  hands 
of  middle  men,  and  leave  our  farms  to  reap 
the  shadow. 

The  inevitable  tendency  of  exchanging  the 
produce  of  the  soil  for  manufactured  articles 
has  always  been,  and  always  will  be,  to  im- 
poverish the  nation  that  does  it,  unless  there 
is  care  and  forethought  enough  to  import  an 
amount  of  fertilizing  substances  equal  to 
what  we  send  away ;  and  this  cannot  be. 
The  farmer  himself  does  not  want  it  so.  If 
he  sends  wheat  enough  to  half  feed  a  foreign 
mechanic  or  operative  in  the  city  of  Sheffield 
or  Manchester,  he  would  infinitely  rather 
sell  him  enough  to  feed  him  in  full  nearer 
home ;  and  it  would  be  better  for  him  and 
for  the  nation  to  have  it  so. 

CULTURE  OF  HOPS. 

Of  the  crops  which  still  remain  to  be  men- 
tioned, and  which  help  make  up  the  ag- 
gregate of  the  products  of  American  agricul- 
ture, that  of  the  hop  forms  no  unimportant 
item,  since,  besides  the  quantity  required  for 
export,  which,  to  be  sure,  is  not  very  large, 


it  enters  more  or  less  into  the  consumption 
of  almost  every  family  in  the  country. 

This  plant,  like  many  others,  dates  its  in- 
troduction to  this  country  almost  back  to  its 
first  settlement ;  for  we  read  in  the  records 
of  the  colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  that 
"  hop  rootes"  were  ordered  by  the  governor 
and  company  as  early  as  1628  or  1629,  and 
though  it  was  for  many  years  cultivated  only 
on  a  very  limited  scale  for  family  consump- 
tion, yet  no  doubt  it  has  continued  as  one  of 
the  cultivated  plants  of  the  country  from 
that  day  to  this.  It  was  introduced  and  cul- 
tivated by  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  York 
as  early  as  1646,  and  it  is  known  to  have 
been  brought  into  Virginia  previous  to  1648. 
In  1657  its  culture  was  encouraged  by  legis- 
lative enactments. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
the  amount  cultivated  in  New  England  was 
extremely  limited.  Thirty  thousand  pounds, 
perhaps,  comprised  the  entire  crop  of  that 
section,  increasing  some  years  to  fifty  thou- 
sand. The  mode  of  picking  and  drying  was 
objectionable  and  defective.  The  hops  were 
picked  in  clusters,  with  the  stems  and  leaves 
often  thrown  in  ;  while  the  drying  was  uni- 
versally done  with  wood,  and  when  taken 
from  the  kiln  they  were  "  brown  as  a  leg  of 
bacon  and  about  as  much  smoked." 

The  first  use  of  charcoal  for  drying  hops 
in  this  country  was  probably  in  1791,  when 
it  was  tried,  only  on  a  very  limited  scale,  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  Scotch  brewer,  and  pro- 
duced the  most  beautiful  kiln  of  hops  that 
had  ever  been  dried  in  America.  It  was 
owing  to  this  improvement  in  the  picking 
and  drying  that  the  demand  for  the  article 
rapidly  increased,  soon  doubled  and  tripled, 
and  slips  or  cuttings  to  form  new  plantations 
soon  rose  to  exorbitant  prices.  It  had  been 
the  universal  custom,  previous  to  that  time,- 
to  pack  the  hops  in  round  bags,  without  any 
uniformity  in  length  or  size,  and  they  were 
trodden  down  with  the  feet  in  a  rude  man- 
The  consequence  was  that  the  tops 


ner. 


were  bruised  and  broken,  causing  great  loss 
in  the  strength  and  value  of  the  hops  by 
evaporation  of  the  essential  juices  of  the 
plant,  its  most  valuable  properties,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  impossibility  of  packing  closely 
for  transportation.  The  use  of  square  bales 
was  introduced  in  1797,  or  the  year  after, 
and  the  use  of  screws  in  packing  was  then 
commenced.  The  superiority  of  this  mode 
soon  became  so  apparent,  that  it  was  gener- 
ally adopted  not  long  after.  Previous  to  this 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


time,  also,  difficulties  not  unfrequently  arose 
between  merchants,  from  the  fact  that  old 
and  refuse  hops  were  found  mixed  in  with 
the  good  ones,  while  no  proper  distinction 
was  made  between  the  different  grades  or 
qualities.  Vexatious  lawsuits  sometimes  re- 
sulted from  these  circumstances,  and  the 
price  of  good  hops  was  naturally  lower  than 
it  otherwise  would  have  been.  The  legisla- 
ture of  Massachusetts,  to  remedy  these  evils 
so  far  as  they  existed  in  that  section  of  the 
country,  created  the  office  of  inspector- 
general  of  hops  in  the  year  1806.  It  was 
the  first  movement  of  the  kind  in  the  coun- 
try, and,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  the  first 
of  the  kind  in  the  world. 

But  there  were  no  precedents  for  classify- 
ing hops,  and  some  system  was  to  be  adopt- 
ed. Some  hop  dealers  and  many  hop  grow- 
ers were  opposed  to  a  high  standard  of  in- 
spection. Many  difficulties  of  a  personal 
nature  had  to  be  encountered ;  but,  owing  to 
the  conscientious  use  of  the  "  first-sort" 
brand,  the  hops  raised  in  that  part  of  the 
country  soon  became  noted  as  the  best  by 
far  in  the  United  States.  By  adopting  a 
high  standard  of  inspection,  the  growers 
were  soon  brought  to  improve  their  hops,  in 
order  to  bring  them  up  to  the  "  first  sort," 
and  the  facts  and  character  of  such  an  official 
inspection  becoming  immediately  known  in 
Europe,  those  who  sent  orders  from  there 
required  hops  of  Massachusetts  inspection, 
and  they  in  consequence  commanded  a  cent 
or  two  on  a  pound  more  than  those  of  any 
other  state.  It  is  for  the  interest  both  of 
the  grower  and  the  dealer  that  the  truth 
should  be  stamped  on  every  bale. 

The  profit, of  raising  hops  must,  of  course, 
depend  largely  upon  the  foreign  demand, 
and  as  that  is  extremely  fluctuating,  the  price 
of  this  crop  is  fluctuating  and  uncertain. 
The  consequence  has  been  a  decline  in  the 
cultivation,  in  some  sections  of  the  country, 
while  in  others  it  has  largely  increased.  As 
an  instance  of  the  fluctuation  of  prices  and 
the  foreign  demand,  it  may  be  stated  that 
the  exportation  in  1849-50  amounted  to 
1,275,455  pounds,  valued  at  $142,692; 
while  the  very  next  year,  1850-51,  it  fell 
off"  to  110,360  pounds,  valued  at  $11,636, 
only. 

It  may  be  stated,  however,  that  notwith- 
standing the  great  fluctuations,  the  crop  in- 
creased from  1,238,502  pounds  in  1840,  to 
3,497,029  pounds  in  1850  ;  showing  a  gain 
of  2,258,527  pounds. 


The  geographical  distribution  of  this  crop, 
as  returned  by  the  last  censas,  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

The  south  raised  33,780  pounds,  valued 
at  $5,067. 

The  west  raised  194,961  pounds,  valued 
at  $29,244. 

The  north-  raised  3,268,215  pounds,  val- 
ued at  $490,232.  New  England  raised  707,- 
743  pounds,  and  New  York  2,536,299.  Bal- 
ance raised  in  other  states,  252,987  pounds. 
The  crop  of  1855  was  estimated  by  the  sec- 
retary of  the  treasury  as  nearly  five  millions 
of  pounds. 

CULTURE    OF   FLAX   AND    HEMP. 

Like  most  of  the  crops  already  mentioned, 
both  flax  and  hemp  were  introduced  into  the 
colonies  very  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the 
country.  Flax  was  taken  to  Holland  from 
the  Dutch  settlement  of  Manhattan  Island, 
or  New  York,  as  early  as  1626.  The  gov- 
ernor and  company  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  New  England,  also  ordered  both 
flax  and  hemp  seed  in  1628,  if  not,  indeed, 
as  was  probably  the  case,  at  an  earlier  date. 
Hemp  was  very  soon  abandoned,  as  the  land 
was  not  found  strong  enough  for  it. 

Hemp  and  flax  were  raised  in  Virginia 
prior  to  the  year  1648,  as  we  read  of  their  be- 
ing woven  and  spun  there ;  and  bounties 
were  offered  for  the  culture  of  hemp  in  1651, 
and  of  flax  in  1657 ;  but  the  culture  fell  off 
as  soon  as  the  bounties  were  discontinued. 

But  flax  was  pretty  generally  cultivated  in 
small  quantities  for  home  consumption,  in 
most  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  not  only 
raised,  but  manufactured  at  home,  and  form- 
ed a  most  important  article  in  the  domestic 
economy  of  the  days  of  homespun.  In  1 745, 
some  Irish  emigrants  arrived  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  established  an  improved  mode  of 
manufacturing  linen  and  other  "spinning- 
work,"  and  they  met  with  some  success. 
Manufactories  were  established  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  for  making  sail-cloth,  as  early  as 
1790. 

In  1751  no  less  than  14,000  pounds  of 
hemp  were  exported  from  New  Jersey,  and 
the  next  year,  1752,  the  amount  of  flax- 
seed  exported  from  Philadelphia  was  70,- 
000  bushels.  This  amount  rose,  in  1767, 
to  84,658  bushels;  and  in  1771  to  110,- 
412  bushels.  New  York  exported  12,528 
hogsheads  of  this  seed  in  the  year  1755. 
The  total  amount  exported  from  the  Ainerir 
can  colonies  in  1770  was  312,612  bushels. 


90 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


In  1791  the  United  States  exported  292,- 
460  bushels  of  flax-seed;  in  1800  the  ex- 
port was  289,684  bushels,  and  240,579  bush- 
els in  1810.  The  culture  of  these  crops 
grew  up  more  rapidly  at  the  west,  and  ex- 
tensive factories  were  established  for  the 
manufacture  of  cordage,  bagging,  etc.,  in 
Louisville,  Lexington,  Frankfort,  and  other 
places  in  Kentucky,  as  early  as  1 810.  Hemp, 
in  fact,  has  become  a  staple  crop  in  the  west. 

According  to  the  census  of  1840,  about 
97,251  tons  of  flax  and  hemp  were  raised. 
In  1850  the  two  products  were  returned 
separately  as  34,871  tons  of  hemp,  7,709,- 
676  pounds  of  flax,  and  562,312  bushels  of 
flax-seed.  The  decrease  in  the  aggregate 
growth  of  fibre  was  thus  shown  to  be  about 
56,000  tons.  The  total  value  of  both  crops 
does  not  vary  much  from  five  millions  of 
dollars. 

Of  the  crop  returned  in  1850,  the  distri- 
bution was  as  follows : — 

The  south  raised  34,673  tons  of  hemp, 
worth  about  $3,833,376;  and  4,768,198 
pounds  of  flax,  worth  $476,619. 

The  west  raised  150  tons  of  hemp,  and 
1,330,859  pounds  of  flax;  worth  $133,085. 

The  north  raised  443,370  tons  of  hemp, 
worth  $22,178;  and  1,717,4*19  pounds  of 
flax,  worth  $171,742. 

THE    CULTURE    OF    SILK. 

The  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  silk 
has  never  been  extensively  carried  on  in 
this  country,  though  introduced  at  a  very 
early  date — as  early,  in  fact,  as  the  first  set- 
tlement of  Virginia.  James  I.  showed  a  de- 
sire to  favor  this  branch  of  industry,  equalled 
only  by  his  antipathy  to  the  growth  of  to- 
bacco. It  did  not  succeed  at  first,  however, 
and  in  1651  another  spasmodic  effort  was 
made  to  revive  it,  but  it  was  to  little  effect, 
and  it  never  prospered  there. 

Silk  culture  was  commenced  in  Louisiana 
by  the  Company  of  the  West,  in  17 18.  It 
was  introduced  into  Georgia  in  1732.  A 
special  act  of  Parliament  was  required  to 
keep  up  the  interest  in  it,  in  1749,  exempt- 
ing the  producer  from  paying  duties,  etc. 

Connecticut  began  the  raising  of  silk  in 
1760,  and  in  1783  the  legislature  of  that 
state  passed  an  act,  granting  a  bounty  on 
mulberry  trees  and  the  production  of  silk. 

About  the  year  1830  an  excitement  was 
got  up  by  interested  speculators,  which  was 
so  adroitly  managed  that  it  became  general 
over  the  country,  till  it  died  under  the  name 


of  the  "Morus  Multicaulis"  fever,  in  1845. 
Even  under  the  encouragement  of  the  gov- 
ernment, all  the  raw  silk  Georgia  could  ex- 
port in  1750  was  118  pounds;  in  1765  it 
was  only  138  pounds;  in  1770,  290  pounds. 
The  census  of  1840  returned  the  amount  of 
silk  cocoons  at  61,552  pounds;  and  this 
quantity  had  fallen  off  in  1850  to  10,843 
pounds  ;  being  a  decrease  of  46,789  pounds 
in  ten  years. 

BEE    CULTURE. 

The  production  of  honey  and  the  man- 
agement of  bees  receives  comparatively  lit- 
tle attention  in  this  country.  So  little,  in- 
deed, as  hardly  to  be  worthy  of  mention 
among  the  products  of  our  nat;onal  agricul- 
ture ;  and  yet  they  form  an  important  item 
in  the  domestic  economy  of  many  a  house- 
hold, and  ought  to  receive  all  the  attention 
they  deserve. 

The  amount  of  beeswax  and  honey  re- 
turned by  the  census  of  1850  was  14,853,- 
790  pounds.  It  is  hoped  that  greater  results 
will  appear  from  this  delightful  occupation 
than  it  is  possible  at  the  present  time  to  re- 
cord. 

The  distribution  of  the  production  of 
honey  and  wax,  as  returned  by  the  last  cen- 
sus, was  as  follows : — 

The  southern  states,  including  also  Ken- 
tucky and  Missouri,  produced  7,964,760 
pounds,  which  were  valued  at  $1,194,714. 

The  western  states  produced  3,401,078 
pounds,  valued  at  $510,140. 

The  northern  states  produced  3,487,290 
pounds,  valued  at  $523,093. 

POULTRY    AND    EGGS. 

The  value  of  the  poultry  kept  in  the  Unit- 
ed States,  and  the  production  of  eggs,  con- 
stitutes a  much  larger  item  of  our  agricul- 
tural economy  than  is  generally  supposed: 
The  value  of  poultry,  according  to  the  census 
of  1840,  was  no  less  than  $12,176,170.  This 
sum,  great  as  it  appears,  has  been  increased 
to  some  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars.  The 
city  of  New  York  alone  pays  about  two 
millions  of  dollars  a  year  for  eggs.  And  so  the 
other  large  cities  require  a  supply  in  propor- 
tion. 

The  keeping  of  poultry,  therefore,  is  by 
no  means  an  insignificant  item  in  the  prod- 
ucts of  our  agriculture,  though  for  some 
reason  or  other  the  last  census  failed  to  take 
cognizance  of  it. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  introduc- 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


91 


tion  of  foreign  varieties  of  fowls  effected  an 
improvement  in  the  common  stock  of  the 
country.  The  excitement  produced  by  de- 
signing men  may  have  had  the  effect  to 
increase  the  interest  and  knowledge  in  this 
branch  of  husbandry,  which,  so  far,  may  be 
set  down  as  a  positive  benefit  to  the  country, 
but  further  than  that,  it  is  difficult  to  say 
what  benefit  resulted  from  it.  For  a  time, 
indeed,  the  number  of  fowls  was  very  largely 
increased,  but  the  product  of  eggs  did  not 
increase  in  proportion. 

The  keeping  of  poultry,  like  that  of  bees, 
may  be  set  down  as  among  the  means  of 
making  the  farm  attractive,  in  addition  to 
the  actual  profit  which  may  be  derived  from 
keeping  a  limited  number  of  choice  fowls, 
and  the  production  of  eggs  for  family  use. 

THE    LUMBER    BUSINESS. 

The  growth  and  preparation  of  lumber 
does  not,  perhaps,  come  strictly  within  the 
range  of  what  is  understood  by  agricultural 
products.  But  the  primary  operations  in- 
volved are  to  a  large  extent  undertaken  by 
farmers,  as  a  part  of  winter's  work,  and 
lumber  forms  no  unimportant  item  in  the 
clearing  up  and  the  preparation  of  land  for 
tillage.  It  is,  therefore,  proper  enough  to 
allude  to  it  in  connection  with  the  progress 
of  our  agriculture. 

Volney  represented  the  surface  of  this 
country  as  one  vast  forest,  diversified,  oc- 
casionally, by  cultivated  intervals.  Since  his 
time  the  woodman's  axe,  guided  by  a  ruth- 
less hand,  has  reversed  the  picture  to  some 
extent,  but  still  the  number  and  variety 
of  our  forest  trees  abundantly  testify  the 
bounty  of  nature. 

Originally,  indeed,  an  almost  unbroken 
forest  covered  a  large  proportion,  not  only 
of  this  country,  but  of  the  whole  continent. 
The  Indian  tribes  were  far  less  populous 
than  is  generally  supposed;  and  if  we  except 
the  prairie  lands  of  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, but  a  small  portion  of  the  surface 
of  our  present  territory  was  destitute  of 
timber  trees. 

"  Then  all  this  youthful  paradise  around, 
And  all  the  broad  and  boundless  mainland,  lay 

Cooled  by  the  interminable  wood,  that  frowned 
O'er  mount  and  vale,  where  never  summer  ray 
Glanced  till  the  strong  tornado  broke  its  way 

Through  the  gray  giants  of  the  sylvan  wild  ; 
Yet  many  a  sheltered  glade,  with  blossoms  gay, 

Beneath  the  showering  sky  and  sunshine  mild, 

Within  the   shaggy  arms  of  that  dark  forest 
smiled." 

6 


It  was  stated  by  Michaux  that  there  were 
in  the  United  States  one  hundred  and  forty 
species  of  forest  trees  which  attain  a  greater 
height  than  thirty  feet,  while  in  France 
there  were  only  eighteen  of  the  same  de- 
scription. An  English  traveller,  writing  of 
this  country,  says  :  "  I  was  never  tired  of 
the  forest  scenery  of  America,  although  I 
passed  through  it  from  day  to  day.  The 
endless  diversity  of  foliage  always  prevents 
it  from  being  monotonous."  But  the  sur- 
passing beauty  which  the  forests  add  to  our 
natural  scenery  is  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  solid  advantages  which  are  derived  from 
the  immense  variety,  as  well  as  the  quantity 
of  their  timber. 

The  forest  scenery  of  this  country  be- 
yond the  Alleghany  mountains,  and  from 
them  to  the  Mississippi  river,  has  been 
invaded  to  a  less  extent  than  in  the  older 
settled  portions,  and  there  are  still  vast 
tracts  remaining  uncleared.  Trees  of  gigan- 
tic height  and  dimensions,  standing  in  the 
richest  mould,  which  has  been  accumulating 
for  ages,  and  surrounded  with  a  luxuriance 
of  vegetation  very  rarely  seen  in  the  easteiai 
states,  carry  the  mind  back  to  a  period  long 
anterior  to  the  discovery  of  the  country, 
and  fill  the  beholder  with  awe  by  their 
grandeur. 

To  these  forests,  as  they  once  stood,  over 
a  large  portion  of  the  country,  we  have  been 
indebted  for  mucli  of  our  growth  and  pros- 
perity as  a  nation  !  How  much  do  we  not 
owe  to  one  species  of  these  majestic  trees — 
the  white  pine  ?  Michaux  observed  that 
throughout  the  northern  states,  except  in 
the  large  capitals,  seven-tenths  of  the  houses 
are  of  wood,  of  which  seven-tenths,  three- 
quarters  are  of  white  pine.  He  might  have 
said  nine-tenths  were  built  of  wood,  ai^d 
come  within  the  truth,  though  at  the  time 
he  visited  this  country,  fifty  years  ago,  many 
houses  had  been  constructed,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, of  hard  wood. 

The  new  settlers  had  to  enter  and  fell  the 
forests,  and  burn  and  clear  their  lands  as  a 
preliminary  preparation,  and  thousands  of 
acres  were  thus  brought  under  culture,  the 
timber  being  of  too  little  value  to  pay  for 
saving.  It  was  in  vain  that  statutes  were 
passed  a  hundred  years  ago  and  more,  to 
prevent  the  cutting  of  trees  suitable  for  ship 
timber.  Private  rights  could  not  be  invaded 
in  the  colonies,  and  down  the  forests  came. 
The  value  of  the  forests  for  timber  during 
the  time  of  limited  and  scattered  population 


92 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


was  but. little,  and  it  could  not  be  transport- 
ed to  great  distances. 

The  lumber  business,  therefore,  did  not 
grow  up  to  any  great  magnitude  and  im- 
portance till  a  comparatively  recent  period 
in  any  part  of  the  country.  Not,  in  fact, 
till  the  great  centres  of  population  began  to 
feel  new  life  from  our  growing  commerce, 
creating  a  more  extensive  demand  for  build- 
ing purposes,  and  for  ship-building.  When 
this  period  arrived,  after  the  war  of  1812 
and  the  conclusion  of  peace,  the  lumber 
business  began  to  extend  itself  into  Maine 
and  other  regions  then  comparatively  un- 
settled, especially  in  the  vicinity  of  large 
streams  giving  easy  access  to  the  sea-board 
or  to  lake  navigation.  The  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding will  be  more  clearly  understood 
from  the  following  description  of  the  de- 
tails of  operations,  prepared  by  a  gentleman 
residing  in  the  lumber  regions  of  Maine. 
The  logging  camp  is  very  much  the  same  in 
all  the  more  northern  sections  of  the  United 
States,  from  the  timber  regions  of  the  St. 
Johns  to  the  pineries  of  Wisconsin,  and  a 
detail  of  the  winter  operations  of  one  will 
apply,  with  slight  modification,  to  them  all. 
I  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  I  have  my- 
self lived  some  winters  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  extensive  logging  operations  in 
Maine,  and,  in  fact,  been  engaged  in  them 
to  some  extent,  and  am  familiar  with  them. 

When  a  lumberer  has  concluded  to  log 
on  a  particular  tract,  the  first  step  is  to  go 
with  a  part  of  his  hands  and  select  suitable 
situations  for  building  his  camps.  In  mak- 
ing this  selection,  his  object  is  to  be  near 
as  possible  to  the  best  clumps  of  timber  he 
intends  to  haul,  and  to  the  streams  into 
which  he  intends  to  haul  it.  He  then  pro- 
ceeds to  build  his  camps  and  to  cut  out  and 
clear  out  his  principal  roads  The  camps 
are  built  of  logs,  being  a  kind  of  log-houses. 
They  are  made  about  three  feet  high  on  one 
side,  and  eight  or  nine  on  the  other,  with 
a  roof  slanting  one  way.  The  roof  is  made 
of  shingles  split  out  of  green  wood  and  laid 
upon  rafters.  The  door  is  made  of  such 
boards  as  can  be  manufactured  out  of  a  log 
with  an  axe.  Against  the  tallest  side  of  the 
camp  is  built  the  chimney — the  back  being 
formed  by  the  wall  of  the  camp,  and  the 
sides  made  of  green  logs,  piled  up  for  jams, 
about  eight  feet  apart.  The  chimney  seldom 
rises  above  the  roof  of  the  camp ;  though 
some  who  are  nice  in  their  architectural 


notions  sometimes  carry  it  up  two  or  three 
feet  higher.  It  is  obvious  from  the  con- 
struction that  nothing  but  the  greenness  of 
the  timber  prevents  the  camp  from  being 
burned  up  immediately  ;  yet  the  great  fires 
that  are  kept  up  make  but  little  impression 
in  the  course  of  the  winter  upon  the  back 
or  sides  of  the  chimney.  A  case,  however,, 
happened  within  a  year  or  two,  where  r\ 
camp  took  fire  in  the  night  and  was  con- 
sumed, and  the  lumberers  in  it  burned  to 
death.  Probably  the  shingle  roof  had  be- 
come dry,  in  which  case  a  spark  would 
kindle  it,  and  the  flames  would  spread  over 
it  in  a  moment.  Parallel  to  the  lower  side 
of  the  building,  and  about  six  feet  from  it, 
a  stick  of  timber  runs  on  the  ground  across 
the  camp.  The  space  between  this  and  the 
lower  wall  is  appropriated  to  the  bedding, 
the  stick  of  timber  serving  to  confine  it  in 
its  place.  The  bedding  consists  of  a  layer 
of  hemlock  boughs  spread  upon  the  ground, 
and  covered  with  such  old  quilts  and  blank- 
ets as  the  tenants  can  bring  away  from 
their  homes.  The  men  camp  down  to- 
gether, with  their  heads  to  the  wall  and 
their  feet  toward  the  fire.  Before  going  to 
bed  they  replenish  their  fire — some  two  OP 
more  of  them  being  employed  in  putting  on 
such  logs  as  with  their  handspikes  they  can 
manage  to  pile  into  the  chimney.  As  the 
walls  of  the  building  are  not  very  tight,  the 
cool  air  plays  freely  around  the  head  of  the 
sleeper,  making  a  difference  of  temperature 
between  the  head  and  the  feet  not  altogether 
agreeable  to  one  unused  to  sleep  in  camps. 
A  rough  bench  and  table  complete  the  furni- 
ture of  the  establishment.  A  camp  very 
similar,  though  not  so  large  in  dimensions, 
is  built  near  for  the  oxen  ;  on  the  top  of 
this  the  hay  is  piled  up,  giving  warmth 
while  it  is  convenient  for  feeding. 

A  large  logging  concern  will  require"  a 
number  of  camps,  which  will  be  distributed 
over  the  tracts,  so  as  best  to  accommodate 
the  timber.  One  camp  serves  generally  for 
one  or  two  teams.  A  team,  in  ordinary 
logging  parlance,  expresses,  not  only  the  set 
of  four  or  six  oxen  that  draw  the  logs,  but 
likewise  a  gang  of  men  employed  to  tend 
them.  It  takes  from  three  or  four  to  seven 
or  eight  men  to  keep  one  team  employed — 
one  man  being  employed  in  driving  the  cat- 
tle, and  the  others  in  cutting  down  the  trees, 
shaping  them  into  logs,  barking  them,  and 
cutting  and  clearing  the  way  to  each  tree. 
The  number  of  hands  required  is  inversely 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


93 


to  the  distance  the  logs  are  to  be  hauled ; 
that  is,  most  hands  are  required  when  the 
distance  is  shortest,  because  the  oxen,  re- 
turning more  frequently,  require  their  loads 
to  be  prepared  more  expeditiously.  Having 
built  their  camps,  or  while  building  them, 
the  main  roads  are  to  be  cut  out.  These  run 
from  the  camps  to  the  landing  places,  or 
some  stream  of  sufficient  size  to  float  down 
the  logs  on  the  spring  freshet.  Other  roads 
are  cut  to  other  clumps  of  timber.  They  are 
made  by  cutting  and  clearing  away  the  un- 
derbrush, and  such  trees  and  old  logs  as  may 
be  in  the  way,  to  a  sufficient  width  for  the 
team  of  oxen,  with  the  bob-sled  and  timber 
on  it,  to  pass  conveniently.  The  bob-sled  is 
made  to  carry  one  end  of  the  timber  only,  the 
other  drags  upon  the  ground,  and  the  bark 
is  chipped  off,  that  the  log  may  slip  along 
more  easily.  The  teams  proceed  to  the 
woods,  when  the  first  snows  come,  with  the 
hands  who  are  not  already  there,  and  the 
supplies.  The  supplies  consist  principally 
of  pork  and  flour  for  the  men,  and  Indian 
meal  for  the  oxen ;  some  beans,  tea,  and 
molasses  are  added.  Formerly  hogsheads 
of  rum  were  considered  indispensable,  and  I 
have  before  me  a  bill  of  supplies  for  a  log- 
ging concern  of  three  teams  in  1827-28,  in 
which  I  find  one  hundred  and  eighty  gallons 
of  rum  charged ;  but  of  late  very  few  re- 
spectable lumberers  take  any  spirits  with 


pointed  to  the  office  of  cook.  Salt  pork  and 
flour  bread  constitute  the  regular  routine  of 
the  meals,  varied  sometimes  with  salt  fish 
or  salt  beef.  Potatoes  are  used  when  they 
can  be  obtained.  Now  and  then,  perhaps, 
when  the  snow  is  deep,  they  catch  a  deer, 
and  live  on  venison.  The  men  are  employed 
through  the  day  in  cutting  the  timber  and 
driving  the  teams.  In  the  evening  some 
take  care  of  the  oxen ;  some  cut  wood  for 
the  fire ;  then  they  amuse  themselves  with 
stories  and  singing,  or  in  other  ways,  until 
they  feel  inclined  to  turn  in  upon  the  uni- 
versal bed.  On  Sundays  the  employer  claims 
no  control  over  their  time,  beyond  the  tak- 
ing care  of  the  cattle,  the  fire,  and  the  cook- 
ing. On  this  day  they  do  their  washing  and 
mending  ;  some  employ  themselves,  besides, 
in  seeking  timber,  and  some  in  hunting 
partridges,  while  some  remain  in  the  camp 
and  read  the  Bible.  They  remain  in  the 
woods  from  the  commencement  of  sledding, 
some  time  in  December,  until  some  time  in 
March,  in  the  course  of  which  month  their 
labors  are  usually  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
snow,  it  becoming  too  shallow  or  too  deep. 
If  there  are  heavy  thaws  the  snow  runs  off, 
not  leaving  enough  to  make  good  hauling. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  gets  to  be  four 
or  five  feet  deep,  the  oxen  cannot  break 
through  it  to  make  the  path  which  it  is  nec- 
essary to  form  in  order  to  get  at  each  in- 


them,  and  the  logging   business  is  conse-  j  dividual  tree.      The   men   and  teams   then 
quently  carried  on  with  much  more  method, 


economy,  and  profit.  The  pork  and  flour 
must  be  of  the  first  quality.  Lumberers  are 
seldom  content  to  take  any  of  an  inferior 
sort ;  and  even  now,  when  flour  is  twelve 
dollars  a  barrel,  they  are  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  coarser  breadstuff's.  Hay  is  pro- 
cured as  near  to  the  camps  as  possible ;  but 
as  most  of  the  timber  lands  are  remote  from 
settlements,  it  is  generally  necessary  to  haul 
it  a  considerable  distance;  and  as  it  must 
be  purchased  of  the  nearest  settlers,  they 
are  enabled  to  obtain  very  high  prices. 
From  twelve  to  twenty  dollars  per  ton  is 
usually  paid.  When  the  expense  of  haul- 
ing it  to  the  camp  is  added,  the  whole  cost 
is  frequently  as  high  as  thirty  dollars  a  ton, 
and  sometimes  much  higher.  Owners  of 
timber  lands  at  a  distance  from  settlements 
may  make  a  great  saving  by  clearing  up  a 
piece  of  their  land,  and  raising  their  own 
hay.  Some  one  of  the  hands,  who  has  not 
so  much  efficiency  in  getting  timber  as  skill 
in  kneading  bread  and  frying  pork,  is  ap- 


leave  the  woods.  Sometimes  one  or  two 
remain  to  be  at  hand  when  the  streams  open. 
I  know  one  who  last  winter  staid  by  himself 
in  the  woods,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  the 
nearest  habitation,  for  the  space  of  twenty- 
eight  days,  during  which  time  he  earned  $203 
by  getting  in  timber  with  his  axe  alone,  be- 
ing allowed  for  it  at  the  same  rate  per  thou- 
sand that  the  lumberers  were  in  getting  it  in 
with  their  teams.  He  found  some  berths  in 
the  banks  of  the  stream,  where  all  that  was 
necessary  was  to  fell  the  tree  so  that  it  should 
fall  directly  upon  the  water,  and  there  cut  it 
into  logs  to  be  ready  for  running.  When  the 
streams  are  opened,  and  there  is  sufficient 
freshet  to  float  the  timber,  another  gang, 
called  "river  drivers,"  takes  charge  of  it. 
It  is  their  business  to  start  it  from  the  banks, 
and  follow  it  down  the  river,  clearing  off 
what  lodges  against  rocks,  pursuing  and 
bringing  back  the  sticks  that  run  wild  among 
the  bushes  and  trees  that  cover  the  low 
lands  adjoining  the  river,  and  breaking  up, 
jams  that  form  in  narrow  or  shallow  places. 


94 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


A  jam  is  caused  by  obstacles  in  the  river 
catching  some  of  the  sticks,  which  in  their 
turn  catch  others  coming  down ;  and  so  the 
mass  increases  until  a  solid  dam  is  formed, 
which  entirely  stops  up  the  river,  and  pre- 
vents the  further  passage  of  any  logs.  These 
jams  are  most  frequently  formed  at  the  top 
of  some  fall ;  and  it  is  often  a  service  that 
requires  much  skill  and  boldness,  and  is  at- 
tended with  much  danger,  to  break  them 
up.  The  persons  who  undertake  it  must 
go  on  the  mass  of  logs,  work  some  out  with 
their  pick  poles,  cut  some  to  pieces,  attach 
ropes  to  others  to  be  hauled  out  by  the 
hands  on  shore,  and  they  must  be  on  the 
alert  to  watch  the  moment  of  the  starting  of 
the  timber,  and  exercise  all  their  activity  to 
get  clear  of  it  before  they  are  carried  off  in 
its  tumultuous  rush.  Some  weeks,  more  or 
less,  according  to  the  distance,  spent  in  this 
way,  bring  the  timber  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  saw-mills.  A  short  distance  from 
Oldtown,  on  the  Penobscot,  there  is  a  boom 
established,  extending  across  the  river,  for 
the  purpose  of  stopping  all  the  logs  that 
come  down.  It  is  made  by  a  floating  chain 
of  logs,  connected  by  iron  links,  and  sup- 
ported at  suitable  distances  by  solid  piers, 
built  in  the  river  ;  without  this  it  would  be 
impossible  to  stop  a  large  part  of  the  logs, 
and  they  would  be  carried  on  the  freshet 
down  the  river,  and  out  to  sea.  The  boom 
is  owned  by  an  individual,  who  derives  a 
large  profit  from  the  boomage,  which  is 
thirty-five  cents  per  thousand  on  all  logs 
coming  into  it.  The  boom  cost  the  present 
owner  about  $40,000.  He  has  offered  it 
for  sale  for  $45,000.  It  is  said  the  net  in- 
come from  it  some  years  is  $15,000.  Here 
all  the  logs  that  come  down  the  Penobscot 
are  collected  in  one  immense  mass,  covering 
many  acres,  where  is  intermingled  the  prop- 
erty of  all  the  owners  of  timber  lands  in  all 
the  broad  region  that  is  watered  by  the 
Penobscot  and  its  branches,  from  the  east 
line  of  Canada,  above  Moosehead  Lake,  on 
the  one  side,  to  the  west  line  of  New  Bruns- 
wick on  the  other.  Here  the  timber  remains 
till  the  logs  can  be  sorted  out  for  each  owner, 
rafted  together,  and  floated  to  the  mills  or 
other  places  below. 

Rafting  is  the  connecting  the  logs  togeth- 
er by  cordage,  which  is  secured  by  pins 
driven  into  each  log,  forming  them  into 
bands,  like  the  ranks  of  a  regiment.  This 
operation  is  performed  by  the  owner  of  the 
boom.  The  ownership  of  the  timber  is  as- 


certained by  the  marks  which  have  been 
chopped  into  each  log  before  it  left  the 
woods,  each  owner  having  a  mark,  or  combi- 
nation of  marks,  of  his  own.  When  the 
boom  is  full,  only  the  logs  lowest  down  can 
be  got  at ;  and  the  proprietors  of  other  logs 
must  wait  weeks,  sometimes  months,  before 
they  can  get  them  out,  to  their  great  incon- 
venience and  damage.  After  the  logs  are 
rafted  and  out  of  the  boom,  a  great  part  of 
them  are  lodged  for  convenience  in  a  place 
called  Pen  Cove,  which  is  a  large  and  secure 
basin  in  the  river,  about  two  miles  below  the 
boom.  From  this  cove  they  can  be  taken 
out  as  they  are  wanted  for  the  mills  bekow. 
While  in  the  boom  and  at  other  places  on 
the  river,  they  are  liable  to  great  loss  from 
plunderers.  The  owners  or  drivers  of  logs 
will  frequently  smuggle  all  that  come  in  their 
way,  without  regard  to  marks.  The  owners 
or  conductors  of  some  of  the  mills  on  the 
river  are  said  to  be  not  above  encouraging 
and  practising  this  species  of  piracy.  In- 
deed, timber  in  all  its  stages  seems  to  be  a 
fair  object  for  plunderers,  from  the  petty 
pilferer  who  steals  into  the  woods,  fells  a 
tree,  cuts  it  into  shingles,  and  carries  it  out 
on  his  back,  to  the  comparatively  rich  owner 
of  thousands  of  dollars. 

When  the  logs  have  been  sawn  at  the 
mills,  there  is  another  rafting  of  the  boards, 
which  are  floated  down  the  river  to  Bangor, 
to  be  embarked  on  board  the  coasters  for 
Boston.  In  this  process  they  are  subject  to 
much  injury :  first,  by  the  mode  of  catch- 
ing them  as  they  come  from  the  mill  sluices, 
the  rafters  making  use  of  a  picaroon,  or  pole, 
with  a  spike  in  the  end  of  it,  which  is  re- 
peatedly and  unmercifully  driven  into  the 
boards,  taking  out,  perhaps,  a  piece  at  each 
time ;  secondly,  by  the  holes  made  by  the 
pins  driven  into  the  boards  in  rafting  ;  and, 
thirdly,  by  the  rocks,  and  rapids,  and  shal- 
lows in  the  river,  breaking  the  rafts  to  pieces 
and  splitting  up  the  boards  as  they  de- 
scend. These  inconveniences  will  be  partly 
remedied  by  the  railroad  now  in  operation, 
unless  other  inconveniences  in  the  use  of  it 
should  be  found  to  overbalance  them.  The 
kinds  of  timber  brought  down  our  rivers  are 
pine,  spruce,  hemlock,  ash,  birch,  maple, 
cedar,  and  hackmatack.  Far  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  pine.  The  lumberers  make 
about  six  kinds  of  pine,  though  they  do  not 
agree  exactly  in  the  classification,  or  in  the 
use  of  some  of  the  names.  The  most  com- 
mon division  is  into  pumpkin-pine,  timber- 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


pine,  sapling,  bull-sapling,  Norway,  and  yel- 
low, or  pitch-pine.  The  pumpkin-pine  stands 
pre-eminent  in  the  estimation  of  the  lumber- 
ers, because  it  is  the  largest  tree,  and  makes 
fine,  large,  clear  boards.  They  are  soft, 
and  of  a  yellowish  cast.  The  timber-pine 
and  saplings  are  the  most  common.  The 
former  is  generally  preferred,  as  being  larger 
and  more  likely  to  be  sound ;  yet  the  sap- 
lings are  said  to  make  the  harder  and 
more  durable  boards.  The  common  sapling 
grows  in  low  lands,  generally  very  thick,  but 
much  of  it  is  apt  to  be  rotten.  The  bull- 
sapling  is  larger  and  sounder,  grows  on  high 
land,  and  is  mixed  with  hard  wood.  The 
Norway  pine  is  a  much  harder  kind  of  tim- 
ber than  the  others.  It  is  seldom  sawn  into 
boards,  though  it  makes  excellent  floor- 
boards ;  but  it  is  generally  hewn  into  square 
timber. 

I  will  conclude  with  some  remarks  upon 
the  different  modes  of  operating  made  use 
of  by  owners  of  timber.  There  are  three. 
One  is  for  the  owner  to  hire  his  men  by  the 
month,  procure  teams,  and  furnish  them  with 
equipments  and  supplies.  A  second  is  to 
agree  with  some  one  or  more  individuals  to 
cut  and  haul  the  timber,  or  cut,  haul,  and 
run  it,  at  a  certain  price  per  thousand  feet. 
The  third  way  is  to  sell  the  stumpage  out- 
right '.  that  is,  to  sell  the  timber  standing. 
The  first  mode  is  seldom  adopted,  unless  the 
owner  of  the  timber  is  likewise  a  lumberer, 
and  intends  to  superintend  the  business  him- 
self. The  second  mode  is  very  common.  It 
is  considered  the  most  saving  to  the  owners, 
because  the  lumberer  has  no  inducement  to 
select  the  best  timber,  and  leave  all  that  is 
not  of  the  first  quality ;  to  cut  down  trees 
and  take,  and  leave  others  to  rot  that  are 
not  quite  so  good,  but  may  be  worth  haul- 
ing. Its  inconveniences  are,  that,  as  the 
object  of  the  lumberer  is  to  get  as  large 
a  quantity  as  possible,  he  will  take  trees 
that  are  not  worth  so  much  as  the  cost  of 
getting  them  to  market,  and  which,  besides 
being  of  little  value  themselves,  render  the 
whole  lot  less  saleable  by  the  bad  appearance 
they  give  it.  The  owner,  too,  is  subject  to 
all  the  losses  that  may  happen  in  running 
the  logs  down  the  river.  Very  frequently 
he  is  obliged  to  make  a  contract  to  have  the 
timber  cut  and  hauled  to  the  landing-places, 
and  another  to  have  it  run  down  ;  for  the 
river-drivers  are  a  distinct  class  from  the 
lumberers.  Most  of  them,  indeed,  are  lum- 
berers ;  yet  it  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  lum- 


berers that  are  river- drivers.  A  great  part 
of  the  lumberers  are  farmers,  who  must  be 
on  their  farms  at  the  season  of  driving,  and, 
therefore,  cannot  undertake  any  thing  but 
the  cutting  and  hauling.  They  are  paid  for 
the  number  of  thousand  feet  they  deposit  at 
the  landing-places ;  and  the  logs  being  sur- 
veyed, or  scaled,  as  they  are  hauled,  their 
object  is  to  get  as  many  thousand  feet  as 
possible  on  the  landing-places ;  while  the 
river-drivers  may  be  very  careless  about  get- 
ting them  all  down,  and  the  owner  may  nev- 
er receive  the  whole  quantity  he  has  paid  for 
cutting  and  hauling.  In  operating  in  this 
mode,  the  owner  usually  furnishes  the  sup- 
plies, provisions,  etc.,  and  the  lumberer  pro- 
cures the  teams  and  hires  the  men.  The 
owner,  commonly,  does  not  bind  himself  to 
pay  before  the  logs  go  to  market,  and  he 
frequently  makes  a  contract  for  his  supplies 
on  the  same  condition,  in  which  case  he  has 
to  pay  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-three  per 
cent,  more  for  his  goods  than  he  would  deal- 
ing on  cash  or  common  credit.  Sometimes, 
when  there  is  no  freshet,  the  logs  do  not  go 
down  until  the  second  year ;  and  then  the 
trader  and  lumberer  both  suffer  for  want  of 
their  pay. 

The  third  mode  is  by  far  the  simplest 
and  easiest  for  the  owner.  He  avoids  all 
trouble  of  furnishing  supplies,  of  watching 
the  timber  on  the  river,  and  of  looking  out 
for  a  market.  But  he  must  have  a  man  of 
some  capital  to  deal  with,  as  he  furnishes 
his  own  teams  and  supplies,  and  pays  the 
men,  receiving  very  heavy  advances.  The 
purchaser  of  it  has  no  interest  to  cut  the 
timber  savingly,  and  he  sometimes  makes 
dreadful  havoc  among  the  trees,  leaving  a 
great  deal  of  valuable  stuff  on  the  ground  to 
rot.  And  if  he  selects  only  the  best  trees  in 
a  berth,  much  of  the  timber  left  standing 
may  be  lost,  because  no  one  will  afterward 
want  to  go  into  that  berth  from  which  all 
the  best  trees  have  been  culled.  It  is  com- 
mon now  to  employ  a  man  to  pass  the  win- 
ter in  the  camps,  living  alternately  at  one  or 
another,  for  the  purpose  of  scaling  the  logs, 
keeping  a  correct  account  of  them,  and  see- 
ing that  the  timber  is  cut  according  to  the 
contract. 

But,  after  all,  there  is  almost  always  found 
to  be  a  considerable  difference  between  tim- 
ber cut  by  the  thousand  and  that  which 
is  cut  on  stumpage.  Each  mode  has  its  troub- 
les; but  I  think  that  owners  at  a  distance 
will  manage  their  concerns  with  least  vexa- 


96 


AGRICUXTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


tion  by  selling  the  stumpage,  provided  that 
they  have  honest  men  to  deal  with. 

It  might  be  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  above  interesting  statement,  that  the  pri- 
mary object  in  the  settlement  of  Maine  was 
to  engage  in  the  lumber  business.  Agricul- 
ture was  originally  secondary  to  that  busi- 
ness, and  grew  up  of  necessity,  in  connection 
with  it.  The  same  may  be  said  of  some 
parts  of  New  Hampshire.  Mason  and  Gorges 
procured  their  grant,  embracing  a  large  tract 
above  Portsmouth,  Dover,  etc.,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  lumbering  and  the  manufacture  of 
potash.  It  was  common  in  Maine  for  a 
lumberman  to  work  at  farming  in  summer, 
and  cut  and  haul  lumber  in  the  winter. 

A  brief  description  of  lumbering  at  Green 
Bay,  in  the  northern  part  of  Wisconsin,  will 
be  interesting  in  this  connection. 

"  A  logging  camp  in  the  winter,"  says  a 
resident  of  Green  Bay,  "is  an  exhilarating 
scene.  The  great  trees  falling  here  and 
there,  with  a  thundering  sound;  the  fine, 
strong  teams  moving  off  to  the  river  with 
their  loads,  and  hurrying  back  with  empty 
sleds ;  the  songs  and  shouts  of  the  jolly,  red- 
shirted  lumbermen  ;  the  majestic  forest  sce- 
nery, standing  out  so  handsomely  in  the 
clear  air  of  northern  winter,  make  up  a  pan- 
orama that  is  worth  going  a  day's  journey 
to  see.  Finally,  the  snow  fades  out  before 
the  spring  sun.  It  goes  first  from  the  log- 
ging road,  because  there  it  has  been  most 
worn ;  and  then  the  lumbermen  make  ready 
for  the  'running,'  and  wait  impatiently  for 
the  breaking  up  of  the  stream  and  the 
coming  of  the  freshet.  If  they  are  a  long 
way  up  the  stream,  this  is  a  matter  of  great 
anxiety,  for,  perhaps,  the  rise  will  not  be 
sufficient,  and  their  logs  will  lie  over  till 
another  year.  One  firm  on  the  Oconto  got 
logs  as  high  up  as  ninety  miles  from  the 
mouth.  If  the  water  is  high,  the  logs  come 
down  by  thousands  upon  thousands,  rushing, 
clogging  up,  breaking  away  again,  piling 
upon  each  other,  and  requiring  the  constant 
efforts  of  the  drivers  to  keep  them  on  the  go. 
Sometimes,  when  an  obstruction  occurs,  a 
few  logs  form  a  'jam,'  and  those  coming  after 
them,  with  terrific  force,  are  piled  up  in  rude 
masses,  till  one  not  familiar  with  it  would 
think  the  whole  enterprise  hopelessly  ended, 
for  there  seems  no  possibility  of  ever  extri- 
cating the  mass,  perhaps,  of  a  thousand  logs. 
But  a  single  man,  with  an  iron-shod  hand- 
spike, goes  upon  the  jam  carefully,  looking 


with  a  practised  eye  here  and  there,  until  he 
discovers  one  log  which  is  the  key  to  the 
whole  problem.  Prying  cautiously,  he  loos- 
ens it,  and  then  makes  his  way  as  quick  as 
possible  to  the  shore  again.  The  confused 
mass  begins  to  settle,  the  head  logs  start ; 
and  then,  all  at  once,  down  stream  they  go 
once  more,  with  the  old  speed,  like  a  herd 
of  countless  buffaloes  stamping  along  the 
prairie.  The  logs  reach  the  mill  in  April  or 
May,  and  the  sawing  commences  on  the 
arrival  of  the  '  head  of  the  drive.'  " 

In  the  absence  of  accurate  statistics,  which 
ought  to  have  been  furnished  by  the  last 
census,  it  is  not  possible  to  give  a  detailed 
statement  of  the  full  extent  of  the  lumber 
business  of  the  country ;  and  hence,  any 
information  on  the  subject  must  necessarily 
come  far  short  of  giving  an  adequate  idea  of 
its  vastness,  and  of  the  progress  which  the 
last  few  years  have  witnessed  in  its  develop 
ment.  But  we  know  that  the  export  of 
lumber  from  the  United  States  has  risen 
from  $1,822,077  in  1821  to  five  millions  in 
1853  ;  we  know  that,  during  the  four  years 
from  1850  to  1853  inclusive,  the  value  of 
lumber  exported  was  nearly  twenty  millions 
of  dollars ;  we  know  that  the  amount  of 
lumber  received  at  Chicago  alone  in  one 
year  (1857)  was  no  less  than  459,639,198 
feet,  besides  upward  of  eighty  millions  of 
laths.  Chicago,  indeed,  as  a  lumber  market, 
stands  pre-eminent,  and  its  rise  and  progress 
as  such  is  little  less  remarkable  than  its 
growth  as  a  grain  market.  The  banks  of 
the  rivers  are  loaded  for  several  miles  with 
vast  piles  of  lumber,  shipped  to  that  city 
from  the  extensive  pine  forests  of  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  Canada;  while  the  capital 
invested  in  this  trade  is  immense.  The  ves- 
sels alone  which  are  engaged  in  carrying  the 
lumber  which  finds  its  market  there,  did  not 
cost  less  than  a  million  and  a  half;  and  the 
number  of  hands  employed  in  one  way  and 
another  is  not  less  than  ten  thousand. 

Here  are  some  of  the  receipts  of  lumber 
in  that  city  :  — 

Lumber.— Feet.     Shingles.  Lath. 

1847,  32,118,225   12,148,500  5,655,700 

1848,  60,009,250   20,000,000  10,250,109 

1849,  73,259,553   39,057,750  19,281,733 

1850,  100,364,779  55,423,750  19,809,700 

1851,  125,056,437  60,338,250  27,583,475 

1852,  147,816,232  77,080,500  19,759,670 

1853,  202,101.098  93,483,784  39,133,116 

1854,  228,336,783  98,061,250  32,431,550 

1855,  306,553,467  158,770,860  46,487,550 

1856,  456,673,169  135,876,000  79,235,120 

1857,  459,639,198  131,832,250  80,130,000 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


This,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  is  the 
business,  in  this  particular  trade,  of  only  one 
city.  Many  other  cities  and  large  towns 
might  be  named,  which,  for  extent  of  opera- 
tions, would  compare  favorably  with  it. 

The  city  of  Boston  receives  from  the 
southern  states  lumber  to  the  value  of  a 
million  of  dollars  a  year,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  immense  quantities  which  she  receives, 
also,  from  the  north  and  east,  and  from 
Nova  Scotia. 

In  what  has  been  said  above,  reference 
has  been  had  exclusively  to  the  procuring  of 
lumber  for  the  purposes  of  building.  The 
vast  amount  required  for  fuel  has  not  been 
considered,  but  if  that  could  be  taken  into 
account  it  would  form  an  item  of  amazing 
importance,  not  only  as  ministering  to  the 
comfort  of  millions  of  people,  but  in  a  com- 
mercial and  business  point  of  view.  There 
was  a  time,  and  that  quite  recently,  when 
serious  apprehensions  were  felt  on  account 
of  the  rapid  disappearance  of  the  woodlands 
of  New  England  and  the  older  northern 
states,  lest  they  should,  at  no  distant  day, 
fail  altogether  to  furnish  a  sufficient  supply. 
The  multiplication  of  railroads,  and  their 
great  consumption  of  wood,  had  raised  the 
prices  to  such  an  extent  that  the  farmer 
could  not  wait  for  his  young  woodlands  to 
grow,  and  thousands  of  acres  were  every 
year  cut  off  to  meet  this  demand.  The  in- 
troduction of  coal  into  general  use  in  the 
cities  and  large  towns,  and  the  resort  to  that 
by  many  of  the  leading  lines  of  railway, 
has  now  relieved  us  from  any  cause  for  alarm, 
and  the  forests,  even  of  Massachusetts,  are 
now,  it  is  believed,  on  the  increase. 

To  this  is  to  be  added  an  increasing  taste 
for  the  cultivation  of  forest  trees,  which  in 
time  will  make  a  very  perceptible  improve- 
ment in  the  natural  scenery  of  the  country. 

PROGRESS    OF   AGRICULTURAL    LITERATURE. 

The  improvement  and  increase  of  the 
agricultural  literature  of  the  country  mighl 
very  properly  have  been  treated  of  in  the 
early  part  of  this  chapter,  as  among  the 
means  or  the  causes  of  the  progress  which 
has  been  made  in  the  development  of  our 
agricultural  wealth,  to  which  it  has  contrib 
uted  nearly  as  much,  perhaps,  as  the  agri 
cultural  societies  themselves.  I  have,  how- 
ever, preferred  to  reserve  it  for  this  position 
for  the  reason  that  it  may  with  equal  pro- 
priety be  said  to  have  grown  out  of  a  de 


mand  for  information  incident  to  the  gen- 

ral  spirit  of  inquiry  which  the  association 

of  effort  produced  in  the  public  mind,  and 

specially  since  it  has,  for  the  most  part, 

grown  up  within  the  last  twenty  years,  or 

ong  subsequent  to  the  formation  of  many 

of  the  agricultural  societies. 

If  we  except  the  "Essays  on  Field  Hus- 
jandry,"  by  the  Eev.  Jared  Eliot,  of  Connect- 
icut, prepared  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the 
ast  century,  and  the  valuable  papers  sub- 
mitted to  the  Massachusetts,  the  New  York, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Societies, 
and  published  by  them  about  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  we  cannot  be  said 
to  have  had  any  agricultural  literature,  till 
within  the  memory  of  many  men  still  living. 
None,  in  fact,  till  within  the  last  twenty  or 
thirty  years.  The  "  Essays  on  Field  Husband- 
ry," considering  the  time  when  they  were 
written,  were  certainly  a  remarkable  contri- 
bution to  the  agricultural  literature  of  the 
country,  filled  with  the  most  judicious  ad- 
vice, and  worthy  of  republication,  both  as  a 
part  of  the  history  of  our  agriculture  and 
for  their  own  intrinsic  merits.  But,  as  al- 
ready remarked  on  a  former  page,  the  book 
was  far  in  advance  of  the  farming  commu- 
nity of  that  time,  and  it  is  not  probable  that 
it  had  many  readers.  The  papers  published 
by  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture,  commenced  as  early  as  1796, 
were  among  the  most  valuable  that  have 
ever  appeared  in  this  country.  They  are 
embraced  in  a  series  of  ten  octavo  volumes, 
called  the  "  Agricultural  Repository,"  and 
extend  over  a  period  of  thirty  years,  dis- 
cussing many  questions  which  agricultural 
chemistry  and  other  kindred  sciences  have 
since  definitively  settled  and  explained,  but 
containing  much  useful  information  on  a 
great  variety  of  subjects  connected  with 
practical  agriculture.  The  agricultural  li- 
brary connected  with  my  office  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  and  extensive  in  the 
country,  but  I  regard  the  "  Agricultural 
Repository"  as  among  the  most  valuable 
series  in  it. 

The  farming  community  gradually  "  took 
to  reading."  The  American  Farmer  was 
commenced  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1819, 
and  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  strictly 
agricultural  periodical  started  in  the  coun- 
try. It  was  sold  in  1829  for  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  which,  at  that  time,  was  a  very 
large  price  for  an  agricultural  paper.  It  has 
been  regularly  published  up  to  this  time, 


98 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


and  is  still  in  a  flourishing  condition,  with  a 
good  circulation. 

The  Agricultural  Intelligencer  was  estab- 
lished in  Boston  in  1820,  but  for  some  rea- 
son or  other,  probably  for  want  of  sufficient 
support,  was  discontinued,  and  the  New 
England  Farmer  was  begun  in  1822  by 
Thomas  G.  Fessenden.  This  journal,  an 
eight  page  quarto,  was  continued  with  a 
varying  fortune  till  1846,  when  it  died,  but 
another  of  the  same  name,  an  octavo  monthly 
and  folio  weekly,  sprang  up,  and  is  still  in  the 
full  tide  of  success.  The  New  York  Farmer 
was  established  soon  after  the  New  England 
Farmer,  and  was  continued  for  several  years 
by  Mr.  Samuel  Fleet,  then  sold  to  Mr.  D.  K. 
Miner,  who  engaged  the  services  of  Mr. 
Henry  Colman  as  editor,  till  the  journal 
died,  and  is  no  more.  In  1831,  Mr.  Luther 
Tucker,  one  of  the  oldest  agricultural  editors 
of  the  country,  established  the  Genesee  Far- 
mer, at  Rochester,  N.  Y.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  year  it  had  but  six  hundred  subscribers. 
But  Mr.  Tucker  persevered,  until,  in  1839, 
the  subscription  reached  19,000. 

In  the  meantime,  Judge  Buel  had  estab- 
lished the  Cultivator,  at  Albany,  in  1833,  and 
at  his  death,  in  1839,  Mr.  Tucker  purchased 
that  journal  of  his  heirs,  and  removed  to 
Albany,  uniting  the  Genesee  Farmer  and 
the  Cultivator  which  is  still  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition,  having  exerted  a  long- 
continued  and  wide-spread  influence.  The 
place  made  vacant  by  the  removal  of  the 
Genesee  Farmer  from  Rochester  was  soon 
filled  by  the  New  Genesee  Farmer,  soon 
after  which  the  first  word  of  the  title  was 
dropped,  and  as  the  Genesee  Farmer  it  is 
still  published,  and  has  a  wide  circulation. 
The  American  Agriculturist,  established 
about  the  year  1842,  was  continued  with  some 
success  for  some  years,  till  its  subscription 
list  became  reduced  to  a  few  hundreds,  when 
it  passed  into  new  hands,  felt  the  infusion 
of  younger  blood,  and  in  less  than  five  years 
the  subscription  has  risen  to  upward  of 
fifty  thousand.  The  Farmers'  Cabinet  was 
published  some  years  in  New  York  city, 
under  the  editorship  of  J.  S.  Skinner,  who 
first  established  the  American  Farmer,  at 
Baltimore.  Mr.  Skinner,  in  1848,  started 
the  Plough,  Loom,  and  Anvil,  which  was 
continued  till  quite  recently.  The  Maine 
Farmer  was  established  about  the  year  1832, 
and  has  exerted  a  good  influence. 

Many  other  agricultural  journals  have 
been  started  within  the  last  five  or  ten 


years,  and  have  received  a  generous  patron- 
age from  the  farming  community,  among 
which  ought  to  be  mentioned  the  Rural 
New  Yorker,  with  a  very  wide  circulation ; 
the  Country  Gentleman,  published  in  con- 
nection with  the  Cultivator,  at  Albany;  the 
Ohio  Farmer,  of  very  wide  influence  and 
large  circulation ;  the  Michigan  Farmer,  at 
Detroit ;  the  Valley  Farmer,  at  St.  Louis ; 
the  Wisconsin  Farmer,  at  Madison ;  the 
North-  Western  Farmer,  at  Dubuque ;  the 
Southern  Planter,  at  Richmond ;  the  Cali- 
fornia Farmer,  at  Sacramento  ;  the  Home- 
stead, at  Hartford,  Connecticut— all  exceed- 
ingly valuable  and  well  conducted  papers ; 
the  Working  Farmer,  in  New  York  city, 
and  many  others  with  which  I  am  less  famil- 
iar. There  are  in  the  northern  and  western 
states  more  than  twenty-five  journals,  most 
of  which  are  weekly,  devoted  almost  exclu- 
sively to  agriculture  and  horticulture,  and 
the  aggregate  circulation  of  these  is  not  less 
than  250,000  copies.  There  are  also  in 
the  southern  states,  some  six  or  eight  similar 
publications  devoted  to  agriculture,  whose 
aggregate  circulation  is  not  less  than  thirty- 
five  thousand  copies.  These  facts  are  ex- 
ceedingly important  with  reference  to  the 
present  condition  of  our  agriculture,  since 
they  indicate  a  wide-spread  spirit  of  inquiry 
and  intelligence  among  farmers,  which  must 
necessarily  have  an  important  influence  on 
the  future  development  of  this  great  in- 
terest. 

Besides  the  large  number  and  wide  circu- 
lation of  the  journals  devoted  to  agriculture, 
there  is  a  good  demand  for  agricultural 
books,  and  many  of  the  standard  works 
published  in  Europe  have  been  republished 
in  this  country,  including  Stephens'  "  Book 
of  the  Farm,"  Thaer's  "Principles  of  Agri- 
culture," Johnston's  "  Agricultural  Chemis- 
try," and  many  other  European  works  of" 
established  reputation.  These  foreign  works 
were  soon  followed  by  American  treatises 
on  landscape  gardening,  fruits,  animals, 
draining,  dairy  farming,  and,  in  fact,  on  sub- 
jects covering  the  whole  ground  of  farm 
economy,  more  or  less  perfectly.  Many  of 
these  treatises  and  republications  have  had  a 
wide  circulation.  The  "  Modern  Horse 
Doctor"  has  sold  to  the  extent  of  more 
than  twenty  thousand  copies,  "  Youatt  and 
Martin  on  Cattle"  sover  ten  thousand, 
"Youatt  on  the  Horse"  over  twenty-five 
thousand,  and  many  others  in  a  similar  pro- 
portion. 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


99 


In  addition  to  these  facilities  for  informa- 
tion, many  of  the  states  have  established 
township  and  district  libraries,  by  means  of 
which  the  choicest  works  on  all  subjects  are 
brought  within  the  reach  of  all,  the  poor  as 
well  as  the  rich.  In  these  libraries  are  gen- 
erally included  a  fair  proportion  of  agricul- 
tural works. 

This  system  was  initiated  by  New  York 
in  1837,  by  making  an  appropriation  of  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  three 
years,  and  subsequent  annual  grants  of  over 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  Massachusetts  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  New  York  in  1839, 
and  more  recently  Michigan  passed  a  law 
giving  each  township  the  sum  of  fifty  dol- 
lars annually  for  this  purpose.  Indiana 
adopted  the  same  policy  in  1854,  and  Ohio 
in  1857,  the  former  appropriating  $300,000 
for  two  years,  and  the  latter  $80,000  an- 
nually. Illinois  and  other  western  states 
have  also  adopted  a  similar  course. 

These  measures  are  properly  regarded  as 
well  calculated  to  diffuse  information,  and 
promote  not  only  agricultural  improvement, 
but  the  general  welfare  of  the  community. 
To  this  should  be  added  the  fact  that  most 
states  publish  annually  an  abstract  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  county  agricultural  so- 
cieties for  general  gratuitous  distribution. 
Many  of  the  states  produce  volumes  of  great 
value.  Ohio  distributes  from  twenty  to 
thirty  thousand  copies.  Massachusetts  pub- 
lishes ten  thousand  copies,  and  Maine  as 
many  more.  These  various  instrumentalities 
are  now  in  constant  activity,  and  are  exerting 
an  immense  influence. 

Allusion  should  also  be  made  to  the 
establishment,  in  some  of  the  states,  of  agri- 
cultural colleges,  where  special  attention  is 
to  be  given  to  the  various  sciences  which 
bear  directly  or  indirectly  upon  practical 
agriculture.  Michigan  was  the  first  to  lead 
off  in  this  direction ;  a  liberal  endowment 
was  granted  by  the  state.  New  York,  Mary- 
land, and  other  states  soon  followed;  but  the 
results  of  these  institutions  are  not  yet  at- 
tained, nor  can  they  at  present  be  fully 
appreciated,  since  time  only  can  prove  their 
value  and  their  efficiency. 

This  brief  survey  of  the  growth  of  the 
facilities  for  information  upon  agricultural 
subjects  and  the  appliances  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  instruction  of  the  young  farmer, 
will  sufficiently  indicate  the  rapidity  of  the 
progress  which  has  been  made  in  this  par- 
ticular direction  within  the  last  ten  or 


twenty  years,  and  justify  the  hope  and  ex- 
pectation of  the  most  splendid  results  in  the 
future. 

It  ought  not  to  be  overlooked,  in  this 
connection,  that  there  has  been  a  most  de- 
cided progress  within  the  last  twenty  years 
in  agricultural  chemistry  and  kindred  sci- 
ences. This  progress  has  been  made  not 
wholly  and  strictly  by  scientific  men  in  our 
own  country,  but  scientific  discoveries  in 
agriculture  are  the  property  of  the  intelli- 
gent farmer  everywhere,  and  those  made 
abroad  have  had  a  material  and  important 
influence  in  promoting  the  advancement  of 
practical  agriculture  among  us. 

The  labors  of  Arthur  Young  and  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  were  exceedingly  valuable, 
but  they  bear  the  same  relation  to  more  re- 
cent investigations  that  the  labors  of  the 
pioneer  in  the  western  forest  do  to  those  of 
the  sons  who  till  the  soil  and  reap  the  har- 
vests for  which  the  father  had  prepared  the 
way.  The  former  did  more  than  any  other 
man  to  stir  up  the  agricultural  mind  of  his 
country.  The  latter  was  the  first  to  give 
principles  to  practice,  and  he  announced  the 
new  philosophy  in  these  words :  "  Vegetables 
derive  their  component  principles — which 
are,  for  the  most  part,  hydrogen,  carbon, 
oxygen,  and  nitrogen — either  from  the  at- 
mosphere by  which  they  are  surrounded,  or 
from  the  soil  in  which  they  grow.  The  proc- 
ess of  vegetation  appears  to  depend  upon 
the  perpetual  assimilation  of  various)  substan- 
ces to  the  organs  of  the  plant,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  exertion  of  their  living  and 
of  their  chemical  affinities." 

The  conversion  of  inorganic  bodies  into 
gases,  and  the  assimilation  of  gases  by  or- 
ganic structures,  formed  the  basis  for  a  new 
starting  point,  and  had  never  before  been  an- 
nounced. Carbonic  acid  had  been  discov- 
ered by  Black  in  1752.  Dr.  Rutherford 
called  attention  to  nitrogen  in  1772,  and 
Priestley  discovered  oxygen  in  1774,  and  ob- 
tained it  from  the  leaves  of  plants;  and 
when  Davy  appeared  with  a  series  of  inves- 
tigations more  intimately  connected  with, 
agriculture,  the  properties  of  air  and  water 
had  not  long  been  known.  But  little  prog- 
ress had  been  made  in  vegetable  anatomy. 
Most  of  all  that  is  known  with  regard  to  the 
organs  of  plants — their  mode  of  growth  by 
food  taken  from  the  air,  from  water,  from 
manure,  and  from  the  soil  by  transmuting 
processes  of  wonderful  delicacy — has  been 
discovered  within  the  last  fifty  years.  Since 


100 


AGRICULTURE    ITT   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Davy's  time,  the  processes  of  chemical  anal- 
ysis have  been  vastly  improved,  and  abstract 
chemistry  itself  has  grown  up  to  a  science 
of  inestimable  importance,  which  it  had  not 
in  his  day.  The  accumulation  of  scientific 
fects  is  the  work  of  time,  and  it  was  not  till 
1840  that  Liebig  prepared  his  report  on  the 
progress  of  agriculture  for  the  British  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and 
opened  a  new  world  of  thought  and  study, 
awakened  the  attention  of  practical  farmers 
to  the  importance  of  applying  the  results  of 
chemical  investigations,  and,  in  some  re- 
spects, essentially  modified  the  practice  of 
all  civilized  countries. 

Liebig  said,  in  his  "Organic  Chemistry,"  that 
"  to  manure  an  acre  of  land  with  forty  pounds 
of  bone  dust,  is  sufficient  to  supply  three 
crops  of  wheat,  clover,  potatoes,  turnips,  etc., 
with  phosphates,  but  the  form  in  which  they 
are  restored  to  the  soil  does  not  appear  to  be 
a  matter  of  indifference.  For  the  more  finely 
the  bones  are  reduced  to  powder,  and  the 
more  intimately  they  are  mixed  with  the  soil, 
the  more  easily  they  are  assimilated.  The 
most  easy  and  practical  mode  of  effecting 
their  division  is  to  pour  over  the  bones,  in 
the  state  of  fine  powder,  half  of  their  weight 
of  sulphuric  acid,  diluted  with  three  or  four 
parts  of  water."  The  leading  idea  in  this 
and  other  propositions  of  Liebig  opened  the 
way  for  the  whole  system  of  artificial  manur- 
ing, which  has  extended  so  far  in  modern 
times.  Previous  to  that  time,  the  farmer 
had  confined  himself  to  the  use  either  of  a 
compost  of  animal  and  vegetable  materials, 
or  of  other  simple  substitutes,  as  ashes,  salt, 
soot,  or  something  of  the  kind ;  but  not  in 
accordance  with  any  fixed  principles  derived 
from  reasoning  or  the  results  of  observation, 
but  simply  because  experience  had  shown 
them  to  be  beneficial.  Liebig's  idea  was 
that  sulphuric  acid,  the  vitriol  of  commerce, 
would  make  the  neutral  phosphate  of  lime 
soluble,  and  give  it  a  powerful  action  in  the 
soil.  For  the  subsequent  discovery  and  use 
of  mineral  phosphates  we  are  indebted  to 
the  same  source,  the  development  and  appli- 
cation of  the  views  first  advanced  by  Liebig. 

Immediately  after  the  announcement  of 
his  propositions,  experiments  were  instituted 
with  such  satisfactory  results  that  manufac- 
tories were  established  in  England,  and  the 
importation  of  bones  from  Germany,  the 
United  States,  and  South  America,  became  of 
great  importance  to  commerce  as  well  as  to 
agriculture  ;  while  the  earnest  researches  of 


scientific  men  soon  discovered  the  most  ap- 
proved formulas  for  the  manufacture  of  su- 
perphosphate of  lime,  and  other  concentra- 
ted artificial  manures.  The  best  methods 
of  preparing  these  substances  were  thus  made 
known  both  by  scientific  and  practical  men. 

The  advantage  of  these  discoveries  cannot 
be  disputed,  for  though  the  farmer  may  be 
liable  to  be  deceived  in  the  purchase  of  a 
particular  kind  of  superphosphate,  yet  there 
is  no  longer  any  doubt  of  its  great  value  as 
a  fertilizer,  when  properly  made ;  while  its 
introduction  rendered  substances  previously 
of  little  worth,  easily  and  quickly  available 
for  the  nourishment  of  plants,  and  hence 
very  valuable. 

It  was  these  investigations  that  made 
known  the  value  of  guano  as  a  fertilizer. 
This  substance  has  come  into  use  since  the 
year  1840,  when  twenty  casks  were  landed 
in  England,  where  it  was  soon  found  to  be  a 
most  valuable  manure.  So  great  was  the 
confidence  immediately  inspired  in  its  value 
as  a  means  of  increasing  the  products  and 
renovating  the  soil  of  the  country,  that  the 
very  next  year,  1841,  seven  vessels  were  em- 
ployed to  convey  1,733  tons  from  the  Chin- 
cha  Islands  to  England,  and  the  number  in- 
creased in  1842  to  forty-one  British  and 
three  foreign  vessels,  and  the  amount  im- 
ported to  13,094  tons.  Before  the  close  of 
1844,  no  less  than  29,000  tons  were  import- 
ed into  that  country  from  the  coast  of  Peru, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  many  thousand  tons 
which  came  from  the  Ichaboe  and  other 
guano  islands  at  that  time  discovered.  In 
1855,  no  less  than  210,000  tons  were  sold  in 
England,  being  an  increase  of  twenty  per 
cent,  on  the  consumption  of  1854,  which 
was  at  least  twenty  per  cent,  over  that  of 
1853.  From  1841,  the  date  of  the  extraction 
of  guano,  to  any  extent,  from  the  Chincha 
Islands,  to  the  end  of  1856,  the  quantity 
removed  from  those  islands  alone  reached 
the  enormous  figure  of  two  millions  of  tons, 
and  the  aggregate  amount  of  sales  in  that 
time  was  $100,263,519.  From  the  com- 
mencement of  1851  to  the  end  of  1858, 
there  were  imported  into  the  United  States 
and  used,  no  less  than  673,412  tons.  As  a 
means  of  renovating  many  of  the  tobacco 
and  cotton  worn  lands  of  the  southern  states, 
guano  must  be  regarded  as  a  valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  sources  of  fertility  made  known 
by  modern  science. 

A  thousand  other  facts  might  be  mention- 
ed to  show  that  science  has  done  much  for 


AGRICULTURE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


101 


agriculture,  and  that  there  has  been  no  small 
degree  of  progress  already  made,  while  in- 
vestigation and  experiment  are,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  being  pushed  with  such  vigor  as 
to  promise  far  more  valuable  and  tangible 
results  in  future. 

THE     PROSPECTS      OF    AGRICULTURE     IN     THIS 
COUNTRY. 

Having  given  some  of  the  features  of  ag- 
ricultural progress  in  the  preceding  pages,  it 
is  proper  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  the  pres- 
ent is  but  the  dawn  of  a  new  era — an  era 
of  improvements  of  which  we  cannot  yet 
form  an  adequate  conception.  The  scientific 
discoveries,  the  mechanical  inventions,  the 
general  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  the  wide-spread 
intelligence  which  have  been  alluded  to,  in- 
dicate that  a  greater  application  of  the  mind 
to  the  labors  of  the  hand  distinguishes  the 
present  generation  over  all  preceding  times 
in  a  manner  which  those  only  can  appre- 
ciate who  will  look  back  and  consider  the 
past — the  slow  growth  of  new  ideas  and 
new  practices,  the  struggles  with  prejudice, 
ignorance,  the  want  of  markets,  and  the 
want  of  means,  all  of  which  contributed  to 
depress  American  agriculture  fifty  years 
ago,  and  to  keep  it  at  a  point  wretchedly 
low,  compared  even  with  what  it  is  at  the 
present  time.  We  have  seen  not  only  the 
calling,  but  the  men  who  live  by  it  gradu- 
ally rising  in  dignity,  in  self-respect,  and  the 
respect  of  mankind.  It  is  an  imperative  law 
of  society  that  educated  mind  and  educated 
labor  will  take  its  position  above  uneducated ; 
in  proportion  as  the  farmer  of  to-day  is  bet- 
ter educated  and  more  intelligent  than  the 
farmer  of  half  a  century  ago,  the  former 
would  naturally  stand  above  the  latter  in  the 
general  estimation  of  the  community.  But 
in  many  other  respects  the  farmer  of  the  pres- 
ent day  is  far  in  advance  of  his  forefathers. 
His  labor  is  easier,  and  his  mental  activity  is 
consequently  greater.  The  same  amount  of 
manual  labor  produces  more,  and  the  farmer 
has  time  for  the  culture  of  the  mind  and  the 
social  virtues,  as  well  as  the  farm,  and  agri- 
culture holds  a  position  of  pre-eminence  un- 
known at  any  former  period. 

These  changes  we  have  seen  in  our  own 
day,  and  we  know  that  a  higher  develop- 
ment of  our  agricultural  wealth  must  go 
hand  in  hand  with  an  increase  of  population, 
if  there  were  no  other  stimulus  to  its  growth. 
Now,  if  we  consider  the  immense  area  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  facilities  for  the  ex- 


pansion of  our  population,  the  mind  itself  is 
incapable  of  fixing  limits  to  the  increase  of 
this  grand  interest,  already  involving  a  great- 
er amount  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  than 
any  other,  producing  annually  to  the  value 
of  more  than  sixteen  hundred  millions  of 
dollars,  and  capable  of  a  hundred-fold  great- 
er development  than  that  which  it  has  al- 
ready attained. 

The  original  area  of  the  country  was  but 
820,680  sq.  miles,  till  the  purchase  of  Lou- 
isiana, in  1803,  brought  an  addition  of  899,- 
579  more,  and  the  acquisition  of  Florida,  in 
1819,  an  addition  of  66,900  square  miles. 
The  annexation  of  Texas  gave  us  318,000, 
and  that  of  Oregon  308,052,  to  which  is  to 
be  added  the  territory  acquired  by  the 
treaty  with  Mexico,  of  522,955  square  miles, 
and  we  have  at  the  present  time  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  nearly  three  millions  of  square  miles, 
or  2,936,166. 

It  is  expected  that  the  census  of  1860 
will  show  that  the  population  is  somewhat 
over  thirty  millions;  possibly  it  may  be 
thirty-three  millions.  The  annual  increase 
since  1790  has 'been  four  times  as  great  as 
that  of  Russia,  six  times  as  great  as  that  of 
Great  Britain,  nine  times  as  great  as  that  of 
Austria,  and  ten  times  as  great  as  that  of 
France  ;  and  if  the  ratio  of  increase  in  our 
population  from  1840  to  1850  should  con- 
tinue to  1890,  we  shall  have  a  population 
of  one  hundred  and  seven  millions.  The 
density  of  population  in  1850  was  less  than 
eight  persons  to  the  square  mile,  or,  more  ac- 
curately, 7.90.  That  of  the  New  England 
states  was  less  than  forty-two  (41.94)  to  the 
square  mile.  That  of  the  middle  states  was 
about  fifty-eight  (57.79),while  Texas  and  Cal- 
ifornia had  less  than  one  to  the  square  mile. 
If  we  had  the  density  of  population  to  be 
found  in  Spain,  it  would  give  us  two  hun- 
dred* millions ;  if  that  of  France,  it  would 
give  us  five  hundred  millions ;  if  that  of 
Belgium  (402),  it  would  give  us  eleven  hun- 
dred and  eighty  millions. 

The  area  of  the  Pacific  slope  of  this 
country  is  786,002  square  miles,  or  26.09 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  territory  of  the  Unit- 
ed States.  The  area  of  the  Atlantic  slope, 
proper,  is  514,416  square  miles,  a  ratio  of 
only  17.52  to  the  whole.  The  area  of  the 
gulf  region  is  325,537  square  miles,  or 
11.09  per  cent,  of  the  whole;  that  of  the 
northern  lake  region  is  112,649  square 
miles,  or  only  3.83  per  cent.,  while  that  of 
the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  region  water- 


102 


AGRICULTURE    IN   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


ed  and  drained  by  its  tributaries  is  1,217,- 
562  square  miles,  or  41.47  per  cent,  of  the 
whole,  or  more  than  two-fifths  of  our  na- 
tional territory. 

The  number  of  farms  and  plantations  in 
the  United  States  in  1850  was  1,449,075, 
and  the  number  of  acres  of  improved  land 
in  farms,  113,032,614.  In  1860  there  were 
over  two  millions  of  farms,  and  the  number 
of  acres  of  improved  land  was  163,261,389. 
The  unimproved  land  in  farms,  in  1850,  was 
180,528,800  acres,  and  this  had  increased, 
by  the  taking  up  of  new  lands  in  1860,  to 
246,508,244  acres.  The  cash  value  of  farms, 
in  1850  amounting  to  $3,271,575,420,  had 
risen  in  1860  to  $6,650,872,507 ;  or,  in 
other  words,  while  the  farming  lands  had 
increased  fifty  per  cent,  in  average,  their 
value,  from  the  greater  density  of  popula- 
tion, and  improved  methods  of  cultivation, 
had  doubled. 

The  domestic  animals  of  the  farm  num- 
bered as  follows  at  the  dates  specified ;  the 
last  column  being  estimated  by  the  Agricul- 
tural Department : — 

June,  1850.     June,  1860.     Jan.,  1866. 


Horses 4,336,719 

Asses  and  Mules 559,331 

Milch  Cows 6,885,094 

Working  Oxen 1,700, 694 

Other  Cattle 10,293.069 

Sheep 21,723,220 

Swine 30,354,213 


6,115,458  6,691,220 

1,129.553  1,054,387 

8,728.862  ) 

2,240,075  V  26,935,616 
14,671,400  j 

23,317,756  41,253,652 

82,555,267  28,845,003 


The  value  of  all  the  live  stock  in  1850 
was  reckoned  at  $544,180,516.  In  1860  it 
had  a  little  more  than  doubled,  being 
$1,107,490,216.  In  January,  1866,  their 
value  had  nearly  doubled  again,  though, 
owing  to  the  extraordinary  demand  of  the 
war,  their  numbers  had  not  greatly  increased, 
except  sheep,  which  had  risen  from  twenty- 
three  millions  to  forty-one  millions.  The 
estimated  value  of  the  live  stock  of  the 
country  in  January,  1866,  according  to  data 
furnished  by  the  Agricultural  Department, 
was  $2,171,283,799. 


The  value  of  the  crops  of  any  particular 
year  are  ascertained  with  difficulty  and  only 
approximately.  In  1866,  those  of  twenty- 
two  of  the  northern  states  were  reported  by 
the  Agricultural  Department  as  having  been, 
in  1863,  $955,764,322  ;  in  1864,  $1,504,- 
543,690;  and  in  1865,  $1,047,360,167. 
During  these  years  the  crops  of  the  south- 
ern states  were  greatly  disturbed  by  the 
war,  and  comparatively  little  of  their  great 
staples — cotton,  rice,  and  sugar — were  plant- 
ed. The  aggregate  value  of  the  crops  of  an 
average  year  for  the  whole  country  will  cer- 
tainly not  fall  below  $2,000,000,000. 

The  agricultural  productions  of  the  Pacific 
slope,  though  differing  somewhat  from  those 
of  the  Atlantic  states,  are  fast  rivalling  them 
in  proportionate  value.  The  long  dry  sea- 
son, while  it  prohibits  some  crops,  is  favor- 
able to  others,  and,  by  the  very  general  intro- 
duction of  irrigation,  the  production  of  wheat, 
of  a  peculiar  but  highly  nutritious  character, 
of  the  grape  and  other  fruits,  and  of  immense 
root  crops,  is  already  surpassing  that  of  the 
farming  lands  of  the  east.  The  vintage  of 
California  already  supplies  a  large  portion  of 
the  wine  consumed  in  the  United  States,  and 
its  wheat  is  largely  exported.  The  state  is 
also  devoting  great  attention  to  silk  culture. 

Texas  and  the  western  portion  of  the  Gulf 
region,  on  the  other  hand,  proves  to  be  the 
finest  grazing  country  in  the  world,  and  its 
millions  of  cattle  and  sheep  will  ere  long 
supply  the  markets  of  the  continent.  With 
a  variety  of  climate  which  enables  its  agri- 
culturists to  cultivate  all  the  productions 
of  the  temperate,  and  most  of  those  of  the 
semi-tropical  zone,  there  is  a  boundless  future 
of  prosperity  for  the  agriculturist  of  the 
United  States  to  look  forward  to,  and  he 
may  well  hope  and  expect  that  his  country 
will,  at  no  distant  day,  furnish  to  the  world 
in  rich  profusion  whatever  of  the  products 
of  agriculture  they  may  need. 


COTTON  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ABUNDANCE  OP  LAND— HIGH  WAGES  OF 
LABOR  DEPENDENT  ON  COTTON  AND 
GOLD. 

THE  high  prices  of  lahor  in  our  country, 
and  the  large  profits  of  capital,  have  been  re- 
marked from  the  earliest  period  of  our  his- 
tory. Adam  Smith,  in  his  "Wealth  of  Na- 
tions," proposed  an  explanation  of  these  two 
peculiarities,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
his  keen  insight  discovered  their  true  cause 
in  the  abundance  and  cheapness  of  good 
laud.  The  large  products  of  our  rich  virgin 
soil,  purchased  from  the  Indians  at  a  mere 
nominal  price,  enabled  the  farmer  to  offer 
high  wages  to  the  laborer,  and  large  interest 
to  the  capitalist.  The  owner  of  the  land, 
who  was  generally  a  laborer  himself,  paid  no 
rent,  and  had  made  but  a  small  outlay  to 
purchase  his  farm,  so  that  nearly  the  whole 
of  his  product  was  the  reward  of  labor.  If 
he  could  find  a  poor  man  who  had  not  means 
enough  to  purchase  and  stock  a  farm,  he 
could  afford  to  offer  him  high  wages,  because 
he  would  be  himself  more  than  paid  by  his 
increased  products.  These  high  wages  soon 
enabled  the  hired  laborer  to  become  a  land- 
proprietor  himself,  and  both  were  then  com- 
petitors in  the  market  for  all  the  labor  that 
could  be  hired.  This  competition  forced  the 
rate  of  wages  as  high  as  their  abundant 
crops  authorized  them  to  pay.  The  artisans 
of  the  towns  were  tempted  from  their  shops 
by  the  large  reward  offered  for  their  labor  in 
the  country ;  and  the  few  who  remained  at 
their  trades  asked  high  prices  for  their  work. 
These  they  readily  obtained,  for  their  only 
competitors  were  across  the  sea.  three  thou- 
sand miles  distant,  with  slow  and  irregular 
communication,  so  that  the  foreign  mechanics 
could  not  force  those  who  were  here  to 
reduce  their  prices  to  the  standard  of 
the  old  world.  Thus,  in  the  town  and 
the  country,  in  mechanical  as  well  as  agri- 
cultural labor,  a  high  rate  of  wages  was 


kept  up  by  the  abundance  and  cheapness  of 
good  land. 

As  capital  is  an  aid  to  labor,  by  enlarging 
its  products,  the  rate  of  interest  is  high 
where  labor  is  productive.  The  distrust  of 
capitalists  who  were  separated  from  us  by 
the  wide  Atlantic,  and  their  ignorance  of  our 
pursuits,  and  means,  and  credit,  prevented 
them  from  entering  into  competition  with 
the  capitalists  here,  so  that  they  easily  ob- 
tained all  the  borrower  was  able  to  pay. 
This  was  a  very  high  rate,  because  the 
money  was  of  great  advantage.  Whether  the 
farmer  borrowed  it  to  buy  more  lands,  or 
ploughs,  or  stock,  or  the  mechanic  to  en- 
large his  powers  of  production  by  new  ma- 
chines, or  tools,  or  materials,  both  were  able 
to  pay  a  large  per-centage,  on  account  of  the 
profits  of  their  increased  business.  Thus 
cheap,  rich  lands  not  only  advanced  the  rate 
of  wages,  but  of  interest  also. 

This  explanation  was  satisfactory  during 
all  the  period  of  our  colonial  history.  It 
was  still  plausible  after  the  war  of  Indepen- 
dence, for,  although  our  population  had  ad- 
vanced into  the  interior,  and  the  price  of 
lands  along  the  sea-board  had  risen  so  that  the 
products  of  the  soil  were  charged,  before 
they  could  be  exported,  with  rent  or  with 
the  cost  of  inland  transportation,  leaving  a 
smaller  portion  of  the  proceeds  for  the  share 
of  the  laborer,  the  wars  in  Europe  con- 
nected with  the  French  Revolution  increased 
the  demand  for  breadstuffs,  and  maintained 
them  at  high  prices.  Our  neutral  position 
gave  us  the  carrying  trade  between  the  bel- 
ligerents, and  this  required  a  large  number 
of  American  ships.  These  being  built  of 
timber  procured  from  our  abundant  forests, 
brought  large  returns  to  the  laborer.  The 
trees  that  were  felled  and  converted  into 
ship-timber  cost  nothing,  or  but  a  trifle ;  so 
that  the  whole  value  of  the  timber  consisted 
of  wages  only,  and  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion to  the  sea-port.  As  this  distance  was 
short,  nearly  the  whole  was  wages. 


exp 


NOTE.     It  is  not  supposed  people  will  indorse  some  of  the  sentiments  advanced  in  this  Article — they  ore  such  ns  should  lie 
peeled  from  a  Southern  source.     Professor  McCay  is  one  of  the  most  able  writers  of  the  South  ;  is  not  a  politician,  so  lar  ns  we 


know,  and  lias  pro.lnred  a  very  instructive  and  valuable  Article,  it  being  written  before  the  war.  will  ever  remain  one  of  the  n\o<< 
impartial  and  faithful  descriptions  of  the  Cotton  interest,  and  exposition  of  the  views  of  the  people  of  the  Fouth,  on  the  system  of 
labor  unde.r  which  the  great  staple  is  cultivated,  to  be  found  on  record.  We  think  it  will  he  perused  witli  much  interest  by  the 
general  reader. — Publisher. 


104 


COTTON      CULTURE. 


Thus,  even  to  the  war  of  1812,  our  rich, 
cheap  lands  were  the  source  of  our  pros- 
perity, and  the  explanation  proposed  by  Dr. 
Smith  for  the  high  rate  of  wages  and  of  in- 
terest prevailing  here  was  still  satisfactory. 
But  when  peace  was  restored,  in  1815,  and 
the  immense  armies  of  the  different  states 
of  Europe  were  returned  to  their  homes  to 
become  producers  instead  of  consumers ; 
when  the  several  countries  encouraged  their 
own  shipping  and  their  own  farmers  by  re- 
storing their  usual  prohibitions  and  restric- 
tions, the  advantages  we  possessed  before 
the  war  were  very  much  lessened.  Our 
country  had  by  this  time  become  more  popu- 
lous. Lands  along  the  sea-board  had  risen  in 
price ;  the  people  had  penetrated  the  inte- 
rior ;  the  distant  transportation  had  become 
a  heavy  burden  to  the  producer ;  and  thus, 
at  the  very  same  time  that  the  European  de- 
mand was  lessened,  and  the  price  depressed, 
our  ability  to  supply  the  demand  with  profit 
was  decreased.  The  money  value  of  our 
products  was  diminished,  and  the  laborer's 
share  in  this  value  was  at  the  same  time  less- 
ened. The  usefulness  of  our  cheap  lands 
was  decreased,  and  their  advantages  were 
less  and  less  experienced. 

If  we  come  down  to  recent  times,  our  ad- 
vantages have  not  improved.  Our  country 
has  become  larger.  The  region  of  cheap 
land  is  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  We  must 
take  a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  from  New 
York,  crossing  the  Ohio  and  the  Wabash, 
passing  Indiana  and  Illinois,  before  we  reach 
the  country  of  cheap  lands.  The  grain  that 
is  brought  down  the  Hudson  from  Albany 
has  been  carried  more  than  three  hundred 
miles,  in  the  Erie  canal,  from  Buffalo,  and 
more  than  a  thousand,  by  vessels  on  the  lakes, 
from  Chicago,  and  thither  from  the  interior  of 
Illinois  by  railroad.  There  the  land  on 
which  it  was  produced  is  worth  ten,  twenty, 
fifty  dollars  per  acre.  Now,  however  cheap 
the  transportation  by  railroad  and  on '  the 
lakes,  the  canal,  and  the  river,  the  freight 
must  be  a  large  per-centage  of  the  sales  at 
New  York.  The  rent  of  land  in  Illinois  is 
also  to  be  deducted,  leaving  but  a  small  bal- 
ance to  be  finally  paid  the  laborer  who  has 
produced  it.  We  must  go  hundreds  of  miles 
further  to  reach  the  region  of  cheap  land, 
and  then  the  increased  cost  of  transportation 
will  neutralize  the  advantage  of  procuring 
land  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre. 

Now,  will  the  cheap  lands  of  Iowa,  and 
Wisconsin,  and  Nebraska,  explain  our  high 


rates  of  wages  ?  In  colonial  times  the  prod- 
uct was  made  along  the  Atlantic,  and  nearly 
the  whole  price  at  Philadelphia  went  to  the 
laborer.  Now,  a  large  per-centage  must  be 
deducted  for  the  two  thousand  miles'  carriage 
by  land,  lake,  canal,  and  river,  and  the  la- 
borer's share  is  small.  The  truth  is,  the 
pioneer  is  poorly  paid ;  he  is  struggling  hard 
for  a  mere  pittance.  His  receipts  are  small, 
and  he  can  give  but  a  small  price  for  the 
hireling  he  employs  to  assist  him  on  his 
farm.  He  is  no  longer  the  cause  of  high 
wages  through  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
land.  His  influence  and  empire  have  ceased. 

Besides,  our  country  has  increased  in 
population  so  largely,  that  the  foreign  de- 
mand for  flour  and  other  products  of  our 
lands  will  not  pay  for  a  tithe  of  our  neces- 
sary wants,  which  must  be  supplied  from 
abroad.  Our  people  have  increased  in  wealth, 
and  their  wants  for  wines,  and  silks,  and  other 
luxuries,  cannot  be  paid  for  by  the  export  of 
flour  and  grain,  and  the  products  of  our  for- 
ests. If,  besides  agricultural  productions,  we 
are  forced  to  export  manufactures  to  pay  for 
our  foreign  supplies,  the  price  of  labor, 
which  is  the  main  element  in  the  cost  of 
manufactures,  must  at  once  fall  to  the  Euro- 
pean standard. 

If,  then,  we  had  cheap  lands  even  on  the 
Atlantic,  we  could  not  pay  for  our  present 
large  supplies  of  foreign  goods,  so  that  these 
could  not  maintain  our  high  rates  for  wages 
and  interest;  much  less  are  they  able  to  do 
it  when  they  are  thousands  of  miles  from  the 
coast. 

A  reference  to  the  history  of  our  foreign 
commerce  will  illustrate  the  principles  we 
have  been  referring  to.  When  our  general 
government  was  first  formed,  our  population 
was  less  than  four  millions  ;  of  these  ninety- 
five  per  cent,  were  along  the  Atlantic  slope, 
their  average  distance  from  the  coast  being 
less  than  a  hundred  miles.  Our  average  do- 
mestic exports  for  the  five  years  from  1790 
to  1 Y94,  were  less  than  twenty-two  millions  of 
dollars.  Of  these,  flour  alone  averaged  more 
than  800,000  barrels,  and  wheat  more  than 
1,200,000  bushels;  making  a  value  of  more 
than  six  millions  of  dollars.  Other  products 
of  the  farm  and  the  forest  made  up  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  balance.  Now  when  lands 
were  cheap,  and  near  to  the  seaports  ;  when 
the  forests  bordering  on  the  coast  Avere  not 
yet  thinned  or  cut  down,  the  laborer  had  a 
rich  and  abundant  harvest,  and  high  wages 
could  be  maintained  by  our  cheap  lands. 


ABUNDANCE  OF  LAND WAGES  OF  LABOR  DEPENDENT  ON  COTTON  AND  GOLD.   105 


Ten  years  later,  our  population  had  risen 
to  five  millions,  of  which  ninety  per  cent,  yet 
occupied  the  Atlantic  slope.  Our  domestic 
exports  had  risen  to  forty  millions  for  the  five 
years  after  1800  ;  and  of  these,  flour  alone 
amounted  to  eight  millions  and  a  half,  its 
average  price  being  $8.40,  and  the  number 
of  barrels  exceeding  a  million.  The  demand 
for  our  agricultural  products  was  now  large 
and  the  price  high ;  so  that  the  imports 
could  yet  be  paid  for  by  the  products  of  our 
lands  and  our  forests.  These  were  still  near 
the  coast,  and  nearly  all  their  proceeds  be- 
longed to  the  labor  that  produced  them. 

In  1810  our  population  had  increased  to 
7,000,000,  of  which  80  per  cent,  were  on 
this  side  of  the  Alleghanies.  For  the  next 
two  years  which  preceded  the  war,  our  ex- 
ports of  domestic  produce  reached  $43,- 
000,000,  of  which  flour  constituted  one- 
fourth,  the  number  of  barrels  exceeding 
1,1 00,000,  and  the  average  price  being  89.66. 
Other  products  of  our  lands,  yet  cheap  and 
near  the  coast,  made  up  a  large  portion  of 
the  means  we  used  to  pay  for  our  foreign 
supplies,  and  up  to  this  time  it  may  be  justly 
said  that  high  wages  were  sustained  by  the 
abundance  of  our  fertile  lands. 

But  what  a  change  in  1820.  The  people 
had  increased  to  10,000,000,  40  per  cent,  of 
whom  had  their  homes  across  the  mountains. 
Our  exports  of  domestic  produce  were  over 
$50,000,000,  and  the  whole  demand  for  flour 
did  not  average,  for  the  five  years  after  1820, 
1,000,000  barrels,  and  that  at  only  $5.68 
per  barrel.  While  the  products  of  our 
lands  had  to  be  brought  much  further  to 
market,  the  amount  demanded  for  foreign 
countries,  and  the  prices  they  gave  for  them, 
had  declined.  It  was  the  same  with  the 
products  of  the  forest.  For  the  ten  years 
after  the  war  they  were  less  than  for  the  ten 
years  before.  The  first  were  much  nearer 
the  sea,  and  for  the  last  we  gave  more  labor 
and  received  less  money.  The  efficiency  of 
cheap  lands  to  pay  for  our  imports  was 
gone,  and  their  power  to  keep  up  prices  de- 
parted also. 

If  we  come  down  to  1 8  5  0,  our  population  had 
reached  2  3,000,000,  of  whom  only  54  per  cent, 
were  along  the  Atlantic.  The  centre  of  the  ag- 
ricultural population  had  receded  from  the  sea- 
board and  crossed  the  mountains.  The  grain 
produced  along  the  coast  was  all  wanted  at 
home.  New  England  did  not  produce  her  own 
supplies.  The  city  of  New  York  contained  a 
half  million  of  people,  who  could  not  be  fed 


by  the  surplus  of  the  empire  state.  The 
coal  and  iron  districts  of  Pennsylvania  had 
become  better  markets  for  grain  and  flour 
than  Philadelphia.  Populous  cities  had 
risen  in  the  west,  and  all  these  intercepted 
the  supplies  of.  food  that  were  to  be  sent 
abroad  for  the  purchase  of  our  imports. 
The  only  flour  that  could  be  exported  had 
to  be  carried  from  five  to  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  The  foreign  demand  was  no  greater 
than  it  had  been  fifty  years  before,  and  our 
exports  only  reached  1,000,000  of  barrels, 
while  $163,000,000  were  needed  to  pay  for 
our  imports.  The  other  products  of  the 
west  were  small,  and  so  were  those  of  the 
forest.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  cheap 
lands  could  no  longer  furnish  the  supplies 
to  pay  for  our  imports,  much  less  could  they 
keep  up  the  price  of  labor  above  the  foreign 
standard.  The  advantages  furnished  by 
nature  in  the  early  history  of  our  country 
had  ceased,  and  we  were  thrown  on  other 
resources,  to  keep  up  the  prosperity  and 
progress  of  our  people. 

But  this  prosperity  has  not  ceased. 
There  has  been  no  step  backward  in  our 
career.  The  high  prices  of  labor  and  of 
capital  have  been  sustained,  and  the  onward 
progress  of  our  country,  in  power,  wealth, 
and  greatness,  has  never  received  the  slight- 
est check. 

That  labor  is  still  higher  than  in  Europe, 
is  abundantly  evident.  We  import  a  large 
amount  of  cotton  goods ;  the  importer  pays 
the  expenses  of  transportation  across  the 
sea,  and  a  duty  of  24  per  cent,  at  the  custom- 
house, and  yet  sells  his  goods  at  the  same 
price  with  the  American  manufacturer  who 
has  bought  his  raw  material  at  a  lower  price 
than  the  foreign  producer.  There  is  no  ex- 
planation of  this  possible,  except  that  labor 
and  capital  are  higher  in  this  country  than 
in  Europe.  The  iron  ore  of  Pennsylvania 
is  as  good  and  abundant  as  in  England ; 
fuel  and  limestone  are  as  cheap,  and  as  near 
to  the  beds  of  ore ;  but  the  English  iron  is 
not  only  imported  under  heavy  duties,  but 
carried  into  the  interior,  and  sold  in  the  very 
neighborhood  of  the  American  furnaces. 
These  two  manufactures  have  long  been 
favored  by  the  protection  of  government. 
Under  the  device  of  specific  duties  and 
minimums,  the  tariff  for  a  while  amount- 
ed to  a  prohibition  on  many  of  these 
goods.  On  all  it  was  very  large  and  bur- 
densome. The  manufacturers  have  had 
time  and  opportunity  to  learn  and  introduce 


106 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


all  the  improvements,  and  skill,  and  knowl- 
edge that  would  facilitate  and  cheapen  their 
production ;  they  have  had  enterprise,  and 
capital,  and  energy  to  manage  and  direct 
them ;  and  there  is  no  possible  explanation 
of  the  continued  import  of  these  articles  to 
the  amount  of  millions  and  tens  of  millions 
of  dollars  every  year,  unless  labor  and  capi- 
tal were  dearer  here  than  in  England. 

Perhaps  a  more  striking  proof  that  wages 
are  higher  here  than  in  Europe  may  be  found 
in  the  immense  emigration  into  the  United 
States  from  foreign  countries.  The  principal 
motive  of  these  emigrants  is  to  improve  their 
condition.  The  Irish  laborers  who  rejoiced 
in  the  old  country  at  having  meat  once  a 
week,  are  here  able  to  place  it  on  their  tables 
three  times  a  day ;  to  whet  their  appetites 
with  as  much  whiskey  as  they  may  wish;  to 
enjoy  comforts  and  luxuries  they  never 
dreamed  of  abroad;  and  to  send  back  to 
the  parents,  and  brothers,  and  sisters  they 
left  behind,  millions  of  dollars  every  year, 
that  they  also  may  come  here  and  partici- 
pate in  the  same  prosperity.  The  Germans 
bid  adieu  to  their  homes  and  fatherland  that 
they  love  so  well,  and  come  over  by  tens  of 
thousands  to  buy  land,  and  build  fine  barns, 
and  lay  up  treasures  for  old  age  or  for  their 
children ;  while  in  their  own  country  they 
would  have  been  poor  and  humble  peasants 
all  their  lives. 

This  high  price  of  wages  is  of  the  utmost 
importance.  It  is  the  source  of  our  rapid 
increase  in  wealth  and  greatness,  and  the 
exact  measure  of  our  prosperity.  It  belongs 
not  merely  to  the  day  laborer  who  works 
with  his  hands,  but  to  the  artisan  who  has 
skill,  and  to  the  man  of  talent  who  has 
brains.  The  superintendent  and  the  master 
manufacturer,  as  well  as  the  weaver,  receive 
high  wages ;  the  captain  of  the  ship  as  well 
as  the  sailor ;  the  merchant  as  well  as  his 
porter ;  and  as  industry,  enterprise,  and  tal- 
ent earn  higher  rewards  here  than  in  any 
other  country,  the  workman  is  inspired 
with  new  zeal,  his  aims  and  aspirations  are 
raised,  wealth  accumulates  with  greater 
rapidity,  and  every  thing  that  makes  a  coun- 
try prosperous  and  powerful  is  developed 
with  a  quicker  growth. 

If,  then,  it  is  a  fact  that  wages  are  higher 
here  than  in  Europe ;  if  this  is  a  fact  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  prosperity  and 
greatness  of  our  country,  the  question  recurs, 
How  is  this  high  rate  of  wages  sustained  ? 
If  not  by  cheap  lands,  what  other  advantage 


have  we  ?  the  gift  of  nature  or  our  own 
arrangement,  by  which  we  are  able  to  have 
an  active  commerce  with  all  the  world,  and  a 
free  interchange  of  commodities  with  every 
country,  and  yet  to  sustain  a  higher  price  for 
labor  and  capital  than  the  other  nations  with 
whom  we  trade  ? 

The  only  way  to  keep  up  the  rates  of  wages 
and  of  money  higher  than  in  Europe,  is  to 
produce  some  articles  here  that  are  in  large 
demand  abroad,  for  which  we  have  peculiar 
advantages,  so  that  we  can  make  them 
cheaper  than  other  countries,  in  spite  of  our 
high  price  for  labor  and  our  high  interest  for 
money. 

Such  an  article  we  have  in  cotton.  It  is 
of  prime  necessity,  and  in  large  demand 
abroad,  because  it  furnishes  the  cheapest  ma- 
terial for  clothing,  and  for  other  purposes  of 
civilized  life  ;  it  is  produced  here  under  such 
favorable  circumstances  that  we  can  supply 
this  demand  at  a  fair  profit  to  ourselves ;  this 
profitable  production  being  sustained  by  the 
favorable  circumstances  of  our  soil  and  cli- 
mate, and  by  the  use  of  cheap  labor  in  the 
midst  of  a  country  where  labor  is  dear. 

The  large  demand  for  cotton  in  other  coun- 
tries enables  us  to  pay  for  the  imports  that 
we  must  have,  and  also  for  others  that  we 
ourselves  might  supply,  were  it  not  that  our 
high  rates  for  labor  and  capital  permit  the 
foreign  producers  to  undersell  us  in  our  own 
market,  after  paying  heavy  duties  at  the  sea- 
ports, and  the  cost  of  transportation  across 
the  Atlantic. 

It  is  easy  to  follow  out  the  course  of 
operations  by  which  these  effects  are  pro- 
duced :  the  planter  produces  the  cotton 
which  is  sold  abroad,  and  buys  the  foreign 
supplies  of  the  north,  the  south,  and  the 
west.  The  north  carries  the  cotton  to  the 
foreign  country,  and  brings  back  the  returns. 
She  delivers  to  the  south  her  share,  and 
pays  for  the  balance  in  manufactures.  After 
supplying  herself,  she  buys  food  from  the 
west  with  the  remainder. 

The  manufactures  of  Europe  being  loaded 
with  the  expenses  of  transport  across  the 
seas,  and  with  duties  paid  to  the  general 
government,  the  northern  manufacturer  can 
keep  the  prices  for  his  goods  up  to  the  im- 
porting limit,  and  these  the  south  is  able  to 
pay,  because  of  the  profit  on  her  great  staple, 
and  the  monopoly  she  has  of  the  European 
market. 

Thus  are  the  high  prices  of  labor  sustain- 
ed, and  the  foreign  supplies  of  the  country 


ABUNDANCE  OF  LAND WAGES  OF  LABOR  DEPENDENT  ON  COTTON  AND  GOLD.   107 


paid  for  by  the  export  of  cotton,  whose  cost 
of  production  does  not  depend  on  the  high 
paid  labor  of  the  country,  but  on  the  cheap 
labor  of  the  negro  slave. 

During  the  last  ten  years  the  gold  of  Cal- 
ifornia has  had  precisely  the  same  effect,  and 
its  operations  have  been  in  every  respect 
similar.  The  demand  abroad  for  gold  is  of 
course  unlimited ;  the  cheap  and  profitable 
production  of  it  here  depends  on  the  abun- 
dant gifts  of  nature.  The  eastern  manu- 
facturers sell  their  high-priced  products  to 
the  miners,  who  are  prevented  from  obtain- 
ing them  cheaper  by  the  distance  from 
Europe,  and  the  duties  of  the  custom-house, 
and  are  able  to  pay  for  them  by  the  abundant 
rewards  they  receive  from  their  own  labor. 
In  this  case  nature,  without  any  aid,  makes 
the  production  profitable ;  in  the  other  nature 
is  aided  by  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
south.  But  the  effects  are  in  both  cases 
identical. 

These  two  articles  are  assisted  by  rice  and 
tobacco,  which  are  in  almost  every  respect 
similar  to  cotton.  The  demand  abroad  is 
not  so  great,  and  our  advantages  in  their 
cultivation  over  the  other  producers  for  the 
European  market  are  not  so  marked  and  de- 
cided. They  are,  however,  real,  and  they 
may  properly  be  regarded  as  aids  to  cotton 
and  gold  in  producing  the  effect. 

The  propriety  and  correctness  of  this  ex- 
planation of  our  high  prices  is  not  affected 
by  the  fact  that  we  also  export  some  manu- 
factures. This  is  done  in  spite  of  their  high 
prices,  because  they  are  carried,  not  to  Eng- 
land and  France,  but  to  Mexico,  South 
America,  and  the  West  Indies,  where  our 
proximity  and  trade  give  us  some  advantages 
over  the  European  manufacturer.  A  few 
cotton  goods  are  carried  to  China ;  these  are 
coarse,  so  that  the  superior  cheapness  of  the 
raw  material  here  partly  compensates  for  the 
superior  cost  of  manufacturing.  This  ad- 
vantage is  aided  by  the  influence  of  fashion, 
habit,  and  accident ;  by  the  superior  adapted- 
ness  of  our  goods  to  their  wants  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  export,  and  the  good  will 
and  good  name  that  were  then  secured ;  and 
by  various  other  inducements  which  often 
lead  to  the  purchase  of  higher-priced  com- 
modities even  in  a  free  and  open  market. 
Some  few  manufactures  are  even  carried 
to  England,  France,  and  Germany,  on  ac- 
count of  the  temporary  superiority  of  our 
workmen,  or  of  new  improvements  in  the 
mode  of  manufacture  not  yet  introduced 

7 


abroad,  or  of  new  inventions,  or  discoveries, 
or  patents.  The  whole  amount  of  these  being 
small,  and  due  to  real  advantages  we  have 
here,  or  to  accident,  or  fashion,  or  taste,  or 
prejudice,  do  not  form  any  objection  to  the 
explanation  we  have  proposed,  that  high 
prices  are  maintained  in  our  country  chiefly 
by  cotton. 

So  also  with  agricultural  products ;  we  ex- 
port some  of  these  to  the  markets  on  our 
own  continent,  where  we  have  many  advan- 
tages over  the  European  producer.  In  some 
of  these,  as  in  the  flour  to  Brazil,  these  are 
very  considerable.  Our  import  of  coffee  is 
large,  and  our  exports  in  return  are  very 
small,  and  consequently  freights  are  low. 
We  produce  a  kind  of  wheat  in  our  southern 
climate  manufactured  into  flour,  which  will 
not  readily  sour  in  the  voyage  across  the 
equator.  These  two  reasons  secure  a  large 
demand  for  the  brand  of  southern  mills. 
And  there  are  many  other  circumstances 
that  induce  a  few  shipments  without  refer- 
ence to  price,  so  that  even  the  small  influence 
of  our  agricultural  exports  in  sustaining 
prices  is  not  due  entirely  to  cheap  lands,  but 
to  position,  accident,  advantages  of  climate, 
and  other  things  of  this  kind. 

If  we  refer  to  our  commercial  statistics,  it 
will  be  seen  how  small  a  ratio  our  manufac- 
tures and  the  products  of  our  cheap  lands 
bear  to  the  whole  exports.  In  1850  the 
cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco  exported  were 
worth  eighty-five  millions  of  dollars,  and 
formed  sixty-three  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
value;  the  flour,  grain,  cheese,  butter,  lard, 
tallow,  beef,  pork,  naval  stores,  and  many 
other  animal  and  agricultural  products  were 
less  than  twenty-four  millions,  and  constitut- 
ed only  eighteen  per  cent,  of  the  domestic 
exports;  while  the  manufactures  of  every 
kind,  including  those  of  cotton,  were  only 
fifteen  millions,  forming  but  eleven  per  cent, 
of  the  exports.  For  1859,  the  last  year  of 
our  published  returns,  the  value  of  cotton, 
rice,  tobacco,  and  gold  was  $245,000,000, 
or  seventy-three  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
value ;  all  the  products  of  animals  and  of  the 
field,  forty-two  millions,  or  thirteen  per  cent, 
of  all ;  and  manufactures  of  every  kind  (in- 
cluding eight  millions  of  cotton  goods)  thirty 
millions  of  dollars,  or  nine  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  exports.  Of  cotton  alone  the  exports 
were  $161,000,000. 

We  repeat,  then,  that  it  is  cotton  almost 
entirely  that  keeps  up  the  price  of  labor 
and  capital  in  this  country  above  the  rates 


108 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


of  every  other  part  of  the  world :  that  it 
is  aided  in  this  by  the  gold  of  California 
and  the  rice  and  tobacco  of  the  Southern 
states,  and,  to  a  very  small  and  insignificant 
extent,  by  our  cheap  lands  and  abundant 
forests  ;  that  cotton  brings  about  this  result 
because  it  is  in  large  demand  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, being  the  cheapest  article  of  clothing ; 
because  our  planters  produce  it  in  large 
amounts,  and  at  great  profit  to  themselves  ; 
and  because  we  have  almost  a  monopoly  of 
the  foreign  market,  on  account  of  our  ability 
to  produce  a  cheaper  and  better  article  than 
any  other  country  in  either  of  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  globe.  This  cheapness  is  secured 
by  the  advantage  of  our  soil  and  climate, 
and  by  the  aid  of  cheap  labor,  which  does 
not  come  into  competition  with  the  other 
labor  of  the  country  so  as  to  depress  the 
general  standard  of  wages. 

To  establish  the  first  of  these  propositions, 
we  have  only  to  refer  to  the  history  of  the 
cotton  manufacture  of  Europe  and  America, 
and  especially  of  England,  as  found  in  an- 
other chapter. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PRODUCTION  AND  PRICES  OF  COTTON. 

COTTON  has  been  employed  as  a  material 
for  clothing  from  the  earliest  times,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century 
nearly  two  millions  of  pounds  were  imported 
into  England  to  supply  their  spinning  wheels 
and  looms,  and  to  be  used  for  the  other  pur- 
poses to  which  it  was  applied.  In  1*751  the 
imports  rose  to  2,976,610  pounds,  in  1764 
they  were  3,870,392  pounds,  and  in  1781  they 
had  increased  to  5,198,778.  At  this  period 
they  took  a  sudden  rise,  and  in  the  next  five 
years  increased  to  nineteen  millions,  and  in 
the  next  five  to  twenty-nine  millions  of 
pounds,  thus  making  a  more  rapid  progress 
in  five  years  than  in  the  preceding  hun- 
dred. 

The  cause  of  this  rapid  advance  was  the 
introduction  of  machinery  for  the  spinning 
of  cotton.  This  reduced  the  price  and  in- 
creased the  demand,  and  led  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  linen,  silk,  and  wool,  and  the  substi- 
tution of  cotton  in  .their  place. 

As  early  as  1738  Wyatt  had  taken  out  a 
patent  for  the  spinning  of  cotton  by  machin- 
ery. He  was  assisted  by  Paul,  who  after- 
ward took  out  a  patent  for  carding  the  cot- 


ton by  machinery.  But  so  complex  and 
imperfect  were  the  details  of  this  machinery 
of  Wyatt  and  Paul  that  these  projects  failed. 
The  principle  was  discovered,  but  important 
practical  improvements  were  wanting  before 
it  could  be  made  successful. 

In  1769,  Arkwright  took  out  a  patent  for 
his  water-frame  and  throstle,  and  in  17  70, 
Hargreaves  invented  his  spinning-jenny,  both 
of  which  were  on  the  same  principle  as 
Wyatt's  machine,  but  led  to  a  very  differ- 
ent result.  Between  1770  and  1780  these 
machines  were  fairly  tested,  and  in  the  next 
ten  years  they  were  rapidly  introduced. 
The  patent  of  Arkwright  was  broken  down 
in  the  courts  of  law  in  1785,  by  the  perse- 
vering opposition  of  those  who  had  wrong- 
fully Appropriated  his  discoveries ;  and  the 
expiration  of  the  other  patents  in  a  short 
time  opened  the  whole  manufacture  to  the 
free  use  of  the  people.  In  1800  the  imports 
of  cotton  had  risen  to  fifty-six  millions,  an 
increase  of  eleven  fold  in  twenty  years.  In 
the  first  eighty  years  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury the  increase  had  been  one  hundred  and 
fifty  per  cent. ;  in  the  last  twenty  years  it 
had  been  a  thousand. 

These  improvements  of  Arkwright  and 
Hargreaves  were  not  the  end  and  perfection 
of  the  inventions  for  spinning.  These  ma- 
chines were  not  adapted  for  the  finer  num- 
bers, and  in  1779  Samuel  Crompton  invent- 
ed the  mule,  which  combined  the  excellen- 
ces of  the  two  former  inventions.  No  pat- 
ent was  taken  out  for  it,  and  it  was  worked 
for  a  while  in  secret.  But  the  high  prices 
Crompton  obtained^for  his  yarn  soon  attract- 
ed such  attention  that  he  could  no  longer 
keep  it  concealed.  For  number  forty,  he 
received  three  dollars  and  a  half  a  pound ; 
and  for  number  sixty,  six  dollars.  These 
prices  were  commanded  by  the  superiority 
of  his  yarn,  and  the  mule  was,  therefore,  a 
great  improvement  on  the  old  machines. 
At  first  the  invention  was  quite  imperfect, 
but  it  was  soon  improved  and  brought 
nearly  to  its  present  perfection.  In  the 
course  of  ten  years  it  was  everywhere  intro- 
duced. Under  its  influence  the  demand  for 
labor  rapidly  increased. 

The  next  important  invention  was  the 
power-loom,  first  proposed  and  patented  by 
Cartwright.  The  patent  was  issued  in  1787, 
but  all  efforts  failed  to  introduce  it  success- 
fully until  after  the  beginning  of  the  present 
centuiy.  The  improvements  in  dressing  the 
warp,  which  were  indispensable  to  the  sue- 


PRODUCTION    AND    PRICES    OF    COTTON. 


109 


cess  of  the  power-loom,  were  made  in  1803. 
In  1813  there  were  twenty-four  hundred  of 
these  in  use  in  England.  In  1820  these  had 
increased  to  fifty-five  thousand,  and  in  1833 
to  a  hundred  thousand. 

The  steam  engine  of  Watt  was  not  less 
important  to  the  manufacture  of  cotton  than 
these  improvements  in  spinning  and  weav- 
ing. The  water  power  of  England  was  lim- 
ited, irregular,  and  entirely  insufficient  for 
the  numerous  machines  that  were  soon  in- 
troduced, and  the  new  motive  power  was 
especially  adapted  to  their  work.  Being 
cheap  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  coal, 
regular  in  its  operations  so  as  to  give  a  uni- 
form stroke  to  the  loom,  not  liable  to  in- 
terruptions and  strikes  as  human  labor  had 
been,  it  has  contributed  very  much  to  the 
progress  of  the  cotton  manufacture.  Watt's 
first  patent  was  taken  out  in  1769,  but  it 
was  not  until  1785  that  steam  was  applied 
to  the  driving  of  a  cotton  mill.  In  1800 
there  were  thirty  engines  employed  at  Man- 
chester, and  in  1859  the  number  in  the 
whole  kingdom  had  risen  to  twenty-two 
hundred. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  improve- 
ments, the  progress  in  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  has  been  of  the  most  rapid  descrip- 
tion. 

It  was  under  the  influence  of  those  great 
inventions  that  the  importations  of  cotton 
rose  in  twenty  years — from  1781  to  1801 — 
from  five  to  fifty-six  millions  of  pounds,  and 
the  English  exports  of  cottons  from  two  mill- 
ions of  dollars  to  twenty-seven  millions. 
In  all  this  time  the  price  of  the  raw  material 
rather  advanced  than  decreased.  Accord- 
ing to  Tooke's  "History  of  Prices,"  the 
range  for  different  qualities  of  West  India 
and  Surinam  from  1780  to  1785  was  from 
13  pence  per  pound  to  40 ;  while  from  1795 
to  1800  it  was  from  15  to  55  pence.  But 
the  cost  of  yarns  was  very  different.  In 
1786  and  1787  the  price  of  No.  100  was 
nine  and  a  half  dollars  a  pound;  in  1790, 
seven  and  a  half  dollars;  in  1795,  four  dol- 
lars and  three  quarters;  and  in  1800,  two 
dollars  and  thirty-five  cents. 

We  thus  see  that  the  effect  of  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  was  to  give  an  im- 
mense increase  to  the  consumption  of  cot- 
ton, a  large  reduction  in  the  price  of  cotton 
goods,  and  a  substitution  of  cotton  for  wool, 
silk,  and  flax,  and  an  increase  in  the  demand 
for  labor. 

The  improvements  which  were  made  after 


1800  were  not  less  important  than  those 
which  preceded  it.  The  importations  into 
England  increased  from  1800  to  1810  more 
than  a  hundred  per  cent.,  being  from  fifty- 
six  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  millions 
of  pounds.  The  American  war  interrupted 
the  progress  in  the  next  decade,  but  in  1820 
it  had  risen  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
millions.  For  the  next  ten  years  the  rate 
of  progress  was  nearly  a  hundred  per  cent., 
the  amount  in  1830  being  two  hundred  and 
sixty-four  millions.  In  1840  the  amount 
was  five  hundred  and  seventeen  millions, 
the  increase  being  nearly  a  hundred  per 
cent.  In  1850  the  imports  were  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-nine  millions ;  and  in  1859 
they  were  eleven  hundred  and  eighty-one 
millions.  In  1860  the  amount  received 
from  the  United  States  alone  reached  the 
enormous  sum  of  eleven  hundred  millions, 
to  which  the  East  Indies  have  made  an  addi- 
tion of  two  hundred  more,  and  other  coun- 
tries nearly  a  hundred,  making  a  total  of 
fourteen  hundred  millions  of  pounds. 

This  increase  since  1780,  when  machinery 
was  first  successfully  applied  to  the  spinning 
of  cotton,  has  been  two  hundred  and  eighty 
fold.  Since  1800  the  increase  has  been 
twenty-five  times  ;  since  1820  twelve  times ; 
and  since  1840,  three  times.  During  the 
year  1858  the  value  of  England's  manufac- 
tured cottons  was  four  hundred  and  thirty 
millions,  and  in  1859  four  hundred  and 
eighty  millions  of  dollars. 

At  the  same  time  the  manufacture  has  been 
growing  rapidly  in  every  other  country.  The 
abundance  of  coal  in  England,  the  cheap- 
ness of  iron  and  machinery,  and  the  low  rate 
of  interest  on  capital,  as  well  as  the  enter- 
prise, industry,  and  skill  of  her  people,  have 
placed  her  before  other  countries ;  but  their 
progress  has  been  rapid,  and  their  demand 
for  cotton  large  and  increasing. 

From  1820  to  1840  the  French  imports  of 
cotton  rose  from  forty- four  to  one  hundred  and 
four  millions  of  pounds,  and  in  1855  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  millions.  And  the 
recent  abolition  of  the  duty  on  raw  cottons 
has  made  the  increase  still  more  rapid.  In 
some  other  countries  of  Europe,  the  progress 
has  been  greater  than  in  France.  The 
comparative  magnitude  of  the  manufactures 
of  other  countries  than  England  may  be  seen 
by  our  exports  in  1860.  To  England,  we 
sent  2,669,000  bales ;  to  France,  589,000  ; 
and  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  515,000.  The 
average  of  1839  and  1840,  when  compared 


no 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


with  the  average  of  1859  and  1860,  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 


1839-40. 

Bales. 

Great  Britain 1,022,000 

The  Continent 453,000 

The  United  States.    336,000 


1859-60.  Increase 

Bales.  per  cent. 
2,344,000       130 
1,069,000       136 
953,000       154 


140 


Total 1,811,000       4,366,000 

As  England  exports  much  of  the  cotton 
she  receives,  and  all  obtain  more  or  less 
from  other  countries  than  the  United  States, 
the  comparative  importance  of  other  coun- 
tries will  be  best  seen  by  the  consumption  of 
all  kinds  of  cotton.  The  weekly  consump- 
tion for  the  years  1855  and  1856  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

1855.  1856. 

Bales.  Bales. 

Great  Britain 37,384  43,518 

On  the  Continent 26,554  27,524 

The  United  States...  14,822  15,768 

In  the  United  States,  the  increase  in  the 
consumption  has  been  more  rapid  than  in  any 
other  country : — 

Average  from  1826  to  1830,  127,000  bales. 

"  1831  "  1835,  195,000 

"  1836  "  1840,  275,000 

"  1841  "  1845,  363,000 

"  1846  "  1850,  539,000 

"  1851  "  1855,  686,000 

"  1856  "  1860,  818,000 

This  large  increase  in  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  has  been  accompanied  with  a  decline 
in  the  cost  of  the  raw  material,  and  a  still 
greater  decline  in  the  cost  of  manufactured 
goods.  The  price  of  American  cotton,  from 
1800  to  1820,  averaged  twenty-two  cents  per 
pound;  from  1820  to  1840,  thirteen  cents; 
and  from  1840  to  1860,  only  ten  cents.  In 
the  same  time  the  improvements  in  machin- 
ery, and  in  the  art  of  manufacturing,  and  in 
the  skill  of  the  workmen,  have  reduced  the 
price  of  yarns,  and  prints,  and  muslins,  and 
every  product  of  the  loom  in  a  much  greater 
ratio.  For  number  100,  the  price  of  yarn 
in  1786  was  nine  dollars  and  a  half;  in  1796, 
four  dollars  and  three  quarters;  in  1806,  one 
dollar  and  seventy-two  cents;  in  1812,  one 
dollar  and  twenty-seven  cents;  in  1830, 
eighty  cents;  and  in  1854,  fifty-eight  cents. 
In  the  lower  numbers  the  decrease  has  been 
nearly  as  krge.  In  all  kinds  of  cotton  goods 
the  decrease  in  price  is  made  manifest  by 
the  change  in  the  official  and  declared  values 
of  the  exports  of  Great  Britain.  The  offi- 
cial is  a  fixed  nominal  price  for  every  article 
exported,  and  the  declared  is  the  real  value. 


The  former  may  therefore  be  regarded  as 
representing  quantities,  and  the  latter  values. 
Now  the  official  and  declared  values  of  all 
kinds  of  goods  for 

1814  were  $88,000,000  and  $100,000,000 


1824 

'  151,000,000 

92,000,000 

1833 

'  232,000,000 

92,000,000 

1840 

'  366,000,000 

123,000,000 

1850 

'  569,000,000 

141,000,000 

1858 

'  846,000,000 

214,000,000 

These  numbers  show  that  while  the  amount 
has  increased  nearly  tenfold,  the  value  has 
only  doubled,  and  that  therefore  the  goods 
are  five  times  cheaper  now  than  in  1814. 

We  have  now  followed  the  cotton  manu- 
facture from  its  rise,  a  century  since,  down  to 
the  present  time.  Its  immense  magnitude 
in  every  country  of  Europe,  its  rapid  prog- 
ress, its  exclusion  of  other  materials  for  cloth- 
ing, and  the  great  decrease  in  the  price  of 
manufactured  goods,  are  established  facts 
which  show  how  large  and  how  intense  is 
the  foreign  demand  for  our  cotton.  This  is 
the  first  proposition  we  proposed  to  consider 
in  our  explanation  of  the  high  prices  of  labor 
and  capital  in  our  country,  and  we  now  pass 
on  to  the  second,  that  the  production  of  cot- 
ton is  very  profitable  to  the  American 
planters. 

In  proof  of  this,  we  shall  show  that  the 
cultivation  of  cotton  has  attracted  labor  and 
capital  from  other  pursuits  in  the  cotton 
states,  until  it  has  concentrated  almost  their 
whole  productive  power  upon  this  single  ar- 
ticle ;  that  it  has  drawn  wealth  and  labor 
from  other  sections  of  the  country  to  be  de- 
voted to  it,  when  other  employments  were 
inviting  their  attention ;  and  that  these  and 
other  facts  demonstrate  the  profitableness  of 
this  culture. 

The  cotton  plant  of  Europe  is  a  native  of 
India,  whence  it  spread  very  slowly  fato 
China  and  Persia,  Africa  and  Europe.  But 
cotton  is  a  native  of  this  continent,  and  was 
diffused  here  everywhere  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Europeans.  It  was  found  by  Colum- 
bus in  Cuba,  on  his  first  voyage,  in  1492, 
and  by  Cortes  in  Mexico,  and  Magellan  in 
Brazil,  on  their  first  visit  to  those  countries 
in  1519.  Pizarro  saw  it  in  Peru  in  1532, 
and  Cabega  de  Vaca  in  California  in  1536. 
In  both  divisions  of  the  continent  it  had 
spread  as  far  north  and  as  far  south  as  the 
climate  would  permit.  All  the  three  kinds 
of  cotton  were  growing  here  :  the  herbaceous, 
or  annual ;  the  shrub,  which  lives  three  or 
four  years ;  and  the  tree,  which  lasts  for 


PRODUCTION    AND    PRICES    OF    COTTON. 


Ill 


twenty  years.  It  is  only  the  annual  which 
is  now  cultivated  in  the  United  States.  Dur- 
ing our  colonial  history,  it  was  introduced 
here  from  the  West  Indies  and  from  the 
Mediterranean,  and  was  extensively  culti- 
vated in  gardens  and  small  patches  for  do- 
mestic .use  from  New  Jersey  to  Georgia.  A 
few  bags  were  exported  before  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  but  so  little  was  produced,  that  a  ship- 
ment of  eight  bales  from  Charleston,  in  1784, 
was  seized  by  the  custom-house  authorities 
in  England,  on  the  ground  that  so  large  an 
amount  could  not  have  been  grown  in  the 
United  States.  As  it  was  cultivated  to  ad- 
vantage in  the  West  Indies,  near  to  our 
coast,  many  attempts  were  made  to  extend 
its  culture  here.  Some  seeds  were  brought 
from  the  Bahamas,  and  successfully  culti- 
vated along  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  soon  after  the  war  of  independence. 
This  was  carefully  improved  from  year  to 
year,  by  selecting  the  seed  of  the  finest 
plants,  by  the  application  of  the  most  suit- 
able manures,  and  by  choosing  the  best  lo- 
calities for  its  cultivation,  until  the  fine,  silky 
variety,  known  as  the  sea  island  cotton,  was 
naturalized  in  our  country,  and  brought  to 
the  greatest  perfection  of  staple.  The  seed 
is  easily  separated  from  the  lint  by  passing 
it  between  rollers,  which  push  back  the  seed 
and  permit  the  cotton  to  pass  through.  This 
is  a  tedious  work,  but  the  length  and  fine- 
ness of  the  fibre  secured  so  high  a  price  for 
the  product,  that  the  cultivation  has  con- 
tinued profitable  from  its  first  introduction 
to  the  present  time.  It  is  mixed  with  the 
best  wool  or  with  silk,  or  is  used  by  itself 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  finest  fabrics,  and 
commands  a  very  high  price  in  the  market, 
two,  three,  or  four  times  more  than  the  short 
staple  cotton.  Our  country  has  a  monopoly 
of  it;  for  neither  in  Egypt,  Pernambuco,  or  the 
Isle  of  Bourbon,  where  the  best  cottons  are 
grown,  can  they  produce  a  staple  of  the  same 
length  and  fineness.  Sometimes  a  dollar  a 
pound  is  paid  for  it ;  and  even  higher  prices 
have  been  offered  for  favorite  crops. 

The  cultivation  of  this  variety  is  limited 
to  the  islands  along  the  coast  and  a  narrow 
belt  near  the  sea,  though  in  Florida  it  may 
be  grown  in  any  part  of  the  peninsula. 
When  planted  in  the  uplands  it  degenerates 
quickly  and  is  less  productive.  The  whole 
value  of  this  crop  is  now  from  eight  to  ten 
millions  of  dollars,  and  varies  but  little  from 
year  to  year.  For  the  last  three  years  the 
crop  has  averaged  47,000  bales,  and  for  the 


three  preceding,  43,000  bales.  The  variety 
of  cotton  that  is  planted  in  the  interior  is 
the  native  Mexican  species.  It  adheres 
closely  to  the  seed,  and  cannot  be  separated 
by  the  common  roller  gin.  When  first  cul- 
tivated it  was  separated  by  hand,  but  this 
operation  was  slow  and  tedious,  and  limited 
the  cultivation  for  the  purposes  of  com- 
merce. In  1791  the  whole  exports  of  the 
United  States  of  all  kinds  of  cotton  were 
only  189,316  pounds — which  is  less  than 
the  product  of  many  of  our  single  planta- 
tions at  the  present  time.  In  1792  it  was 
four  hundred  and  nineteen  bags,  weighing 
138,328  pounds;  and  in  1793  it  was  487,- 
600  pounds.  At  this  period  it  took  a  sud- 
den start  upward,  and  rose  in  1794  to  1,601,- 
000,  and  in  1795  to  more  than  six  millions  of 
pounds.  The  cause  of  this  sudden  increase 
was  the  invention,  by  Whitney,  of  the  saw 
gin. 

This  ingenious  gentleman  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  and  had  come  to  Georgia  as 
a  private  tutor  in  1792.  While  residing  as 
a  guest  in  the  family  of  Mrs.  General  Greene, 
near  Savannah,  he  was  informed  by  some  of 
her  visitors  from  the  upper  country,  where 
the  short-staple  cotton  was  cultivated,  of  the 
great  desirableness  of  a  machine  for  separat- 
ing the  cotton  from  the  seed.  To  his  in- 
ventive turn  of  mind,  this  suggestion  was 
enough  to  attract  his  attention.  He  obtained 
some  of  the  seed  cotton  from  Savannah,  and 
soon  devised  the  saw  gin.  At  first  he  used 
bent  wires  or  teeth,  like  those  of  the  com- 
mon card,  but  much  larger  and  stronger, 
and  these  were  placed  in  rows  on  a  revolv- 
ing cylinder.  The  cotton  was  separated 
from  this  cylinder  by  a  frame  of  parallel 
wires.  As  the  cylinder  revolved,  the  teeth 
extending  through  the  wire  frame  caught 
the  cotton  and  drew  it  through  the  grating, 
but  the  seeds  being  too  large  to  pass  be- 
tween the  wires,  were  separated  from  the 
lint.  The  teeth  being  found  too  weak  to 
pull  the  cotton  from  the  seed  without  being 
bent  or  broken,  he  substituted  a  circular 
saw  in  their  place.  The  teeth  of  the  saws 
being  large,  and  shaped  like  the  beak  of  a 
bird,  had  more  strength  and  were  equally 
efficient.  Behind  the  saw-cylinder,brushes 
were  arranged  to  remove  the  cotton  from 
the  saws,  and  thus  the  object  was  accom- 
plished. When  he  had  completed  his  gin, 
entirely  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands,  he 
invited  some  farmers  to  see  it  tried,  and  all 
were  satisfied  with  its  work.  It  differed  es- 


PRODUCTION    AND    PRICES    OF    COTTON. 


113 


sentially  from  the  roller  gin  introduced  from 
the  Bahamas,  and  invented  there  by  Joseph 
Eve,  the  son  of  a  Pennsylvania  loyalist,  and 
afterward  a  resident  of  Georgia.  The  roller 
gin  had  also  teeth  and  a  wire  frame,  and 
the  revolving  teeth  caught  the  cotton  through 
the  wire  frame,  but  they  only  delivered  it 
to  the  rollers  which  separated  the  cotton 
from  the  seed.  In  the  saw  gin  the  teeth 
and  the  wire  did  the  work  of  separation. 
Though  Eve's  was  like  Whitney's,  and  may 
have  suggested  it,  they  were  on  different 
principles.  The  one  was  suited  for  the  sea 
island,  and  the  other  for  the  upland. 

Before  Whitney  could  take  out  his  patent, 
many  of  his  gins  were  constructed  by  the 
farmers  and  put  to  work.  His  patent  was 
issued  in  1793,  and  having  obtained  the  co- 
operation of  Miller,  who  furnished  the  capi- 
tal, they  undertook  the  manufacture  of  the 
gins  for  sale,  and  the  ginning  of  cotton  by 
the  pound  for  the  planters,  and  the  purchase 
of  the  seed  cotton,  that  they  might  clean  it 
themselves.  Although  these  plans  required 
large  capital,  Whitney  was  poor,  and  Miller 
had  but  small  means  when  this  project  was 
undertaken.  In  1794,  when  they  were  pre- 
paring several  machines  for  sale,  Whitney 
was  taken  sick,  and  his  workmen  were  pros- 
trated by  the  fevers  of  the  climate.  These 
difficulties  prevented  the  construction  of 
many  gins  by  the  patentees ;  and  as  the 
want  of  them  was  great,  and  the  machinery 
very  simple,  many  were  built  by  common 
mechanics,  and  thus  extensively  introduced. 
In  1 795  Whitney's  shop  arid  all  his  machines 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  this  was  another 
hindrance  to  the  sale  of  the  patented  gin, 
and  another  incentive  to  those  who  were  tres- 
passing on  his  rights.  To  put  a  stop  to 
these  infringements  of  their  patent,  suits 
were  instituted  by  Miller  and  Whitney. 
But  the  patent  law  had  just  been  passed  by 
Congress,  and  the  general  government  was 
little  known  or  respected.  The  juries  were 
composed  of  men  who  were  all  interested  in 
breaking  the  patent.  The  gin  makers  had 
strong  interests  prompting  them  to  resist 
the  suits.  Witnesses  were  found  who  testi- 
fied that  they  had  seen  the  gin  in  Europe, 
where  it  was  used  for  making  lint !  The 
suits  were  postponed  and  delayed  by  the  in- 
genuity of  lawyers,  and  as  the  United  States 
courts  only  met  at  long  intervals,  these 
delays  were  the  more  serious.  Under  these 
difficulties,  the  patentees  often  failed  in  their 
suits,  or  obtained  but  small  damages,  or 


were  engaged  in  long,  vexatious,  and  expen- 
sive litigation,  so  that  the  courts  became  an 
expense  to  them  instead  of  a  protection. 
The  gins  were  everywhere  introduced,  with 
or  without  the  patent-right.  This  was  the 
case  both  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina ; 
but  the  delay  and  failure  of  the  suits  in 
Georgia  induced  the  patentees  to  propose  to 
the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  to  sell  the 
right  for  that  state  for  $100,000.  An  offer 
of  $50,000  was  made  them  and  accepted, 
and  this  was  nearly  all  that  was  ever  re- 
ceived by  the  inventors.  Whitney,  unlike 
Arkwright,  only  received  barren  honors  for 
his  great  invention ;  for  even  the  purchase 
money  of  South  Carolina  was  expended  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  suits  he  had  insti- 
tuted against  the  trespassers  on  his  rights. 

The  introduction  of  Whitney's  gin  acted 
like  magic  on  the  planting  of  cotton.  In 
eight  years,  from  1792  to  1800,  the  exports 
of  the  United  States  increased  more  than  a 
hundred-fold.  The  value  rose  from  $30,000 
to  $3,000,000,  and  the  amount  from  138,000 
Ibs.  to  18,000,000.  The  whole  of  this  was 
wanted  in  England,  and  the  rapid  increase  in 
the  demand  there  that  followed  the  general 
introduction  of  Arkwright's  inventions  pre- 
vented any  decline  in  price.  The  population 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  where  all 
of  this  cotton  was  raised,  was  only  507,000 
in  1800;  so  that  the  amount  was  $6  to  each 
individual,  including  the  young  and  the  old. 
This  was  not  enough  to  purchase  the  manu- 
factures and  the  foreign  supplies  they  needed ; 
rice  and  tobacco  being  both  added  to  cotton 
in  the  exports  of  Charleston  and  Savannah. 
Those  of  rice  alone  were  larger  than  cotton, 
and  the  production  of  tobacco  was  considera- 
ble. The  immigrants  from  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  brought  this  cultivation  with  them, 
and  it  formed  a  large  part  of  the  trade  at  the 
sea-port  towns  at  this  early  period.  But  it 
was  soon  to  disappear,  under  the  progress  of 
cotton.  In  the  next  ten  years,  from  1801  to 
1810,  the  production  increased  more  than  five- 
fold, from  1 8,000,000  to  93,000,000  of  pounds 
and  the  value  from  $3,000,000  to  $15,000,000. 
As  the  population  had  only  increased  30  per 
cent,  in  these  ten  years,  and  as  the  exports 
of  rice  had  risen  from  94,000  to  119,000 
tierces,  the  great  change  was  in  the  transfer 
of  labor  from  tobacco  to  cotton.  The  ex- 
ports of  cotton  and  rice  in  1810  were  more 
than  $30  to  each  person,  white  and  black, 
young  and  old,  male  and  female ;  an  amount 
which  sufficiently  indicates  that  nearly  the 


114 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


whole  available  labor  was  devoted  to  these 
two  staples. 

In  the  next  decade  the  cultivation  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  ex- 
ports only  rose  to  128,000,000  in  1820.  But 
the  high  prices  that  followed  the  war  stimu- 
lated the  production  to  the  utmost  possible 
limit.  Tobacco  was  no  longer  cultivated  as 
an  article  of  export.  Rice  was  still  planted 
in  the  swamp  lands  along  the  coast,  because 
they  were  not  well  suited  for  cotton  and  be- 
cause rice  was  itself  a  very  profitable  crop. 
Emigrants  flocked  from  Virginia  to  engage 
in  the  culture  of  cotton ;  new  lands  were 
purchased  from  the  Indians ;  more  laborers 
were  brought  from  Virginia  to  work  in  the 
cotton  fields ;  and  every  hand  that  could  be 
spared  from  other  employments,  white  or 
colored,  was  appropriated  to  this  one  culture. 
In  consequence  of  this  transfer  of  labor,  the 
exports  rose  in  the  next  decade,  from  1820  to 
1830,  more  than  100  per  cent.,  from  128,000,- 
000  to  298,000,000  pounds. 

For  the  next  ten  years  the  impulse  to  the 
cultivation  of  cotton  was  greater  than  ever. 
It  was  impossible  for  the  cotton  states  to 
transfer  any  more  of  their  labor  to  the  cul- 
ture. Some  of  their  population  was  needed 
in  the  towns  and  cities  to  attend  to  the  sale  and 
shipment  of  their  cotton,  some  to  provide 
supplies  for  the  planters,  and  a  few  were  en- 
gaged in  those  mechanical  pursuits  which 
are  absolutely  indispensable,  even  in  an  agri- 
cultural country  receiving  its  manufactures 
from  distant  places;  but  all  the  rest  were 
engaged  in  the  production  of  cotton.  The 
planter  raised  enough  corn  to  feed  his  stock, 
and  provide  bread  for  his  family ;  he  sup- 
plied generally  his  own  meat,  but  for  the 
most  part  his  flour  was  brought  from  the 
north  or  west,  and  the  towns  were  supplied 
with  pork  and  flour  from  the  same  source. 
All  his  labor  was  appropriated  to  cotton, 
because  it  was  more  profitable  than  any  other 
crop.  All  his  profits  from  year  to  year  were 
devoted  to  buying  more  negroes,  that  he 
might  enlarge  his  cultivation  of  the  one  great 
staple  of  the  south.  The  emigrants  from 
Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee, 
though  at  their  first  arrival  they  might  pre- 
fer to  plant  tobacco  or  wheat,  soon  transferred 
all  their  hands  to  cotton.  The  lawyer,  and 
the  doctor,  and  the  school-master,  as  soon  as 
they  earned  any  money,  bought  land  and 
negroes,  and  became  planters.  The  preacher 
who  married  an  heiress  or  a  rich  widow,  be- 
came the  owner  of  a  plantation.  The 


merchant  who  wished  to  retire  from  the  per- 
plexities of  business,  and  take  his  ease  in  the 
country,  passed  his  old  age  in  watching  the 
cotton  plant  spring  up  from  the  fresh-ploughed 
ground,  spread  its  leaves  to  the  gentle  show- 
ers of  spring,  stretch  its  long  branches  to  the 
summer's  sun,  open  its  red  blossoms,  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  abundant  fruit  which  showed 
their  white  treasures  to  the  autumn  sky, 
gladdening  his  heart  with  the  abundant  re- 
wards of  his  labor.  All  the  labor,  all  the 
capital,  all  the  increase  of  population  and 
wealth  by  immigration  from  more  northern 
climates,  all  the  accumulations  of  every 
trade,  or  business,  or  pursuit  were  devoted  to 
this  one  cultivation ;  and  though  it  had 
seemed  impossible  in  1830  to  increase  the 
cultivation  to  any  considerable  degree,  the 
production  rose  in  1840  to  744,000,000 
pounds,  or  six  times  the  product  of  1 820. 

During  the  next  decade  this  favorite  cul- 
ture received  a  slight  check.  The  increase 
in  the  demand,  though  outrunning  every 
other  business,  had  been  overtaken  by  the 
still  more  rapid  increase  in  the  supply. 
Prices  declined,  and  the  capital  of  the 
country  had  an  opportunity  to  look  around 
for  other  employments.  It  readily  found 
them  in  the  construction  of  railroads,  the 
erection  of  cotton  factories  for  coarse 
goods,  the  production  of  the  corn,  and  meat, 
and  flour  for  the  towns  and  cities,  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  sugar  cane,  and  in  those  other 
mechanical  and  manufacturing  pursuits  which 
are  the  first  enterprises  of  an  agricultural 
people. 

The  south  had  other  employments  to 
which  she  might  have  turned  her  attention 
with  advantage.  She  had  fine  shipping 
timber,  and  in  great  abundance,  but  she  did 
not  increase  her  shipping,  because  high  as 
wages  and  interest  are  at  the  north,  they  are, 
still  higher  at  the  south,  and  the  competition 
between  the  two  sections  is  so  easy  in  ship- 
ping, that  she  could  not  engage  in  shipping 
even  her  own  products,  as  long  as  other  more 
profitable  pursuits  keep  up  the  rate  of  labor 
and  capital  to  their  present  high  limits.  The 
low  prices  of  cotton  from  1840  to  1850  did 
not,  therefore,  divert  capital  to  shipping.  The 
tonnage  of  Charleston  averaged  50,000  tons 
from  1800  to  1810,  nearly  40,000  from  1810 
to  1820;  22,000  from  1832  to  1840,  and 
23,000  from  1840  to  1848. 

The  culture  of  rice  was  susceptible  of  very 
slight  increase,  because  the  only  land  suit- 
able for  its  cultivation  is  the  low,  swampy 


PRODUCTION    AND    PRICES    OF    COTTON. 


115 


district  along  the  sea,  where  the  crop  can  be 
covered  with  water.  From  early  times  this 
valuable  grain  had  been  raised  in  all  favorable 
localities,  and,  though  a  very  profitable  crop, 
no  increase  was  practicable.  From  1789  to 
1798  the  exports  of  the  United  States 
averaged  107,000  tierces;  from  1799  to 
1808  they  were  82,000;  and  from  1809  to 
1818  the  average  was  87,000.  From  1820  to 
1829  the  whole  crop,  including  the  shipments 
to  the  north  and  the  exports,  averaged  120,- 
000  tierces;  from  1830  to  1839  they  were 
148,000;  and  from  1840  to  1848  the  average 
was  162,000.  These  figures  show  little  or 
no  transfer  of  capital  to  this  production,  and 
the  reason  is  that  the  lands  suited  to  its  cul- 
tivation are  limited.  For  the  year  1858  they 
were  173,000  tierces,  showing  the  same 
steady,  unchangeable  condition  of  this  culture 
down  to  the  present  time. 

But  although  the  cultivation  of  rice  could 
not  be  increased,  and  the  northern  shipping 
was  too  easy  a  competitor  with  the  southern, 
there  were  many  employments  in  which  the 
south  could  engage,  before  she  would  reduce 
the  wages  and  profits  down  to  the  northern 
standard.  Tanneries,  forges,  foundries,  the 
making  of  shoes,  buckets,  hardware,  furni- 
ture, clothing,  machinery,  and  every  manu- 
facture where  the  bulk  or  the  weight  is  con- 
siderable, can  be  profitably  pursued.  The 
negroes  make  good  carpenters,  shoemakers, 
tanners,  workers  in  iron,  and  there  is  no  em- 
ployment pursued  at  the  north  to  which 
their  labor  cannot  be  profitably  devoted. 

Of  all  these  employments  thus  attracting 
her  attention,  the  principal  of  those  which 
she  selected  in  the  depression  of  1840  were 
the  construction  of  railroads,  the  culture  of 
wheat,  the  manufacture  of  coarse  cottons,  and 
the  planting  of  the  sugar  cane. 

These  railroads  have  nearly  all  been  profit- 
able. It  may  seem  strange  to  those  who 
have  only  heard  of  Harlem,  and  Erie,  and 
New  Haven,  and  Hudson  River  railroads,  to 
be  told  that  every  railway  of  the  cotton 
states  has  been  profitable.  The  country  is 
sparsely  settled,  and  it  cannot  be  from  pas- 
sengers. They  have  but  little  through 
freight  to  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  and 
it  cannot  be  from  the  transit  of  goods. 
Their  only  product  is  cotton,  and  it  is  this  that 
pays.  Not  only  does  the  great  staple  enrich 
those  who  make  it,  but  all  who  handle  it  and 
carry  it.  It  is  like  the  fabled  Midas,  and 
turns  all  things  into  gold. 

Wheat,  also,  has  been  a  profitable  culture, 


because  it  is  mainly  consumed  at  home,  and 
the  price  is  usually  the  cost  of  flour  in  New 
York  added  to  the  cost  of  transportation. 
Even  when  fine  seasons  and  a  large  crop  en- 
able the  farmer  to  export  some  of  his 
flour,  the  early  harvest  permits  him  to  send 
it  to  New  York  before  the  new  wheat 
of  the  north  and  west  can  be  offered  in  the 
market,  and  thus  secure  to  himself  a  high  price. 

So  have  the  cotton  factories  generally  been 
profitable.  All  that  have  been  managed  skil- 
fully and  faithfully  have  paid  good  dividends, 
and  several  have  made  fortunes  for  their 
owners.  The  oldest  mill  in  the  southern 
states,  near  Athens,  Georgia,  has  been  profit- 
able from  the  start,  more  than  thirty  years 
since.  Those  at  Graniteville  and  Roswell, 
favored  with  water  power  and  wise  manage- 
ment, have  paid  large  and  regular  dividends. 
The  one  at  Macon,  though  driven  by  steam, 
has  been  alike  successful.  Many  of  the 
others  have  done  well,  though  the  machinery 
has  to  be  brought  from  the  north,  and  the 
expense  of  labor  and  superintendence  is 
high.  A  few  have  failed  from  frauds  and 
dishonesty  in  the  projectors  or  managers, 
some  from  carelessness  and  neglect  of  their 
duties  by  those  to  whom  they  were  entrust- 
ed, and  some  from  ignorance  and  impru- 
dence. But  always  when  well  managed  they 
have  succeeded.  They  make  the  coarse  os- 
naburgs  and  heavy  shirting  for  the  negroes, 
and  the  coarser  numbers  of  yarn  for  the 
country  looms  of  the  planters.  Many  of 
them  send  their  yarns  to  Philadelphia  and 
New  York,  and  dispose  in  this  way  of  their 
surplus  production.  A  few  are  working  on 
finer  unbleached  cloth,  and  they  are  also 
doing  well. 

So,  also,  has  some  capital  been  devoted  to 
sugar.  The  beautiful  lands  along  the  lower 
Mississippi  have  been  appropriated  to  this 
crop.  Under  the  protection  of  the  tariffs 
of  1824  and  1828  the  culture  was  started, 
and  from  1835  to  1840  the  production 
averaged  seventy  millions  of  pounds,  worth 
over  four  millions  of  dollars.  The  low  prices 
of  cotton  about  this  time  encouraged  the 
producers,  and  the  amount  for  the  next  five 
years  averaged  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
millions  of  pounds,  worth  six  millions  of 
dollars.  In  the  next  five  years  the  product 
rose  to  two  hundred  and  eleven  millions, 
valued  at  ten  millions  of  dollars.  From 
1850  to  1855  the  production  still  further 
increased,  the  amount  being  three  hundred 
and  forty-seven  millions,  and  the  value  fifteen 


116 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


millions.  In  the  last  five  years — partly  from 
the  disastrous  season  of  1856,  which  not 
only  ruined  the  crop  for  that  year,  but  de- 
stroyed the  plants  for  the  next,  and  partly  to 
the  high  price  of  cotton,  which  has  diverted 
some  of  the  lands  to  this  culture — the  average 
has  only  been  two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
millions;  but  the  value  of  this  decreased 
crop  has  been  higher  than  ever,  having 
reached  seventeen  millions  of  dollars. 

To  these  and  a  few  other  new  enterprises, 
the  accumulating  labor  and  capital  of  the 
cotton  states  have  been  diverted  since  the 
disastrous  fall  of  prices  in  1837.  But  the 
culture  of  cotton  still  went  on,  and  with 
giant  strides,  too.  The  planters  were  more 
economical  at  home,  raised  more  corn  and 
bacon,  so  as  to  lessen  their  purchases  from 
the  west  and  from  North  Carolina;  but,  as 
the  price  of  lands  and  negroes  declined,  the 
inducements  to  raise  cotton  were  nearly  as 
great  as  before.  The  average  exports  for 
the  five  years  from  1836  to  1840  were  five 
^undred  and  twenty-four  millions;  for  the 
next  five,  the  average  was  six  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  millions ;  and  for  the  next  five, 
seven  hundred  •  and  eleven  millions.  Here 
was  an  average  increase  much  faster  than 
the  natural  increase  of  the  population,  show- 
ing that,  in  spite  of  the  diversion  of  labor 
and  capital  to  new  pursuits,  emigrants  were 
still  arriving  from  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  transfers  were  still  being  made 
from  the  tobacco  and  wheat  fields  of  Virginia 
to  the  cotton  lands  of  the  south. 

After  1850  prices  improved,  and  in  the 
next  five  years  the  average  exports  rose  to 
one  billion  and  twenty-five  millions  of  pounds, 
making  an  increase  in  the  average  produc- 
tion of  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  in  five  years. 
For  the  five  succeeding  years  the  exports 
have  not  been  completed  at  the  treasury  de- 
partment, and  the  number  of  bales  may  be 
taken  to  measure  the  increase  of  production. 
From  1850  to  1855  the  average  crop  was 
2,882,000  bales,  and  from  1855  to  1860  it 
was  3,628,000,  an  increase  which  is  twice  as 
great  as  the  natural  •  increase  of  the  popu- 
lation, indicating  the  continuance  of  the 
transfers  of  laborers  to  the  cotton  planta- 
tions. 

And  never  before  has  the  planting  been 
more  profitable  than  in  the  last  few  years. 
The  price  has  not  been  so  high  as  in  1819, 
or  1825,  or  1836,  when  the  planters  were 
almost  bewildered  at  the  rates  offered  them 
for  their  crops ;  but  by  improved  methods 


of  cultivation,  and  greater  facilities  of  reach- 
ing the  market,  their  real  earnings  have  been 
greater  than  ever.  Higher  prices  have  been 
given  for  land  and  for  negroes  than  even  in 
1836.  The  wages  of  hired  servants  have 
been  larger  than  ever ;  and  the  planters 
have  been  everywhere  rich,  prosperous,  and 
happy. 

The  immigration  into  the  cotton  states, 
and  the  purchase  of  negroes  from  Missouri, 
Kentucky,  and  Virginia,  are  made  manifest 
by  the  changes  of  population.  The  natural 
increase  of  the  people  of  the  whole  country 
is  less  than  thirty  per  cent,  for  ten  years, 
after  deducting  the  emigrants  from  Europe 
and  the  inhabitants  of  our  purchased  territo- 
ries. Before  1820  it  exceeded  a  little  this 
ratio;  but  from  1830  to  1840  it  was  less, 
and  from  1840  to  1850  not  over  twenty -five 
per  cent.  Now  the  population  of  the  eight 
cotton  states,  from  South  Carolina  to  Texas, 
increased  in  the  first  decade  of  the  present 
century  fifty  per  cent'.,  in  the  second  decade 
fifty-five  per  cent.,  in  the  third  fifty  per  cent., 
in  the  fourth  fifty-one  per  cent.,  and  in  the 
fifth  forty-one  per  cent.  Thus,  in  all  this 
period  of  fifty  years,  the  real  increase  has 
been  ^nearly  double  that  of  the  natural ;  or, 
more  exactly,  in  every  ten  years  twenty  per 
cent,  of  the  existing  population  has  been 
added  from  the  more  northern  states. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MONOPOLY  OF  THE  MARKET-SLAVE  LABOR 
—COTTON  EXCHANGED  FOR  MANUFAC- 
TURES. 

THE  history  that  has  now  been  given  of 
the  great  increase  in  the  production  of  cot- 
ton ;  of  the  entire  devotion  of  the  labor  of  . 
the  cotton  states  to  this  single  culture,  even 
to  the  neglect  in  some  places  of  the  corn, 
flour,  and  meat  necessary  for  the  wants  of 
their  immediate  neighborhood  ;  of  the  large 
increase  of  the  population  in  these  states ;  of 
the  increasing  prices  of  land  and  negroes ;  of 
the  investment  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
annual  accumulations  of  the  people  in  enlarg- 
ing this  one  production,  when  others  that 
are  really  profitable,  for  which  they  have 
advantages  in  soil,  or  in  climate,  or  in  posi- 
tion, are  rejected — is  an  irresistible  accumu- 
lation of  proof  of  the  second  proposition  that 
we  proposed  to  consider:  that  the  American 
planters  are  able  to  produce  large  amounts 


MONOPOLY SLAVE  LABOR EXCHANGE  FOR  MANUFACTURES. 


117 


of  cotton  at  great  profit  to  themselves ;  and 
we  will  pass  now  to  the  third  proposition : 
that  we  have  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  for- 
eign market,  on  account  of  our  ability  to  pro- 
duce a  better  and  cheaper  article  than  any 
other  country  in  the  world. 

We  have  already  adverted  to  the  superi- 
ority of  our  sea  island  variety.  It  is  the  best 
cotton  in  the  Liverpool  market,  and  com- 
mands the  highest  price.  It  has  not  been 
produced  in  larger  quantities,  because  the 
localities  where  it  can  be  cultivated  are  few. 
But  for  the  amount  we  make  there  is  no 
competition.  The  average  value  of  our  ex- 
ports of  this  kind  was  $6,000,000  from  1805 
to  1815,  including  the  years  of  the  war  and 
the  embargo;  $10,000,000  in  the  next  ten 
years  ;  $10,000,000  in  the  next;  $'7,000,000 
in  the  next ;  and  $9,000,000  in  the  last,  from 
1845  to  1855.  For  1859  the  amount  was 
13,713,000  pounds.  It  is  evident  from  these 
figures,  that  the  production  of  sea-island  cot- 
ton is  stationary. 

When  we  began  the  production  of  cotton, 
the  supplies  of  Great  Britain  were  furnished  by 
the  Levant  and  by  America.  Of  the  twenty- 
three  millions  received  in  1787,  seven  were 
from  the  West  Indies,  six  from  Turkey,  and  ten 
from  the  Spanish,  Dutch,  and  Portuguese  col- 
onies of  South  America.  None  was  received 
from  the  United  States  or  Egypt,  which  are 
now  the  principal  sources  of  supply.  The  first 
imports  from  the  East  Indies  were  in  1 798,  and 
from  Egypt  in  1823.  When  the  demand  in- 
creased, by  the  application  of  machinery  to  the 
manufacture,  we  very  soon  assumed  the  first 
rank  in  the  production  and  supply  of  cotton. 
By  the  year  1800  the  receipts  from  our  coun- 
try equalled  those  of  any  other,  and  in  some 
of  the  years  before  the  war  of  1812  we  sur- 
passed all  other  countries  taken  together. 
After  the  war  of  1812  we  immediately  re- 
sumed the  chief  place  as  producers  for  the 
European  market.  In  the  five  years  from 
1816  to  1820  the  average  weekly  consump- 
tion in  Great  Britain  of  the  different  kinds 
of  cotton  was  3,800  bales  of  American,  2,200 
from  Brazil,  1,100  from  the  East  Indies, 
and  700  from  the  West  Indies ;  and  as  our 
bags  were  the  heaviest,  the  3,800  American 
were  more  than  the  4,000  from  other  coun- 
tries. In  the  next  five  years  Egyptian  made 
its  appearance  in  the  market,  and  the  aver- 
age was  6,400  bales  of  American,  2,600  from 
Brazil,  200  from  Egypt,  1,000  from  India, 
and  600  from  the  West  Indies.  The  decline 
of  the  West  Indies,  which  was  the  only  cot- 


ton similar  to  ours,  had  already  begun,  and 
from  1826  to  1830  the  decline  continued. 
The  average  consumption  of  American  was 
9,200  bales,  2,400  from  Brazil,  700  from 
Egypt,  700  from  India,  and  only  400  from 
the  West  Indies,  so  that  ours  was  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  whole.  In  the  next  five 
years  the  American  rose  to  13,000,  the  West 
Indian  declined  to  200,  and  the  others  had 
but  a  slight  increase ;  ours  being  three-fourths 
of  the  whole.  From  this  time  forward  the 
United  States  supplied  about  eighty  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  consumption  of  England,  and 
also  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  In  the  last  year 
(1859)  the  number  of  bales  consumed  in 
Great  Britain  and  on  the  continent  was 
700,000,  of  which  the  American  was  eighty 
per  cent,  the  West  Indian  one,  the  Brazilian 
three,  the  Egyptian  four,  and  the  East  Indian 
twelve.  And  this  ratio  has  been  nearly  the 
same  for  the  last  twenty  years.  The  ratio  of 
the  supply  from  Egypt  has  increased  a  little 
faster  than  from  America;  while  that  from 
the  West  Indies  has  almost  disappeared. 
Since  the  rise  in  the  price  of  coffee,  on  ac- 
count of  the  stoppage  of  the  slave  trade  in 
Brazil,  her  exports  have  been  stationary  or 
declining.  The  imports  from  the  East  Indies 
have  increased,  but  their  comparative  gain 
on  American  has  been  very  small.  In  the 
eight  years  from  1840  to  1847, 'the  iiverage 
importation  into  England  of  American  cot- 
ton was  468,000,000  pounds,  and  of  East 
Indian  75,000,000  ;  while  for  the  next  eight 
years,  from  1 848  to  1 855,  the  former  averaged 
644,000,000  and  the  latter  1 1 5,000,000.  The 
first  ratio  was  16  and  the  last  18.  Since 
1855  the  ratio  has  slightly  increased.  For 
the  last  two  years  it  has  declined. 

The  supplies  furnished  by  the  several 
countries  are  not,  however,  rivals  of  each 
other.  Our  sea  island  is  the  finest  and 
dearest.  The  Egyptian  and  Brazilian  are 
next,  and  are  used  for  the  finer  fabrics. 
Ours  is  suited  for  all  the  common  yarns, 
uniting  strength  of  fibre  with  smoothness 
and  length  of  staple.  The  Indian  comes 
last  in  price,  is  coarse,  short  stapled,  and 
badly  cleaned.  It  is  mixed  with  American 
in  the  factories,  and  used  for  the  coarser 
goods. 

Thus  there  is  little  or  no  competition  be- 
tween the  different  cottons.  They  are  each 
used  for  their  particular  class  of  manufac- 
tures. The  Indian  would  be  of  little  use 
without  ours  to  mix  with  it,  so  that  an  in- 
crease in  the  supply  would  require  an  in- 


118 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


crease  of  American  to  be  worked  with  it. 
The  dearness  of  the  Egyptian  and  South 
American,  which  are  about  fifty  per  cent, 
higher  than  ours,  prevents  them  from  being 
substituted  in  its  place. 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  Society  of 
Arts,  J.  B.  Smith,  Esq.,  member  for  Stock- 
port,  says: — 

"  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  while  we 
require  for  the  purposes  of  our  manufacture 
a  limited  quantity  of  the  sea  island  and 
short-staple  qualities  of  raw  cotton,  we  need 
and  can  consume  an  almost  unlimited  supply 
of  the  medium-staple,orllnited  States  quality. 
In  this  fact  lies  our  real  difficulty ;  for  while 
several  quarters  of  the  world  supply  the  first 
sort,  and  India  could  supply  enormous 
quantities  of  the  short-staple  sort,  the  United 
States  of  America  alone  have  hitherto  pro- 
duced the  second  and  most  necessary 
kind." 

"  The  finest  long  cotton  in  the  world  is 
called  the  'sea  island.'  It  is  grown  on  the 
low-lying  lands  and  small  islands  on  the 
coast  of  Georgia.  The  quantity  is  small, 
and  the  price  very  high.  It  is  used  mostly 
for  muslin  thread,  and  the  very  finest  num- 
bers of  yarn — say  100's  and  upward ;  and 
price,  in  fact,  is  of  little  moment  to  the 
manufacturers  who  purchase  it.  It  usually 
sells  at  about  two  shillings  per  pound.  A 
quality  much  resembling  it,  and  almost,  if 
not  quite  as  good,  has  been  grown,  as  a 
sample  article,  in  Australia,  But  of  this  de- 
nomination of  cotton  the  consumption  is 
very  small.  Another  species — long,  strong, 
fine,  and  yellowish — is  grown  in  Egypt,  and 
imported  in  considerable  quantities.  An  in- 
ferior quality — coarse,  harsh,  bright  in  color, 
but  strong — is  imported  from  Brazil,  and  a 
very  small  quantity  from  the  West  Indies. 
Doubtless,  if  the  price  were  adequate,  and 
the  demand  here  very  great  and^  steady,  the 
supply  from  many  of  these  quarters  might 
be  largely  augmented.  But  it  is  not  of  this 
sort  that  we  need  any  considerable  increase, 
nor  could  we  afford  the  price  which  probably 
alone  would  remunerate  the  grower. 

"  2.  Our  great  consumption  and  demand 
is  for  the  soft,  white,  silky,  moderately  long 
cotton  of  America — the  quality  usually  call- 
ed '  uplands,'  '  bowed  Georgia,'  and  '  New 
Orleans.'  This  used  to  be  sold  at  prices 
varying  from  3d.  to  6d.  per  pound  (it  is 
now  from  6d.  to  8d.).  It  can  be  consumed 
in  any  quantity;  for  it  is  available  not  only 
ior  weft,  but  for  warp,  except  for  the  finer 


numbers.  We  need  and  consume  nine  bags 
of  this  cotton  for  one  bag  of  all  others  put 
together. 

"  3.  It  is  the  insufficient  supply,  or  the  high- 
er price  of  this  cotton,  that  has  driven  our 
manufacturers  upon  the  short-stapled  native 
article  of  India,  commonly  called  Surat.  If 
the  price  of  the  two  were  equal,  scarcely  a  bag 
of  Surat  would  be  employed.  When  the 
price  of  American  cotton  rises,  owing  to  an 
inadequate  supply,  that  of  East  India  cotton 
follows  it  at  a  considerable  interval — the 
usual  ratio  being  two  to  three — and  the  im- 
port of  the  latter  is  greatly  stimulated.  It 
is  always  grown  in  India  in  large  quantities, 
and,  with  improved  means  of  communication 
and  more  careful  preparation,  might  be  sup- 
plied in  time,  in  indefinite  and  probably 
ample  quantities.  <"  But  it  is  its  quality  that 
is  in  fault ;  and,  as  far  as  the  past  is  a  guide, 
it  would  seem  incurably  in  fault.  Many  at- 
tempts to  amend  the  character  of  this  cotton 
have  been  made.  American  planters  and 
American  '  saw  gins '  have  been  sent  over, 
and  American  seed  has  been  planted ;  and 
the  result  has  been  a  sensible  amelioration 
in  cleanliness  and  color,  and  some  slight  in- 
crease in  length  of  fibre,  but  scarcely  any 
change  in  specific  character.  The  dry,  fuzzy, 
woolly  characteristics  remain.  Sometimes 
the  first  year's  samples  nearly  resemble  the 
American  article,  but  the  resemblance  never 
becomes  permanent.  Hitherto  (we  believe 
we  are  correct  in  stating),  either  from  the 
peculiarity  of  the  soil  or  of  the  climate,  or, 
as  some  say,  from  adulteration  by  the  air- 
borne pollen  of  the  inferior  native  plant,  the 
improved  and  altered  character  of  the  cotton 
has  never  been  kept  up." 

"  The  point  we  have  to  bear  in  mind,  then, 
is  this :  our  desideratum  is  not  simply  more 
cotton,  but  more  cotton  of  the  same  character 
and  price  as  that  now  imported  from  the 
States.  If  India  were  to  send  us  two  mill- 
ions of  bales  of  Surat  cotton  per  annum, 
the  desideratum  would  not  be  supplied,  and 
our  perilous  problem  would  still  be  unsolved. 
We  should  be  almost  as  dependent  on  America 
as  ever." 

These  observations  of  a  practical  manu- 
facturer bring  out  conclusively  this  truth, 
that  for  the  uses  to  which  our  cotton  is  ap- 
plied we  are  without  competition.  The  long- 
stapled  is  too  dear,  and  the  short  too  coarse, 
fuzzy,  weak,  and  rough  to  be  substituted  for 
ours. 

It  thus  appears  that  we  have  a  monopoly 


MONOPOLY SLAVE    LABOR EXCHANGE    FOR   MANUFACTURES. 


119 


of  the  European  market,  because  we  furnish 
a  cheaper  and  better  article  for  the  same 
price.  And  this  excellence  is  due  to  our 
soil  raid  climate,  and  to  the  cheapness  of  the 
labor  by  which  cotton  is  cultivated. 

The  soil  is  everywhere  favorable  for  cotton 
in  our  southern  states.  Where  it  is  rich 
enough  to  produce  any  thing  it  will  produce 
cotton.  The  climate  is  our  main  peculiarity. 
Although  we  are  so  near  the  equator  that  we 
have  six  months  of  the  summer,  and  some- 
times more,  without  a  frost  that  will  kill  so 
tender  a  plant  as  cotton,  we  have  in  all  that 
time  a  succession  of  rain,  and  sunshine,  and 
dews,  and  clouds,  such  as  belong  to  temperate 
latitudes.  The  weather  is  hot  enough  for 
cotton,  and  yet  rainy  and  showery,  so  as  to 
keep  the  growth  of  the  plant  vigorous,  and 
bring  to  perfection  a  succession  of  fruit  on 
the  stalks  from  July  to  November.  The 
first  pickings  begin  as  early  as  July  at  some 
places,  everywhere  in  August,  and .  during 
the  whole  of  September  and  October  new 
blossoms  are  appearing,  new  bolls  forming, 
and  new  pods  opening  their  silky  product 
for  the  hands  of  the  cultivator.  Even  after 
the  frost  has  stopped  the  growth  of  the  plant 
and  stripped  it  of  its  leaves,  the  bolls  still 
open,  and  the  fields  are  whitened  with  a  suc- 
cession of  fruit,  until  January  arrives  and 
warns  the  planter  to  prepare  for  another 
crop. 

This  succession  of  rain  and  sunshine  does 
not  occur  in  India,  which,  after  the  United 
States,  produces  the  principal  part  of  the 
European  supplies.  And  this  is  the  reason 
that  the  American  variety  of  the  cotton 
plant  will  not  grow  there,  or  soon  degen- 
erates to  the  coarse,  rough,  short-stapled 
article  which  is  native  to  the  country. 

Another  advantage  we  have  over  India  is 
the  length  and  cost  of  the  voyage.  It  is 
worth  two  and  a  half  or  three  cents  a  pound 
to  transport  cotton  from  our  sea-ports  to  Liv- 
erpool. The  distance  from  India  to  England 
being  twice  as  great,  and  the  voyage  more 
than  twice  as  long,  freights  and  other  ex- 
penses must  increase  in  a  like  ratio  ;  and  as 
the  best  qualities  of  Bombay  and  Surat  are 
worth,  even  now,  when  prices  are  high  in 
England,  only  eight  or  nine  cents,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  almost  nothing  is  left  for  the  interior 
producer,  especially  for  the  inferior  qualities. 
We  can  produce  cotton  with  profit  at  much 
lower  rates  than  we  now  name.  A  decline 
to  the  Indian  planter  is  ruinous,  because 
freights  are  stationary,  and  all,  or  nearly  all 


the  proceeds  in  England  will  be  consumed 
in  the  transportation. 

Probably,  however,  the  greatest  advantage 
we  have  over  the  Indian  producers  is  in  the 
cheapness  of  our  labor.  It  is  true  that  wages 
are  very  low  in  India,  but  the  labor  is  also 
inefficient.  We  have  the  cheapest  and  most 
efficient  labor  in  the  world. 

The  African  slave  in  the  southern  states 
is  well  fed  with  good  and  substantial  food, 
that  gives  him  strength,  endurance,  and 
health.  He  is  well  clad  in  winter,  and  well 
lodged,  to  protect  him  from  the  inclemencies 
of  the  season.  He  is  cheerful,  able  to  work, 
and  he  works  faithfully.  As  the  whole  cost 
of  this  labor  to  the  state  is  made  up  of  the 
simplest  necessaries  of  life,  the  support  of 
the  young,  and  the  old,  and  the  feeble,  it  is 
evident  that  the  south  has  the  cheapest  la- 
bor that  is  possible.  It  was  the  doctrine  of 
Malthus,  that  in  every  country  there  is  a 
constant  tendency  to  reduce  the  wages  of 
labor  down  to  the  mere  support  of  the  la- 
borer. That  limit,  however  approximated  to 
elsewhere,  has  never  been  reached  but  in  the 
south. 

The  slave  is  supplied  with  all  he  wants  of 
meal,  and  with  as  much  meat  as  is  needed 
for  his  health  and  strength.  This  meal  is 
prepared  in  many  ways,  and  makes  a  most 
palatable  bread.  His  master  generally  feeds 
on  it  in  preference  to  flour.  He  has  a  gar- 
den, where  he  can  raise  potatoes,  cabbages, 
collards,  greens,  turnips,  beans,  and  such, 
other  vegetables  as  the  taste  and  industry 
of  the  family  may  desire.  He  has  clothing — 
cheap,  it  is  true,  but  warm  and  substantial. 

There  is  a  separate  dwelling  for  each  fami- 
ly, and  an  unlimited  supply  of  fuel  ijpr  tfie 
winter.  The  old,  who  are  unable  to  labor 
in  the  field,  find  some  slight  work  about  the 
house — the  men  in  the  garden,  the  women 
in  the  care  of  young  children  whose  mothers 
are  out  on  the  usual  plantation  work.  The 
sick  are  carefully  attended  to  by  regular 
physicians  and  good  nursing. 

All  this  is  essential  to  the  health  and 
strength  of  the  laborer,  and  to  his  efficiency 
on  the  plantation.  The  humanity  and  sym- 
pathy of  the  master,  who  has  often  been 
reared  by  some  of  his  slaves,  are  sufficient 
to  secure  their  comfort ;  but  if  these  should 
be  wanting,  there  is  an  inexorable  law  se- 
curing the  necessary  wants  of  the  servant. 
With  less  meat,  or  with  insufficient  food, 
the  slave  is  unfitted  for  regular  work.  With 
less  clothing,  he  is  liable  to  sickness  and 


120 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


disease.  Without  attention  and  nursing  in 
sickness,  Ms  life  is  endangered,  and  his  ser- 
vices lost  to  his  master.  These  demands, 
united  with  the  influences  of  humanity  and 
sympathy,  secure  him  the  necessaries  and 
some  of  the  comforts  of  life. 

Another  element  of  the  cheapness  of  this 
labor  is  that  nothing  is  wasted  in  vicious  in- 
dulgences. In  other  countries,  a  large  part 
of  the  wages  of  labor  is  expended  in  strong 
drink;  but  the  most  stringent  laws  are  every- 
where passed  against  selling  spirits  to  slaves ; 
the  Maine  liquor  law  is  enforced  with  the 
most  severe  penalties,  and  with  the  utmost 
certainty  of  conviction  for  the  guilty. 

Much  time  is  lost  in  free  countries  in  holi- 
days and  shows ;  in  idleness  and  neglect  of 
work;  in  seeking  employment;  in  change 
from  one  place  to  another;  but  all  this  is 
saved  in  the  south,  for  there  are  no  idle 
hands  about  the  plantation,  and,  excepting 
the  week  between  Christmas  and  New  Year's 
day,  when  there  is  a  general  holiday,  there 
is  no  lost  time,  except  from  sickness,  in  any 
part  of  the  year. 

The  children  are  all  put  at  work  at  eleven 
or  twelve  years  of  age,  as  soon  as  they  are 
able  to  guide  a  plough  or  pick  cotton  in  the 
fields.  The  women  and  men  are  both  ef- 
ficient workers,  and  the  division  of  labor  is 
so  complete  that  the  children  of  many  moth- 
ers are  watched  over  and  cared  for  by  one, 
and  the  cooking  for  many  families  attended 
to  by  a  single  cook. 

This  system  of  labor  is  thus  the  cheapest 
possible.  The  corn  and  the  meat  being,  in 
most  cases,  raised  on  the  plantation,  and  not 
burdened  with  the  cost  of  transportation,  are 
supplied  at  the  cheapest  prices ;  the  work  is 
all  light  and  easy,  so  that  women  and  boys, 
as  well  as  men,  can  engage  in  it  efficiently. 
Every  thing  is  arranged  so  that  labor  is  se- 
cured at  the  lowest  possible  rate. 

Some  philanthropists,  indeed,  object  to  the 
system  on  this  account :  that  the  slave  ob- 
tains no  wages.  But  he  has  food  and  cloth- 
ing, a  house  and  fire,  proper  attention  when 
sick,  and  support  in  old  age.  His  children 
are  taken  care  of,  and  every  necessary  want 
supplied.  For  an  idle  and  improvident  race 
like  the  negro,  these  are  more  than  wages. 
They  are  more  than  his  industry  would  se- 
cure. He  would  not  earn  as  much  for  him- 
self were  he  free,  as  he  now  receives  from  his 
master ;  and  these  earnings  would  be  wasted 
in  drink,  or  in  excessive  indulgences,  or  in 
dress,  or  in  luxuries,  leaving  for  himself  and 


his  family  times  of  want  and  suffering,  with 
nothing  laid  up  for  sickness  and  old  age. 
Now  he  is  industrious  and  temperate,  and 
receives  the  necessaries  of  life  in  return; 
then  he  would  be  lazy,  and  wasteful,  and  des- 
titute. As  industry  and  temperance  are 
great  virtues,  and  the  necessaries  of  life  at 
all  seasons  and  times,  in  sickness  and  health, 
in  youth  and  old  age  are  a  great  boon  to  the 
laboring  poor;  and  as  want,  and  suffering,  and 
neglect  when  sick  or  aged  are  great  and 
real  evils,  philanthropy  surely  wastes  its 
sympathy  on  the  slave  when  it  complains 
that  he  is  denied  his  wages. 

The  culture  of  cotton  is  specially  suited  for 
slave  labor,  because  of  its  giving  full  employ- 
ment for  the  whole  year.  January  is  devoted 
to  fitting  up  the  fences,  clearing  off  the  decayed 
trees  that  have  fallen  in  the  fields,  and  put- 
ting in  order  the  cultivators  and  all  the  imple- 
ments of  the  farm.  The  ploughs  are  also 
started,  and  some  of  the  ground  broken  up  for 
spring  planting.  February  is  the  main  time 
for  ploughing,  and  in  the  more  southern  part 
of  the  cotton  country,  corn  is  planted  in 
this  month.  In  latitude  31°  the  time 
for  corn  is  the  20th  of  February ;  above 
this  line  it  gradually  becomes  later.  About 
a  month  after  the  corn,  cotton  is  planted.  In 
every  locality  it  is  desired  to  have  the  cotton 
up  as  soon  as  the  fear  of  frost  is  gone.  The 
season  for  planting  begins  as  early  as  the 
15th  of  March  in  the  most  southern  lati- 
tudes, is  delayed  to  the  1st  of  April  at  the 
parallel  of  32°,  to  the  15th  in  latitude  34°, 
and  later  still  above  this  line.  As  the  fceed 
are  planted  close  together  in  drills,  the  hands 
pass  along  the  rows  and  chop  down  the 
weakest  and  smallest  plants,  leaving  them  in 
bunches,  fifteen  to  twenty  inches  apart.  The 
ploughs  follow  or  precede  the  hoes,  both  bej 
ing  necessary  to  kill  the  grass  and  soften  the 
ground  about  the  plants.  The  hoes  follow 
again,  and  thin  out  the  bunches  to  one  or 
two  stalks,  and  finally  they  are  reduced  to 
one,  the  rest  having  perished  from  the  cut- 
worm or  insects,  or  the  blows  of  the  plough 
and  the  hoe.  For  two  or  three  months  this 
hoeing  and  ploughing,  to  soften  the  ground 
and  destroy  the  grass,  gives  full  employment 
to  the  hands.  The  corn  has  also  to  be  treated 
in  the  same  way,  and  the  work  is  continued 
on  both  until  the  summer  has  come  and  the 
fruit  begins  to  appear  on  the  cotton.  There 
is  a  little  leisure  now  to  the  hands  before  the 
picking  is  begun,  and  this  gives  time  to  har- 
vest the  wheat  that  has  been  sown ;  to  cut 


MONOPOLY SLAVE    LABOR-»-EXCHANGE    FOR   MANUFACTURES. 


121 


the  oats,  and  gather  the  fodder  from  the 
corn.  This  work  fills  up  the  time  until  the 
picking  begins.  At  first,  but  few  of  the  pods 
are  open.  The  hands  pass  between  the  rows 
— which  are  from  three  to  four  feet  wide  on 
the  poor  lands,  and  from  six  to  seven  on  the 
richest — and  as  the  branches  stretch  out  so 
as  to  reach  each  other,  they  each  gather  from 
two  rows  as  they  pass  through  the  field.  By 
September  the  fields  are  white  with  the 
opening  cotton,  and  every  hand,  young  and 
old,  male  and  female,  that  can  be  of  any  ser- 
vice, is  busied  in  gathering  the  cotton,  lest 
the  rain  should  come  and  beat  it  out,  and 
scatter  it  on  the  ground.  In  October  this 
picking  continues  undiminished.  At  the  close 
of  this  month,  frost  usually  appears,  and 
stops  the  growth  of  the  plant  and  kills  the 
leaves,  but  the  pods  keep  opening,  and  new 
cotton  offering  itself  to  the  hands  until  De- 
cember. The  fields  are  picked  over  twice 
or  three  times  if  the  season  is  favorable  and 
the  crop  large,  and  five  or  six  times  if  the 
opening  cotton  does  not  hurry  the  planter. 
The  gathered  cotton  has  now  to  be  sunned, 
and  dried,  and  ginned,  and  packed,  and  de- 
livered at  the  nearest  railway  station  or  river 
landing,  or  sold  in  the  neighboring  town. 
Thus  is  the  year  completed  with  unremitting 
toil,  from  Christmas  to  Christmas. 

The  distribution  of  labor  between  the 
white  and  black  races,  so  that  the  former 
shall  have  the  selection  of  the  products  and 
of  the  place  of  labor,  of  the  seeds  and  the 
mode  of  cultivation,  and  of  all  the  plans 
and  management  of  the  plantation,  is 
another  great  aid  to  the  Cheapness  and  the 
efficiency  of  the  labor. 

Some  political  economists  have  supposed 
that  free  is  cheaper  than  slave  labor;  but 
though  there  are  pursuits  where  the  watch- 
fulness, foresight,  intelligence,  and  energy  of 
a  free  man  will  make  his  labor  so  much 
more  productive  than  that  of  a  slave  as  to 
pay  the  superior  cost  of  his  support,  it  is 
certain  that  the  want  of  these  qualities  in  the 
slave  is  but  a  slight  drawback  to  the  value  of 
his  labor  in  the  production  of  cotton.  The 
work  is  so  regular,  and  simple,  and  easy,  that 
the  free  man  performs  it  no  better  than  the 
slave,  and  as  the  direction,  and  management, 
and  skill  are  in  the  master,  the  work  is  well 
directed,  and  wisely  managed.  The  slave 
works  enough,  though  he  does  not  work  as 
hard  as  some  free  men.  In  fact,  it  is  very 
doubtful  if  a  free  white  man,  impelled  by 
necessity  or  the  desire  of  accumulation, 


would  be  more  efficient  in  the  cotton  field 
than  the  slave.  Certain  it  is  that  in  the 
south,  where  the  hot  sun  breeds  disease,  and 
the  malarious  air  brings  fevers,  the  white 
freeman  could  not  produce  as  much  as  the 
slave,  much  less  could  he  labor  as  cheaply. 
His  expenditures  being  more,  his  wife  and 
children  not  working  at  all,  or  but  little,  his 
waste  of  time  and  money  in  vicious  prac- 
tices and  holidays,  would  require  larger 
wages,  and  for  these  he  has  nothing  more 
to  give  than  the  slave. 

The  slaves  marry  and  are  given  in  mar- 
riage as  regularly  and  religiously  as  the 
white  peasants  of  any  country  ;  and  though 
the  marriage  has  not  a  legal  sanction,  it  has 
the  religious  and  moral.  They  are  kept  to- 
gether with  their  families  far  more  than  the 
white  people.  On  many  plantations  there 
are  one  or  two  hundred  negroes,  all  de- 
scended from  three  or  four  families ;  while 
the  children  of  the  first  master  have  been 
scattered  from  Maine  to  Texas.  They  have 
regularly  improved  since  first  introduced 
from  Africa,  and  are  now  improving,  from 
year  to  year,  in  intelligence,  in  moral  culture, 
in  intellectual  development,  in  appearance, 
in  habits,  in  comfort ;  and  they  are  as  cheer- 
ful and  faithful,  as  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  their  master,  as  attached  to  him  and  his 
family,  as  if  they  were  free  hired  servants, 
receiving  regular  wages.  There  is  no  men- 
dicity, no  need  for  poor-houses,  asylums, 
hospitals;  for  the  master's  house  is  the 
asylum  of  the  slaves ;  his  wife  and  his 
daughters  their  nurses,  and  his  own  doctor 
their  physician.  Such  a  set  of  laborers,  able 
and  willing  to  work,  contented  and  happy, 
with  every  want  supplied,  and  yet  costing 
the  master  the  least  possible  sum  needed 
for  their  health  and  their  strength,  fur- 
nish the  cheapest  and  most  efficient  labor 
possible. 

As  the  south  sends  nothing  to  the  north 
that  can  be  produced  there,  there  is  no  con- 
flict between  the  labor  of  the  north  and  the 
south.  There  is  no  competition,  no  tendency 
to  equalization  in  wages,  no  interference  the 
one  with  the  other.  They  are,  in  fact,  mutual 
helps  to  each  other,  as  town  and  country,  as 
man  and  wife,  as  the  limbs,  and  the  head, 
and  the  heart  of  the  human  body.  The 
high  wages  at  the  north  cannot  be  reduced 
by  the  labor  of  the  slave.  Instead  of  re- 
duction, it  causes  an  increase.  His  cheap 
toil  is  for  their  advantage.  His  labors,  under 
the  hot  tropical  sun,  are  for  the  benefit  of 


122 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


every  mechanic,  and  artisan,  and  workman, 
that  now  fears  the  competition  of  the  north- 
ern free  black.  As  a  slave  he  benefits  them, 
as  a  free  man  he  would  be  in  their  way. 

We  have  one  more  point  to  mention  to 
complete  the  explanation  we  suggest  of  our 
high  prices,  and  this  is  the  operation  of  the 
tariff.  By  a  tax  at  the  sea-ports  on  any 
article  -imported,  its  price  is  so  raised  that 
the  American  producer  of  the  same  kind  of 
goods  is  enabled  to  raise  his  price.  This 
advance  enables  him  to  pay  higher  rates  to 
his  workmen,  and  to  the  capitalist,  and  to 
all  concerned  in  the  manufacture.  But  it 
prevents,  also,  the  exportation  of  his  goods, 
because  they  are  too  high  for  the  foreign 
market.  Being  thus  unable  to  pay  for  the 
supplies  he  must  have  from  abroad,  the 
cotton  planter  comes  to  his  aid  with  a  prod- 
uct much  wanted  abroad,  and  raised  here 
under  favorable  circumstances  of  soil  and 
climate,  and  with  a  cheap  kind  of  labor  that 
does  not  compete  with  the  labor  of  the  man- 
ufacturer. This  will  pay  for  the  foreign  sup- 
plies of  both,  and  the  planter  buys  them, 
and  takes  in  return  the  high-priced  manu- 
factures. Thus  high  prices  are  sustained,  at 
the  expense,  indeed,  of  the  planter,  but  to 
the  great  advantage  and  prosperity  of  the 
north  and  the  west. 

We  have  now  considered  the  several  points 
of  the  explanation  we  proposed  for  our  high 
prices,  that  in  cotton  we  have  an  article  of 
great  profit  to  the  planters,  produced  by 
cheap  labor,  although  the  other  labor  of  the 
country  is  dear;  in  large  and  intense  de- 
mand in  Europe  and  all  parts  of  the  world, 
because  it  furnishes  the  cheapest  material  for 
clothing,  for  the  production  of  which  there 
is  no  competitor  with  us,  as  we  have  almost  a 
monopoly  pf  the  market ;  and  that  by  means 
of  this  export  we  pay  for  our  foreign  sup- 
plies, and  by  our  tariff  raise  the  price  of  the 
imports  to  our  own  high  limit,  and  thus  sus- 
tain the  rates  of  labor  and  capital,  and  secure 
the  prosperity  of  our  country. 

High  prices  for  labor  on  iron,  on  cotton 
and  woollen  manufactures,  and  on  all  the 
articles  we  import  from  abroad,  we  could 
not  have  without  a  tariff;  this  tariff  could 
not  be  maintained  without  an  export  of  some 
product,  furnished  by  nature  or  made  with 
cheap  labor,  in  intense  demand  abroad ;  for 
otherwise  it  would  be  impossible  to  pay  for 
our  imports.  Cotton  furnishes  the  desired 
article,  and  thus  makes  prices  high  both  for 
labor  and  money,  since  the  rates  for  the  one 


and  the  other  closely  correspond  at  all  times 
and  in  all  countries. 

Precisely  the  same  set  of  operations  has 
been  going  on  in  California  for  the  past  ten 
years. .  Nature  there,  as  here,  furnishes  a 
product  which  pays  well  to  those  who  ob- 
tain it ;  the  gift  of  nature  there  being  in  the 
mines,  and  here  in  the  soil  and  climate.  The 
miner  there  and  the  cultivator  here  are  well 
paid  for  their  labor.  Both  productions  are 
in  intense  demand  abroad ;  and  both  unite 
in  enabling  us  to  pay  for  our  foreign  impor- 
tations, without  reducing  to  the  foreign  limit 
the  wages  of  labor  and  the  interest  of  capital 
that  supply  these  products. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  proper  to  confirm  the 
propositions  we  have  been  considering  by 
inquiring  into  the  course  of  our  domestic 
trade.  If  the  true  explanation  has  been 
given  of  the  anomaly  of  high  prices  prevail- 
ing in  a  country  engaged  in  a  large  com- 
merce with  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  will 
find  large  transfers  to  the  south  of  manufac- 
tures from  the  north,  and  of  agricultural 
products  from  the  west ;  because  cotton  be- 
ing very  profitable  to  the  planter,  and  nearly 
all  the  labor  of  the  south  being  appropriated 
to  this  culture,  the  northern  manufacturer 
will  supply  all  his  wants  of  every  kind  in 
which  labor  is  the  chief  element,  and  the 
western  farmer  will  supply  him  with  all 
those  articles  of  food  that  are  of  easy  trans- 
portation. In  fact,  we  find  in  the  south  that 
any  article  of  necessity,  comfort,  or  luxury 
comes  from  the  north.  If  we  enter  the 
dwellings,  or  the  shops,  or  the  stores  of  the 
cotton  states,  they  tell  all  the  same  story — 
every  thing  comes  from  the  north. 

As  I  rose  from  my  bed  this  morning  and 
surveyed  the  furniture  of  my  chamber,  I 
found  nothing  made  at  home.  The  bed- 
stead, netting,  and  canopy;  the  coverlet, 
sheets,  and  ticking ;  the  bureau,  wardrobe, 
washstand,  and  crib ;  the  tables,  chairs,  mir- 
rors, curtains,  carpet,  bell-wire,  and  tassel ;  the 
medicine  chest,  and  all  its  bottles,  and  mix- 
tures, and  quack  preparations ;  all  the  per- 
fumery, and  cosmetics,  and  jewelry,  and 
brushes,  and  powders ;  every  article  of  dress, 
or  clothing,  or  ornament ;  even  the  white- 
wash on  the  Avails,  and  the  paint  on  the 
wood-work,  and  the  glass  in  the  windows 
were  from  the  north.  As  I  came  from  the 
chamber  to  the  library,  I  found  no  change. 
The  book-case,  curtains,  carpet,  pictures, 
tables,  sofas,  paper,  ink-stand,  pen,  and  ink 
were  from  the  north.  There  was  a  northern 


MONOPOLY SLAVE  LABOR EXCHANGE  FOR  MANUFACTURES. 


123 


grate  for  northern  coal;  a   marble  mantel 
from  the  north,  with  vases  and  photographs ; 

flobe  and  statuary  from  the  same  source, 
opened  the  book-cases,  and  run  my  eye 
over  the  shelves,  to  see  if  any  could  be  found 
with  a  southern  imprimatur ;  but  though 
some  had  on  them  the  names  of  southern 
authors,  it  was  a  long  while  before  I  found 
a  southern  publishing  house.  There  was 
"  Beulah,"  but  it  had  not  Mobile  on  its  title- 
page  ;  Dr.  Thornwell's  "  Truth,"  but  it  was 
not  published  in  Columbia ;  the  "  Laws  of, 
Georgia,"  but  they  were  printed  in  New 
York ;  "  Cobb  on  Slavery,"  but  it  claimed 
to  be  from  Philadelphia ;  Stevens'  "  History 
of  Georgia,"  but  it  came  from  Appleton's,  on 
Broadway  ;  "  White's  Statistics"  had  Savan- 
nah on  its  title-page,  but  I  suspected  this 
was  a  counterfeit  stamp,  and  that  it  had  not 
been  printed  in  the  south ;  Judge  O'Neall's 
"  Historical  Sketches  of  Carolina"  claimed 
to  be  from  Charleston,  and  this  was  the  first 
genuine  southern  print  I  found  in  my  library. 
A  more  diligent  search  discovered  others, 
but  they  were  few  and  far  between.  As  I 
went  to  the  breakfast-room,  the  exclusion  of 
the  south  was  not  so  complete.  The  side- 
board, and  its  glass  and  silver  were  from  the 
north,  but  it  had  on  it  a  handsome  pitcher 
from  our  own  kaolin;  the  window-shades, 
clock,  tables,  chairs,  and  crumb-cloth  were 
from  the  same  source ;  but  there  was  a 
lounge  manufactured  here.  Albert  gave  me 
my  coffee  in  a  northern  cup,  on  a  northern 
waiter,  sweetened  with  Stuart's  sugar,  but 
the  cream  was  from  home ;  Ziney  brought  in 
hot  waffles  on  a  northern  plate,  but  the  corn, 
and  flour,  and  eggs  of  which  they  were  made 
were  produced  here;  the  water  was  handed 
in  a  northern  tumbler,  and  cooled  with  Bos- 
ton ice,  but  the  water-cooler  had  on  it  a  do- 
mestic stamp ;  the  butter  was  southern, 
though  hardened  in  a  New  England  refriger- 
ator ;  the  cantelopes  were  raised  here,  though 
the  salt  and  pepper  which  seasoned  them 
were  not ;  the  hot  biscuits  were  from  south- 
ern flour,  but  the  yeast-powders  with  which 
they  were  raised  were  from  New  York;  the 
beef-steak  was  from  our  own  market,  but 
the  tongue  had  been  brought  a  thousand 
miles  from  home ;  the  clabber  was  fresh  from 
our  own  dairy,  but  the  cheese  was  from  New 
Jersey ;  the  white,  hot,  smoking  hominy  was 
a  domestic  product,  but  the  dish  in  which  it 
was  served  was  not ;  the  bread  was  from 
our  town  bakery,  but  the  ham  was  from  Cin- 
cinnati ;  the  knives,  and  forks,  and  spoons, 

8 


and  caster,  and  vinegar,  and  oil,  and  mustard 
were  from  the  north,  but  the  catsup  was 
made  here  ;  the  fish  were  from  Savannah, 
but  they  had  been  brought  up  by  a  north- 
ern locomotive,  running  on  English  rails ; 
the  walls  and  doors  were  covered  with  paint 
manufactured  at  the  north,  but  the  floor  was 
of  Georgia  pine ;  the  locks,  and  keys,  and 
andirons,  and  shovel,  and  tongs,  and  hearth- 
broom,  and  rug,  and  oil-cloth,  and  table- 
linen,  and  napkins  were  not  made  here,  but 
|the  morning  newspaper  was  printed  on  paper 
made  at  home,  out  of  southern  rags,  and  by 
southern  labor. 

After  breakfast  Albert  drove  me  down 
town  in  a  northern  buggy,  behind  a  northern 
horse,  with  northern  harness,  and  reins,  and 
whip.  I  stopped  at  a  furniture  shop,  and 
asked  how  much  of  their  stock  was  made 
here ;  and  they  said  about  fifty  dollars  in  a 
thousand,the  southern  work  being  principally 
of  pine ;  I  asked  at  a  book  store  the  same 
question,  and  they  told  me,  including  law 
books  and  the  reports  of  our  supreme  court, 
perhaps  one  dollar  in  a  hundred ;  I  asked  at 
a  tin  shop,  and  they  said  their  stoves,  and  gas 
fixtures,  and  lamps,  and  japanned  work,  and 
block  tin  were  from  the  north,  but  that  their 
tin  ware  was  made  in  their  own  shop,  though 
out  of  English  plate  and  with  northern 
solder ;  I  enquired  at  a  shoe  shop,  and  they 
told  me  they  had  several  hands  employed 
on  customers'  work,  but  the  great  proportion 
of  their  sales  were  from  Boston ;  I  stopped 
at  the  paper  warehouse,  and  was  sure  now 
that  I  had  found  a  shop  with  home-made 
products,  but  they  told  me  they  only  manu- 
factured wrapping  paper,  and  supplied  the 
newspaper  offices,  but  their  card,  and  post, 
and  letter  paper  was  from  the  north  ;  I  drove 
to  the  cotton  mills,  and  here  found  a  genuine 
home  manufacture,  but  their  machinery, 
and  looms,  and  spools,  and  oil  were  from  the 
same  northern  hive,  whose  products  swarm 
over  every  part  of  our  country. 

The  south  are  an  agricultural  people,  de- 
voted to  the  production  of  cotton,  because 
it  is  more  profitable  than  any  other  employ- 
ment, and  they  are  able  and  willing  to  buy 
their  supplies  from  the  north,  because  it  is 
their  interest  to  do  so.  Their  labor  is  em- 
ployed according  to  the  irresistible  laws  of 
trade  in  the  most  remunerating  pursuit,  and 
they  can  afford  to  buy  the  manufactures 
they  want,  because  they  can  be  furnished 
cheaper  than  they  can  make  them.  They 
might  tan  their  own  leather,  make  their 


124 


COTTON    CULTURE. 


own  shoes,  weave  their  own  cottons  and 
woollens,  put  together  their  own  clothing, 
brew  their  own  ale,  distil  their  own  grain, 
press  their  own  wine,  reduce,  cast,  and  refine 
their  iron,  mine  their  coal,  build  their  car- 
riages, print  their  books,  polish  their  marble, 
and  manufacture  their  own  furniture,  and 
china,  and  hardware,  and  carpets,  and  cloth- 
ing ;  but  they  find  it  their  interest  to  buy 
them,  and  appropriate  their  labor  to  the 

f  rowing  of  cotton,  and  the  raising  of  those 
eavy  agricultural  products  that  cannot  beP 
brought  here  cheaply,  and  the  manufacture 
of  the  coarser  and  cheaper  goods  on  which 
the  cost  of  transportation  is  large. 

The  war,  of  course,  made  a  great  change 
in  the  production  and  marketing  of  cotton, 
and  the  expectation  that  England  and  France, 
the  great  foreign  customers  for  the  staple, 
would  interfere,  or  form  an  alliance  with  the 
states  in  insurrection,  in  order  to  secure  their 
supply,  proved  futile.  The  greater  part  of 
the  crop  of  1860  was  brought  into  market; 
but  of  that  of  1 861,  which  was  nearly  as  large, 
was  withheld,  in  consequence  of  the  blockade 
of  the  ports,  to  such  an  extent  that  only 
120,752  cwt.,  or  about  30,000  bales,  hardly- 
more  than  one-sixtieth  of  the  quantity  sent 
the  preceding  year,  was  sent  to  Great  Britain, 
and  the  entire  export  to  Europe  did  not  reach 
50,000  bales,  notwithstanding  the  imperfec- 
tion of  the  blockade.  Of  this  quantity  about 
12,000  bales  were  shipped  from  New  York. 
The  crop  of  1862  was  small,  orders  having 
been  given  to  plant  corn  instead  of  cotton  to 
a  large  extent;  and  so  stringent  was  the 
blockade  that  Great  Britain  received  but 
about  11,500  bales  of  American  cotton  from 
blockade  runners  and  all  other  sources,  and 
the  entire  export  from  opened  ports,  including 
some  re-exportation,  was  but  28,000  bales. 
Large  quantities  of  cotton  were  burned 
during  this  and  the  succeeding  year,  part  of 
it  by  the  insurgents,  to  keep  it  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Union  army,  and  part 
by  the  Union  soldiers,  because  it  was  the 


property  of  the  so-called  Confederate  govern- 
ment. In  1864  only  27,000  bales,  mostly 
of  the  crop  of  1863,  were  exported,  and  the 
work  of  destruction  went  on.  The  crop  of 
1863  and  that  of  1864  must  have  been  very 
small,  and  the  export  of  1864  was  only 
16,500  bales.  At  the  close  of  the  war  there 
was  a  very  considerable  amount,  perhaps  no'c 
less  than  1,200,000  bales,  on  hand  of  the- 
crops  since  1861,  which  had  been  stored  in 
out-of-the-way  places,  much  of  it  awaiting  a 
safe  opportunity  to  ship.  Much  of  this  came 
into  market,  and  was  mostly  consumed  by 
the  American  manufactories,  which  had  been 
short  of  material  for  nearly  three  years. 
The  crop  of  1865  was  larger  than  those  of 
the  preceding  years ;  but  was  not  all  of  it 
gathered  in  good  condition.  The  export  of 
cotton  to  Great  Britain,  in  the  first  seven 
months  of  1866,  amounted  to  1,017,856 
bales,  being  nearly  one-half  of  all  received  in 
that  country  from  all  sources.  The  crop  for 
1866  will  probably  not  fall  short  of  two 
millions  of  bales,  southern  Illinois,  Kentucky, 
Missouri,  and  southern  Virginia  raising  con- 
siderable amounts  each  year  since  1862.  It 
is  obvious,  however,  that  cotton  can  never 
attain  again  the  supremacy  as  a  crop  for  ex- 
port which  it  held  before  the  war.  In  favor- 
able years,  as  much,  and  perhaps  more,  may 
be  raised  than  ever  before ;  for  the  better  cul- 
ture and  more  frugal  habits  of  free  labor  will 
give  a  better  yield  to  the  acre  than  the 
slovenly  and  wasteful  culture  by  slave  labor  ; 
but  when  the  crop  shall  have  attained  to  or 
surpassed  its  old  amounts,  a  much  larger 
portion  of  it  will  be  consumed  in  our  own 
country,  and  very  considerable  quantities 
in  the  region  where  it  is  grown,  in  the 
manufacture  of  goods  for  home  consumption. 
Other  crops  and  products  have  also,  during 
the  war,  found  a  market  abroad  which  they 
will  not  readily  relinquish ;  and  the  export 
of  cereals,  and  of  beef,  pork,  butter,  cheese, 
tobacco,  and  hops,  will  henceforth  in  the 
aggregate  largely  exceed  the  export  of  cotton. 


PICKING    COTTON. 


The  season  cf  cotton  picking  commences  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  and  continues  without  intermis- 
sion to  the  Christmas  holidays.  The  work  is  not  heavy,  but  becomes  tedious  from  its  sameness.  The 
field  hands  are  each  supplied  with  &  basket  and  bag.  The  basket  is  left  at  the  head  of  the  "  cotton- 
rows;"  the  bag  is  suspended  from  the  "picker's"  neck  by  a  strap,  and  is  used  to  hold  the  cotton  as  it  is 
taken  from  the  boll.  "When  the  bag  13  tilled  it  is  emptied  into  the  basket,  and  this  routine  is  continued 
through  the  day.  Each  hand  picks  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds  of  "  seed  cot- 
ton" each  day,  though  some  negroes  of  extraordinary  ability  go  beyond  this  amount. 

If  the  weather  bo  very  fine,  the  cotton  is  carried  from  the  field  direct  to  the  packing-house ;  but 
generally  it  is  first  spread  out  on  scaffolds,  where  it  is  left  to  dry,  and  picked  clean  of  any  ''  trash"  that 
may  bo  perceived  mixed  up  with  the  cotton.  Among  the  most  characteristic  scenes  of  plantation  life  is 
tho  returning  of  the  hands  at  nightfall  from  the  field,  with  their  well-filled  baskets  of  cotton  upon  their 
heads.  Falling  unconsciously  "into  line,"  the  stoutest  leading  the  way,  they  move  along  in  the  dim  twi- 
light of  a  winter  day,  with  the  quietness  of  spirits  rather  than  human  beings. — Harper's  Maga&ine. 


GATHERING   THE   CANE. 


And  now  may  be  seen  the  field-hands,  armed  with  huge  knives,  entering  the  harvest  field.  The  cane 
is  in  the  perfection  of  its  beauty,  and  snaps  and  rattles  its  wiry -textured  leaves  as  if  they  were  ribbons, 
and  towers  over  the  head  of  the  overseer  as  he  rides  between  the  rows  on  his  good-sized  horse.  Sud- 
denly, you  perceive  an  unusual  motion  among  the  foliage — a  crackling  noise,  a  blow — and  the  long  row* 
of  growing  vegetation  are  broken,  and  every  moment  it  disappears  under  the  operation  of  the  knife.  The 
oane  is  stripped  by  the  negroes  of  its  leaves,  decapitated  of  its  unripe  joints,  and  cut  off  frcm  the  root 
with  a  rapidity  of  execution  that  is  almost  marvellous.  The  stalks  lie  scattered  along  on  the  ground, 
soon  to  be  gathered  up  and  placed  in  the  cane-wagons,  which  with  their  four  gigantic  mule-teams  Iiavc 
just  come  rattling  on  to  the  scene  of  action  with  a  noise  and  manner  that  would  do  honor  to  a  park  of 
Hying  artillery. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  sugar  crop  has  to  be  gathered  in  Louisiana  within 
ninety  days,  or  else  it  will  be  destroyed  by  the  cold ;  as  a  consequence,  from  the  moment  the  first  blow  is 
struck,  every  thing  is  inspired  with  energy.  The  teams,  the  neg-oes,  the  vegetation,  the  very  air,  in  fact, 
that  has  been  for  months  dragging  out  a  quiescent  existence,  as  if  the  only  object  of  life  was  to  conFuire 
time,  now  start  as  if  touched  by  fire.  The  negro  becomes  supple,  the  mules  throw  up  their  hesids  and 
paw  the  earth  with  impatience,  the  sluggish  air  frolics  in  swift  currents  and  threatening  storms,  while  the 
once  silent  sugar  house  is  open,  windows  and  doors.  The  carrier  shed  is  full  of  children  and  women,  the 
tall  chimneys  are  belching  out  smoke,  and  the  huge  engine,  as  if  waking  from  a  benumbing  nap,  lias 
stretched  out  its  long  arms,  given  one  long-drawn  respiration,  and  is  alive. — Harper's  Magazine. 


SUGAR-CULTIVATION  AND  CONSUMPTION. 


THE  cultivation  of  cane  sugar  in  the 
United  States  has  become  of  considerable 
importance  only  in  the  last  ten  years.  While 
it  has  in  that  time  occupied  an  increasing 
proportion  of  the  attention  of  the  planters 
of  Texas  and  Louisiana,  it  has  rather  de- 
clined in  other  portions  of  the  Southern 
states.  The  cane  itself  is  more  nearly  asso- 
ciated with  Indian  corn  in  the  general  char- 
acter of  its  climatic  requirements  than  any 
other  staple.  It  differs  from  corn  in  this  re- 
spect only  in  degree,  each  condition,  or  the 
principal  condition  of  temperature,  at  least, 
being  required  in  similar,  but  greater  tropi- 
cal excess  for  the  period  of  its  growth.  In 
the  southern  parts  of  the  United  States  the 
great  heat  of  summer  gives  this  plant  a  range 
it  attains  in  no  other  country  of  the  same 
mean  annual  temperature ;  and  it  is  restrained 
only  by  the  limit  of  its  safe  endurance  of  the 
winter.  The  cane  may  be  cultivated  east  of 
the  high  plains  and  deserts  of  Texas,  and 
south  of  34°  north  latitude.  The  area  now 
occupied  by  the  cane  is  quite  limited,  a 
part  of  Texas,  the  lower  parishes  of  Louisi- 
ana, a  portion  of  Florida,  in  the  latitude  of 
Tallahassee  to  Cedar  Keys,  and  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  Georgia,  comprising  its  extent.  The 
considerable  capital  required  to  conduct  the 
culture  makes  it  a  larger  interest  than  might 
be  inferred  from  this  limited  extent  of  area. 

The  cane  was  first  introduced  into  Louis- 
iana in  1751,  and  the  first  plantation  was 
established  by  Mr.  Dubreul  in  1758,  a  little 
more  than  a  century  since.  The  progress 
was  not  rapid,  however,  until  1794,  when 
the  revolution  of  St.  Domingo  drove  some 
few  Frenchmen  to  fly  for  refuge  from  their 
burning  houses  and  their  frantic  pursuers 
on  board  American  vessels,  with  such  of 
their  faithful  slaves  as  would  follow  them. 
When  there,  they  naturally  turned  their 
hopes  to  Louisiana,  where  they  might  find 
a  home  for  themselves  and  their  servants 
among  kindred  French.  To  these  unhap- 
py men  Louisiana  owes  the  introduction  of 


the  Creole  cane,  a  small  yellow  kind,  which 
only  was  then  grown  in  the  French  islands. 
About  the  same  period  the  cane  culture  was 
introduced  into  Georgia.  There  had  been 
there  growing  and  flourishing  from  the  time 
of  the  first  settlement  of  the  country  by 
General  Oglethorpe,  luxurious  orange  trees. 
As  similar  trees  in  Louisiana  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  frost,  while  those  in  Georgia 
flourished  uninjured,  the  idea  was  suggested 
to  an  enterprising  planter  that  if  under  such 
circumstances  cane  would  grow  in  Louisiana 
it  would  also  grow  in  Georgia.  In  1805  he 
procured  100  plants  of  the  Otaheite  cane 
that  had  been  sent  by  Lieutenant  Bligh  from 
Otaheite.  These  100  canes  multiplied  to 
2000,  and  from  these  most  of  the  plantations 
in  Georgia  and  Florida  were  propagated. 
The  question  of  labor  in  the  English  West 
Indies  was  then  sufficiently  discussed  to  in- 
duce many  planters  to  leave  Jamaica  for 
new  settlements,  and  many  were  attracted 
to  Georgia  by  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the 
cane.  The  price  of  sugar  was  then,  under 
the  embargo,  about  ten  cents  per  pound,  and 
many  plantations  were  established.  The 
canes  spread  up  the  Altamaha,  the  Oconec, 
and  the  Ocmulgee,  and  luxuriated  in  the 
fine  lands  of  Florida  and  Georgia  to  a  dis- 
tance of  150  miles  from  sea.  Nevertheless, 
the  manufacture  was  not  many  years  after 
mostly  abandoned  in  that  region  on  a  large 
scale  or  for  export,  but  it  is  still  conducted 
to  a  considerable  extent  for  plantation  and 
home  use.  It  did  not  there  pay  so  well 
as  rice  or  cotton,  since  the  product  per  acre 
was  less  than  half  what  it  had  risen  to  be  in 
Louisiana.  In  the  rich  lands  of  that  state 
and  Texas  the  product  per  acre  is  2400 
pounds  against  1000  pounds  even  in  the 
richest  river  lands  of  Georgia. 

There  are  five  kinds  of  cane  in  use  by  the 
planters  of  Louisiana,  viz.,  the  Bourbon,  which 
has  large  eyes,  a  dark  purple  color,  and  is 
very  hardy;  the  green  ribbon  is  of  a  bright 
yellow  color,  with  delicate  green  stripes ;  the 


128 


SUGAR — CULTIVATION    AND    CONSUMPTION. 


eye  is  small,  elongated,  and  delicate  in  its 
structure ;  the  red  ribbon  has  purple  stripes 
of  an  inch  or  less  in  width,  and  can  resist 
light  frost ;  the  Otakeite  has  large  joints, 
does  not  grow  high,  and  has  a  comparative- 
ly thin  skin,  and  is  easily  affected  by  the 
frost,  yet  its  juice  is  rich  and  abundant ; 
the  Creole  cane  yields  a  superior  kind  of 
sugar,  but  it  has  been  less  used  than  the 
Bourbon  on  account  of  its  less  hardy  na- 
ture. It  is  now  getting  more  into  favor 
again.  These  are  the  varieties  mostly  used 
in  Louisiana.  The  mode  of  culture  is  simple 
and  allied  to  that  of  Indian  corn.  The  canes 
are  propagated  by  cuttings,  and  these  are 
planted  in  the  fall,  seldom  as  early  as  Octo- 
ber, since  the  planters  have  no  time  until 
the  grinding  season  is  over.  The  riper  por- 
tion of  the  stalk  is  generally  used  for  cane 
seed ;  others  cut  the  cane  in  the  middle  and 
use  the  green  tops  for  planting.  The  land 
is  well  ploughed,  harrowed,  and  marked  off 
in  rows  three  to  five  and  even  eight  feet 
apart.  As  the  cane  must  reach  its  full 
growth  in  nine  months,  a  good  distance 
apart  is  thought  necessary  to  promote  ac- 
cess of  the  sun  and  the  circulation  of  air.  A 
double-mould-board  plough  follows  the  mark- 
er, opening  a  clear  furrow  for  planting.  In  the 
furrow  the  canes  are  laid  straight  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  eyes  may  freely  throw  out 
their  shoots.  They  are  covered  from  four 
to  six  inches.  The  young  plants  are  culti- 
vated much  as  Indian  corn,  in  rows.  The 
planting  is  done  in  some  parts  of  Louisiana 
once  in  three  years.  The  first  year  it  is  call- 
ed "plant  cane,"  and  the  subsequent  growths 
are  called  rattoons.  But  sometimes,  as  on 
the  prairies  of  Attakapas  and  Opelousas  and 
the  higher  northern  range  of  its  cultiva- 
tion, it  requires  to  be  replanted  every  year. 
Within  the  tropics,  as  in  the  West  Indies 
and  elsewhere,  the  rattoons  frequently  con- 
tinue to  yield  abundantly  for  twelve,  fifteen, 
and  even  twenty-four  years  from  the  same 
roots.  In  Louisiana  in  the  fourth  year  the 
land  is  put  in  corn  and  peas.  After  the  corn 
is  gathered  the  stalks  and  peas  are  ploughed 
in,  and  the  land  is  ready  for  cane  again. 

In  Louisiana  the  cane  never  ripens,  and 
therefore  is  allowed  to  grow  as  long  as  it 
can  be  done  with  safety  from  frost.  In  the 
latter  part  of  October,  they  commence  by 
saving  their  seed,  that  is,  by  cutting  the 
cane  they  need  for  planting,  and  securing  it 
by  placing  it  in  mats,  so  called,  on  the 
ground,  say  twenty  feet  by  forty,  resting  it 


on  an  embankment,  with  the  buts  on  the 
ground  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty  degrees, 
and  leaving  a  mass  of  tops  on  the  surface,  a 
foot  deep  and  forming  a  perfect  protection 
from  frost. 

Next  they  commence  taking  off  the  crops. 
Every  negro  has  at  all  times  in  his  posses- 
sion a  cane  knife,  like  a  butcher's  cleaver, 
and  kept  very  sharp.  With  the  back  of  the 
knife  he  knocks  off  the  dry  leaves,  and  cuts 
off  the  stalk  as  of  no  value  where  the  leaves 
are  green.  Should  a  frost  come  whilst  they 
are  making  sugar,  the  work  is  stopped,  and 
all  hands  are  employed  winnowing  the  cane 
in  the  fields,  as  a  fermentation  commences 
immediately,  if  it  is  allowed  to  stand. 

The  cane  is  as  certain  as  any  large  crop 
we  have.  When  the  cane  is  gathered  it  is 
prepared  for  the  mill.  These  are  some 
twelve  feet  from  the  ground,  in  order  that 
the  juice  may  flow  from  the  rollers  into  the 
juice  boxes,  and  from  them  into  the  kettles. 
The  mills  are  composed  of  three  iron  rollers 
from  twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  inches  in 
diameter,  and  from  four  to  five  and  a  half 
feet  long.  There  are  a  great  number  of  in- 
ventions that  have  been  patented  within  a 
few  years.  The  cane  carrier  is  an  endless 
belt,  fifty  to  ninety  feet  long,  formed  of 
chains,  with  slats  inserted  and  placed  at  an 
angle  of  thirty  to  thirty-five  degrees  to 
the  ground.  The  lower  end  is  about  two 
feet  from  the  ground.  On  this  the  canes 
are  spread  evenly,  and  by  its  revolution 
they  are  carried  up  to  the  rollers  which  ex- 
press their  juice  as  they  pass  through.  The 
juice  thus  obtained  is  collected  in  large  res- 
ervoirs, to  go  through  a  process  of  boiling 
which  has  been  greatly  varied  by  improve- 
ments upon  the  old  Creole  plan.  The  juice, 
by  boiling  and  evaporation,  is  reduced  to  the 
state  of  muscovado,  which  is  placed  in  hogs- 
heads with  holes  bored  in  the  bottom,  to 
permit  the  molasses  to  pass  off.  In  the 
course  of  the  boiling,  lime  is  added  in  pre- 
pared portions  to  "  defecate"  the  sugar,  and 
the  juice  is  bleached  by  passing  through  a 
filter  of  bone-black.  Very  many  inventions 
have  been  patented  for  kettles,  vacuum  pans, 
etc.,  to  facilitate  the  boiling  process,  and 
others  to  promote  the  discharge  of  the  mo- 
lasses. One  of  these  is  by  centrifugal  force. 
The  sugar  is  placed  in  a  cylinder  of  iron  net- 
work, which,  revolving  with  great  rapidity, 
imparts  to  the  molasses  a  centrifugal  motion 
that  drains  it  from  the  sugar  through  the 
net,  when  it  is  collected  in  proper  vessels. 


SUGAR CULTIVATION    AND    CONSUMPTION. 


129 


The  introduction  of  bisulphate  of  lime  of 
late  years  has  added  greatly  to  the  quantity 
of  sugar  that  may  be  obtained  from  a  given 
quantity  of  cane,  and  also  to  its  quality. 

The  quantity  of  sugar  produced  on  an  acre 
varies  from  500  Ibs.  to  3000  Ibs. ;  the  average 
may  be  1000  Ibs.  A  well-cultivated  planta- 
tion in  Louisiana  produces  2400  Ibs.  sugar 
and  2000  Ibs.  or  160  gallons  molasses  per 
acre.  Some  mills  will  turn  out  1000  gal- 
lons juice  per  hour,  twenty  hours  in  a  day, 
giving  ten  hogsheads  of  sugar,  or  12,000  Ibs. 
and  20  bbls.  molasses,  or  800  gallons,  12  Ibs. 
to  the  gallon.  The  expenses  and  products  of 
a  plantation  in  Louisiana  have  been  given  as 
follows  in  official  documents  : — 


Household  expenses 

Overseer's  salary 400 

Food  and  clothing — 15  working  hands  at  $30  450 
"                "           15  old  hands  and  chil- 
dren, $15 ; 225 

Eepairs,  1£  per  cent,  on  capital  ($40,000). . .  600 


$2675 

50  hhds.  sugar  at  4  cents  per  Ib $2500 

25     "          "      "  3     "  "     862 

25     "          "      "  2     "  "     575 

4000  galls,  molasses,  10  cents 400  —  4137 


Balance $1462 

There  are  many  other  products  raised  by 
the  hands  besides  sugar.  Thus  there  are  in 
Louisiana  200,000  hands,  and  these  produced 
in  1859,  362,296  hhds.  of  sugar,  worth  with 
the  molasses  $31,399,241 ;  and  in  addition 
they  raised  6,327,882  bushels  of  corn,  or  31 
bushels  per  head ;  and  4,91 1,680  Ibs.  of  rice, 
or  24i  Ibs.  per  head.  There  are  in  Louisiana 
1298  sugar  houses,  987  worked  by  steam  and 
31 1  by  horse  power.  The  hogshead  of  sugar 
is  a  very  variable  measure,  but  the  average 
weight,  by  the  best  authorities,  is  1150  Ibs. 

With  the  progress  of  the  country,  a  great 
dependence  has  been  had  upon  Louisiana  for 
a  supply  of  sugar.  In  1815,  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  gave  10,000,000  Ibs.,  and  in 
1818,  25,000,000  Ibs.  In  1858,  it  had  risen 
to  414,796,000  Ibs.  The  census  of  1850 
gave  the  quantity  of  cane  sugar  raised  in  the 
United  States  as  follows : — 

Lbs. 

South  Carolina 671,000 

Georgia 1,642,000 

Florida 2,750,000 

Alabama 8,242,000 

Mississippi 388,000 

Kentucky:   284,000 

Tennessee 248,000 

Texas 7,351,000 

Louisiana 226,201,000 

Total 247,577,000 


These  figures  show  that  already  in  1850 
the  manufacture  of  cane  sugar  had  concen- 
trated in  Louisiana,  but  had  become  impor- 
tant in  Texas.  The  production  of  sugar  va- 
ries greatly  from  year  to  year  as  affected  by 
the  season.  In  1853,  the  product  in  Louis- 
iana rose  to  495,156,000  Ibs.,  in  1856  it  fell 
to  81,373,000  Ibs.,  and  in  1858  it  had  recov- 
ered to  414,796,000  Ibs.  This  fluctuation 
has  an  important  influence  upon  the  ex- 
changes of  the  country,  since  when  the 
Louisiana  crop  fails,  the  price  of  sugar  rises 
very  high  and  the  importation  from  abroad 
becomes  excessive.  The  following  table  will 
show  the  quantity  of  sugar  consumed  in  the 
United  States,  and  whence  it  is  derived : — 


Year. 


1801, 
1811, 
1821, 
1831, 
1841, 
1842, 
1843, 
1844, 
1845, 
1846, 
1847, 
1848, 
1849, 
1850, 
1851, 
1852, 
1853, 
1854, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
1858, 
1859, 
1860, 


CONSUMPTION   OP   SUGAR  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Total  in  Lbs.  per  Cts. 
tons.       head,  per  Ib 


Imported. 

21,376 

24,791 

26,672 

44,178 

65,601 

69,474 

28,854 

83,801 

88,336 

44^974 

98,410 

104,214 

103,121 

160,210 

201,493 

196,558 

200,610 

150,854 

192,607 

255,292 

241,765 

244,758 

239,034 

296,950 


Louisiana. 


4,000 

14,000 

35,000 

38,000 

39,200 

64,360 

44,400 

45,000 

83,028 

71,040 

107,000 

99,180 

144,600 

120,331 

118,659 

172,379 

234,444 

185,145 

123,468 

39,000 

143,734 

192,150 

118,331 


28,791 
40,672 
79,178 
103,601 
108,674 
93,214 
128,201 
133,336 
128,002 
169,450 
211,214 
202,301 
304,810 
321,824 
315,217 
372,989 
385,298 
377,752 
378,760 
280.765 
388,492 
431,184 
415,281 


15 


3i 
3* 


14i   4* 


22J 

20| 

29^ 

30 

29 

30± 

34 


3* 
3t 
3* 
3* 


33f   4t 


31 


30 


6i 


The  small  crop  of  Louisiana  in  1856,  in- 
duced a  rise  in  prices  that  brought  a  large 
quantity  of  foreign  into  the  country.  The 
consumption  per  head  seems  to  have  been 
sustained  at  the  higher  prices.  The  con- 
sumption per  head  is  larger  than  in  other 
countries.  The  ratio  for  the  same  year  has 
been  as  follows  : — France,  9  Ibs.  per  head ; 
Great  Britain,  28h  Ibs.  per  head;  and  in  the 
United  States,  31  Ibs.  per  head.  This  French 
consumption  includes  cane  and  beet-root  su- 
gar. The  United  States  figures  embrace  only 
the  cane.  The  maple  sugar  made  would,  with 
molasses,  swell  the  total  figures  for  1860  to 
464,673  tons;  as  thus — cane  sugar,  415,281 
tons;  molasses  refined,  60,000  hhds.,  giving 
13,392  tons  sugar;  of  maple  sugar  28,000 
tons.  California  consumption,  8000  tons. 


130 


SUGAR CULTIVATION   AND    CONSUMPTION. 


The  weight  of  the  Louisiana  sugar  hhds.  i 
taken  at  1,150  Ibs.  for  the  crop  of  1860,  and 
the  total  crop  for  that  year,  or  that  which 
commenced  in  1860,  was  302,205  hhds., 
weighing  347,535,750  Ibs.  The  number  ol 
sugar  houses  worked  by  steam  is  1,090,  and 
by  horse  power  283.  The  product  of  mo- 
lasses was  25,516,699  gallons. 

MAPLE  SUGAR. 

It  is  but  a  few  years  since  the  highest 
reach  of  art  in  this  manufacture  produced 
only  a  fine  muscovado-like  sugar ;  but  now, 
by  improved  processes,  specimens  are  annu- 
ally exhibited  at  the  fairs,  vicing  with  the 
most  beautiful  loaf  sugar.  By  the  improved 
mode  the  sap  is  boiled  in  a  potash  or  caul- 
dron kettle  to  a  thick  syrup,  which  is  strain- 
ed when  warm.  It  is  then  allowed  to  stand 
twenty-four  hours,  and  is  then  poured  off. 
To  clarify  a  quantity  of  50  Ibs.,  a  mixture  of 
one  quart  of  milk,  one  ounce  of  saleratus, 
and  two  whites  of  eggs  well  mixed,  is  boiled 
into  the  sugar  until  it  has  become  thick. 
For  draining,  a  tube  is  employed  fifteen 
inches  square  at  the  top,  and  coming  to  a 
point  at  the  bottom.  The  sugar  is  put  in 
cold  and  the  bottom  tapped,  while  the  top 
is  covered  with  a  wet  flannel  cloth  of  two  or 
three  thicknesses. 

The  quantity  of  maple  sugar  made  per 
annum  cannot  be  ascertained  with  as  much 
accuracy  as  that  of  the  cane,  and  the  esti- 
mates of  the  dealers  are  founded  upon  the 
returns  of  the  census  of  1860,  which  were  as 
follows : — 

UNITED  STATES  MAPLE  SUGAR  PRODUCTIONS. 

Lbs. 

Maine 306,742 

New  Hampshire 2,255,012 

Vermont 9,819,939 

Massachusetts 1,006,078 

Rhode  Island .... 

Connecticut 44,259 

New  York 10,816,458 

New  Jersey. 3,455 

Pennsylvania 2,768,965 


Maryland. 

District  of  Columbia.. . 

Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina. 

Georgia 

Alabama. 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Tennessee. 

Kentucky 

Missouri 


63,281 

937,643 

30,845 

205 

991 

543 

69 

3,097 
117,359 
380.941 
142,430 


Illinois 131,751 

Indiana 1,515,594 

Ohio 3,323,942 

Michigan 2,988,018 

Wisconsin 1,584,406 

Iowa 248,951 

Minnesota 370,94t 

Kansas  and  Nebraska. .  1,864 

Total 38,863,884 

Besides  this  amount  of  sugar,  1,944,594 
gallons  of  maple  molasses  were  reported  in 
the  census  of  1860.  In  1863,  1864,  and 
1865,  the  great  advance  in  the  price  of  cane 
sugar  led  to  a  very  considerable  increase  in 
the  production  of  maple  sugar  and  syrup. 
Probably  not  less  than  30,000  tons  were 
manufactured  in  1&64. 

A  great  deal  is  made,  as  of  cane  sugar  in 
Georgia,  for  home  use ;  it  does  not  come 
upon  the  market,  but  prevents,  to  a  certain 
extent,  a  demand  that  would  exist  without 
it. 

SORGHUM  SYRUP  AND  SUGAR. 

The  production  of  a  syrup  from  the  juice 
of  the  stalks  of  the  sorgho  and  imphee,  two 
plants  of  the  maize  family,  as  a  substitute 
for  molasses,  was  first  attempted  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  during  the  decade,  1 8-50- 
1860.  Efforts  were  also  made  to  produce  a 
sugar  from  this  syrup  ;  but  with  only  mode- 
rate success,  as  it  did  not  crystallize  readily, 
being  more  analogous  to  grape  sugar,  or  glu- 
cose, than  to  cane  sugar  in  its  character. 
In  1860,  the  production  reported  was  7,235,- 
025  gallons,  and  this  was  doubtless  much 
below  the  actual  production,  as  many  far- 
mers made  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  gallons, 
which  they  did  not  report.  During  the  war, 
;he  high  price  of  sugar  and  molasses  greatly 
stimulated  the  production  of  this  syrup, 
:>oth  at  the  north  and  at  the  south.  The 
annual  yield  in  1863,  1864,  and  1865,  could 
iardly  have  been  less  than  fifty  or  sixty 
millions  of  gallons. 

SUGAR   FROM  OTHER    SOURCES. 

Experiments  on  a  large  scale,  and  resulting 
n  a  good  degree  of  success,  have  been  made 
'or  producing  sugar  from  the  white  sugar 
3eet  of  France,  in  Illinois.  The  amount  thus 
produced  in  the  past  two  ;years,  1865  and 
L866,  cannot  be  definitely  stated,  but  must 
amount  to  several  hundred  tons,  and  it  is 
ikely  to  increase.  Sugar  and  molasses  are 
also  produced  at  Buffalo  and  some  other 
points  from  corn,  by  a  chemical  process.  This 
is  probably  glucose,  or  grape  sugar. 


COMMERCE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

COLONIAL    TRADE  —  IMPERIAL    RESTRIC- 
TIONS—EMANCIPATION OF  INHABITANTS. 

THE  history  of  the  commerce  and  trade  of 
a  people  is  a  record  of  their  industry  and 
productive  powers,  since  all  trade  is  but  an 
interchange  of  the  products  of  labor,  and 
wealth  but  an  accumulation  of  those  products 
beyond  the  necessary  annual  consumption, 
and  wear  and  tear  from  use.  In  the  United 
States,  since  the  date  of  their  settlement, 
the  development  of  trade  and  the  accumula- 
tion of  property  have  been  more  rapid  than 
in  any  other  country.  This  has  been  the 
case,  chiefly,  for  five  leading  reasons :  1.  The 
ample  supply  of  fertile  land  free  to  the  culti- 
vator. 2.  The  persevering  and  intelligent 
industry  of  the  people,  combined  with  an 
inventive  genius  that  has  constantly  smooth- 
ed the  way  of  labor  by  devising  the  means 
of  producing  greater  results  with  the  same 
manual  force.  3.  The  rapid  increase  of  the 
numbers  of  the  people,  not  only  by  reason 
of  the  healthiness  of  the  climate  and  the 
general  morality  of  their  habits,  but  also  in 
consequence  of  the  great  immigration  from 
abroad,  induced  by  the  desire  of  the  most 
enterprising  Europeans  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  benefits  of  our  institutions.  The  stream 
of  natural  births  in  excess  of  deaths  has 
mingled  with  the  broad  current  of  immigra- 
tion to  swell  the  numbers  in  a  surprising 
ratio.  4.  The  accumulation  of  capital  ap- 
plicable to  reproductive  industries,  as  well 
through  the  frugal  habits  of  the  people,  who 
have  consumed  far  less  than  they  have  pro- 
duced, as  by  the  influx  of  capital  from 
abroad,  not  only  in  the  hands  of  immigrants, 
but  for  investments,  that  will  yield  larger 
revenue  to  European  holders  than  they  can 
there  obtain.  And,  fifth,  and  perhaps  more 
important  than  all,  the  control  that  the  peo- 
ple have  kept  of  their  own  funds.  They 
have  had  no  absolute  rulers  or  dynasties  to 
involve  them  in  devastating  wars,  destroying 


wantonly  what  was  not  exhausted  in  military 
expenses,  and  leaving  the  people  deprived  of 
their  all.  On  this  continent  comparatively 
nothing  has  been  wasted  in  strife,  while  count- 
less sums  have  been  swallowed  by  Europe 
in  offerings  to  the  god  of  war.  Thus,  indus- 
trious and  frugal  habits,  abundance  of  fertile 
land,  morality  of  character,  and  freedom  of 
institutions,  have  combined,  with  fertility  of 
invention  in  machinery,  and  means  of  com- 
munication, to  build  up  a  nation  that  attracts 
the  cream  of  the  European  people  and  their 
capital — these  elements,  in  fifty  years  of  un- 
disturbed peace,  produce  an  example  of  the 
highest  national  happiness.  It  is  true  that 
some  other  nations  have  more  aggregate 
wealth,  but  that  in  the  United  States  is 
more  equally  divided  among  the  people. 
These  causes  have  operated  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  since  the  settlement  of  the  country, 
but  with  increasing  force  as  the  present  cen- 
tury has  advanced.  We  may  illustrate  by  a 
few  figures,  showing  the  general  state  of 
affairs  at  three  periods,  viz.:  in  1700,  eighty 
years  after  the  time  of  first  settlement; 
secondly,  the  time  of  separation  from  the 
mother  country;  and  thirdly,  the  date  of 
the  census  of  1850 : — 


Annual 


Assessed 
wealth. 


Population,      agricultural  Manufactures. 

products. 
1700,         262,000 

1790,      3,929,872      $150,000,000  479,293,268 

1S50,    28,191,876      1,070,000,000  $1,019,000,000    2,275,730.124 
I860.    81,429,891  $9,318,292,265 

In  nearly  two  hundred  years  up  to  1790, 
the  population  had  increased  to  less  than 
4,000,000,  including  the  blacks;  and  the 
taxable  valuation  to  $479,293,263,  including 
the  land.  In  the  succeeding  sixty  years  the 
population  rose  sixfold,  and  the  taxable 
property  fivefold.  Of  that  population,  over 
5,000,000  immigrated  into  this  country. 
The  white  population,  however,  increased 
by  census  16,800,000  persons:  of  these, 
11,600,000  were  the  native  increase  in  sixty 
years;  hence,  nearly  50  per  cent,  of  the  in- 
crease was  from  immigration.  The  great 


COLONIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF   INHABITANTS.       133 


increase  in  manufactures,  of  which  none  had 
been  allowed  under  the  imperial  govern- 
ment, is  very  remarkable.  It  indicates  only 
the  force  with  which  industry  acted  as  soon 
as  the  inhibition  of  the  mother  country  was 
removed.  The  population  for  1860  is  the 
current  estimate.  The  valuation  is,  how- 
ever, the  official  state  returns,  and  shows  an 
amazing  result — nearly  fourfold,  in  ten  years ! 
The  early  settlers  in  all  the  colonies  had 
to  depend  mostly  upon  agricultural  products, 
first  for  their  own  maintenance,  and  then  as 
a  means  of  procuring,  by  a  sale  of  the  sur- 
plus, those  manufactured  articles  which,  under 
the  rigorous  rule  of  the  mother  country,  they 
were  not  allowed  to  produce  themselves. 
The  early  policy  of  the  imperial  government 
was  to  make  the  colonies  a  source  of  profit 
to  the  mother  country,  and  this  was  sought 
by  restraining  the  colonists  from  any  pur- 
suit that  came  in  conflict  with  the  industry 
of  the  mother  country,  and  to  confine  them 
to  the  production  of  such  articles  as  she 
stood  most  in  need  of.  Those  articles  they 
were  allowed  to  sell  only  to  the  mother 
country,  and  were  to  buy  what  they  stood 
in  need  of  only  of  her.  Under  those  gen- 
eral restrictions  the  colonists,  with  little 
capital,  and  a  barren  soil  at  the  north,  were 
to  prosper  as  they  could.  Their  genius  and 
restless  energy,  however,  stood  them  in  stead. 
But  they  were  compelled  to  encounter  new 
restrictions  at  every  turn.  The  provinces 
were  in  some  cases  grants  to  individuals,  and 
in  others  to  companies.  This  involved,  of 
course,  their  own  government.  But  soon 
the  Crown  claimed  the  right  of  confirming  the 
governor.  They  were  forbidden  to  coin 
money,  to  sell  lands  to  any  but  British  subjects, 
to  cut  down  pine-trees  on  any  pretence,  to 
send  wool  to  any  place  out  of  the  king's 
dominions,  to  export  any  produce  except  in 
English  vessels,  of  which  the  master  and 
three-fourths  of  the  crew  were  English.  Thus 
every  new  progress  of  the  colonies,  even  in 
settling  and  working  the  land,  was  followed 
by  a  new  restraint.  But  when  they  began 
to  manufacture,  new  anxieties  seized  the 
home  government.  Early  in  the  eighteenth 
century  an  act  of  parliament  forbade  the 
manufacture  of  hats;  and  Massachusetts  Bay 
gave  offence  by  undertaking  the  manufacture 
of  paper.  New  York  incurred  displeasure 
by  taxing  slaves  imported  from  Africa,  five 
ounces  of  silver  each ;  and  the  ire  of  the 
government  was  further  aroused  by  the  re- 
bellious disposition  that  prompted  the  New 


England  people  to  work  up  their  own  wool 
and  flax  into  home-spun  goods.  They  also 
attempted  to  start  banks,  which  parliament 
prohibited;  and  they  forbade  the  manufac- 
ture of  iron  beyond  the  state  of  pig,  and  in- 
terdicted foreign-built  vessels  from  the  colo- 
nial trade.  In  spite  of  all  these  continually 
multiplying  vexations,  the  colonists  contrived 
to  find  something  to  do,  and  the  fact  that 
they  did  so  kept  the  home  government  con- 
tinually upon  the  "  anxious  seat."  A  par- 
liamentary committee  was  finally  appointed 
to  look  into  the  manner  in  which  those 
colonists  employed  their  time,  and  the  com- 
mittee of  parliament  reported  as  follows: — 

"  The  governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in- 
formed us  that  in  some  parts  of  this  province 
the  inhabitants  worked  up  their  wool  and 
flax  into  an  ordinary  coarse  cloth  for  their 
own  use,  but  did  not  export  any.  That  the 
greatest  part  of  the  woollen  and  linen  cloth- 
ing worn  in  this  province  was  imported  from 
Great  Britain,  and  sometimes  from  Ireland; 
but,  considering  the  excessive  price  of  labor 
in  New  England,  the  merchants  could  afford 
what  was  imported  cheaper  than  what  was 
made  in  that  country.  That  there  were  also 
a  few  hat-makers  in  the  maritime  towns; 
and  that  the  greater  part  of  the  leather  used 
in  that  country  was  manufactured  among 
themselves.  That  there  had  been  for  many 
years  some  iron  works  in  that  province,  which 
had  afforded  the  people  iron  for  some  of  their 
necessary  occasions;  but  that  the  iron  im- 
ported from  Great  Britain  was  esteemed 
much  the  best,  and  wholly  used  by  the  ship- 
ping. And  that  the  iron  works  of  that 
province  were  not  able  to  supply  the  twen- 
tieth part  of  what  was  necessary  for  the  use 
of  the  country.  They  had  no  manufactures 
in  the  province  of  New  York  that  deserved 
mentioning;  their  trade  consisted  chiefly  in 
furs,  whalebone,  oil,  pitch,  tar,  and  provi- 
sions. No  manufactures  in  New  Jersey  that 
deserve  mentioning,  their  trade  being  chiefly 
in  provisions  shipped  from  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania.  The  chief  trade  of  Pennsyl- 
vania lay  in  the  exportation  of  provisions 
and  lumber,  no  manufactures  being  estab- 
lished, and  their  clothing  and  utensils  for 
their  houses  being  all  imported  from  Great 
Britain.  By  further  advices  from  New 
Hampshire,  the  woollen  manufacture  appears 
to  have  decreased,  the  common  lands,  on 
which  the  sheep  used  to  feed,  being  now 
appropriated,  and  the  people  almost  wholly 
clothed  with  woollen  from  Great  Britain. 


134 


COMMERCE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  manufacture  of  flax  into  linen,  some 
coarser,  some  finer,  daily  increased  by  the 
great  resort  of  people  from  Ireland  thither, 
who  are  well  skilled  in  that  business;  and 
the  chief  trade  of  this  province  continued, 
as  for  many  years  past,  in  the  exportation  of 
naval  stores,  lumber,  and  fish.  By  later  ac- 
counts from  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  Eng- 
land, the  assembly  have  voted  a  bounty  of 
30s.  for  every  piece  of  duck  or  canvas  made 
in  the  province.  Some  other  manufactures 
are  carried  on  there,  as  brown  Hollands  for 
women's  wear,  which  lessens  the  importation 
of  calicos,  and  some  other  sorts  of  East  India 
goods.  They  also  make  some  small  quan- 
tities of  cloth  made  of  linen  and  cotton,  for 
ordinary  shirting  and  sheeting.  By  a  paper- 
mill  set  up  three  years  ago,  they  make  to 
the  value  of  £200  sterling  yearly.  There 
are  also  several  forges  for  making  bar-iron, 
and  some  furnaces  for  cast-iron  or  hollow 
ware,  and  one  sitting-mill,  and  a  manufactory 
of  nails.  The  governor  writes  concerning 
the  woollen  manufacture,  that  the  country 
people,  who  used  formerly  to  make  most  of 
their  clothing  out  of  their  own  wool,  do  not 
now  make  a  third  part  of  what  they  wear, 
but  are  mostly  clothed  with  British  manu- 
factures. The  same  governor  (Belcher),  by 
some  of  his  letters  of  an  older  date,  in  an- 
swer to  our  annual  queries,  writes,  that  there 
are  some  few  copper  mines  in  this  province, 
but  so  far  distant  from  water-carriage,  and 
the  ore  so  poor,  that  it  is  not  worth  the 
digging.  The  surveyor-general  of  his  Maj- 
esty's woods  writes,  that  they  have  in  New 
England  six  furnaces  and  nineteen  forges  for 
making  iron,  and  that  in  this  province  many 
ships  are  built  for  the  French  and  Spaniards 
in  return  for  rum,  molasses,  wines,  and  silks, 
which  they  truck  there  by  connivance.  Great 
quantities  of  hats  are  made  in  New  England, 
of  which  the  company  of  hatters  of  London 
have  likewise  lately  complained  to  us,  that 
great  quantities  of  those  hats  are  exported 
to  Spain,  Portugal,  and  our  West  India 
islands.  They  also  make  all  sorts  of  iron 
work  for  shipping.  There  are  several  still- 
houses  and  sugar-bakers  established  in  New 
England.  By  later  advices  from  New  York, 
there  are  no  manufactures  there  that  can 
affect  those  of  Great  Britain.  There  is  yearly 
imported  into  New  York  a  very  large  quan- 
tity of  the  woollen  manufactures  of  this  king- 
dom for  their  clothing,  which  they  would  be 
rendered  incapable  to  pay  for,  and  would  be 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  making  for  them- 


selves, if  they  were  prohibited  from  receiv- 
ing from  the  foreign  sugar  colonies  the 
money,  rum,  sugar,  molasses,  cocoa,  indigo, 
cotton,  wool,  etc.,  which  they  at  present 
take  in  return  for  provisions,  horses,  and 
lumber,  the  produce  of  that  province  and  of 
New  Jersey,  of  which  he  affirms,  the  British 
sugar  colonies  do  not  take  off  above  one-half. 
But  the  company  of  hatters  of  London  have 
since  informed  us,  that  hats  are  manufac- 
tured in  great  quantities  in  this  province. 
By  the  last  letters  from  the  deputy-governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  does  not  know  of  any 
trade  carried  on  in  that  province  that  can  be 
injurious  to  this  kingdom.  They  do  not  ex- 
port any  woollen  or  linen  manufactures,  all 
that  they  make,  which  are  of  a  coarser  sort, 
being  for  their  own  use.  We  are  further 
informed  that  in  this  province  are  built  many 
brigantines  and  small  sloops,  which  they  sell 
to  the  West  Indies.  The  governor  of  Rhode 
Island  informs  us,  in  answer  to  our  queries, 
that  there  are  iron  mines  there,  but  not  a 
fourth  part  iron  enough  to"  serve  their  own 
use ;  but  he  takes  no  notice  of  any  sort  of 
manufacture  set  up  there.  No  return  from 
the  governor  of  Connecticut ;  but  we  find,  by 
some  accounts,  that  the  produce  of  this  col- 
ony is  timber,  boards,  all  sorts  of  English 
grain,  hemp,  flax,  sheep,  black  cattle,  swine, 
horses,  goats,  and  tobacco ;  that  they  export 
horses  and  lumber  to  the  West  Indies,  and 
receive  in  return  sugar,  salt,  molasses,  and 
rum.  We  likewise  find  that  their  manufac- 
tures are  very  inconsiderable,  the  people 
there  being  generally  employed  in  tillage, 
some  few  in  tanning,  shoemaking,  and  other 
handicrafts;  others  in  the  building,  and 
joiners',  tailors',  and  smiths'  work,  without 
which  they  could  not  subsist." 

The  old  northern  colonies  in  America  had, 
it  is  well  known,  very  few  articles  fit  for  the 
British  market,  and  yet  they  every  year  took 
off  large  quantities  of  merchandise  from  Great 
Britain,  for  which  they  made  payments  with 
tolerable  regularity.  Although  they  could 
not,  like  the  Spanish  colonists,  dig  the  money 
out  of  their  own  soil,  yet  they  found  means 
to  make  a  great  part  of  their  remittances  in 
gold  and  silver  dug  out  of  the  Spanish  mines. 
This  they  effected  by  being  general  carriers, 
and  by  a  circuitous  commerce  carried  on  in 
small  vessels,  chiefly  with  the  foreign  West 
India  settlements,  to  which  they  carried  lum- 
ber of  all  sorts,  fish  of  an  inferior  quality, 
beef,  pork,  butter,  horses,  poultry  and  other 
live  stock,  an  inferior  kind  of  tobacco,  corn, 


COLONIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF   INHABITANTS. 


flour,  bread,  cider,  and  even  apples,  cab- 
bages, onions,  etc.,  and  also  vessels  built  at 
a  small  expense,  the  materials  being  almost 
all  within  themselves;  for  which  they  re- 
ceived in  return  silver  and  gold,  some  of 
which  remained  as  current  coin  among  them- 
selves, but  the  greatest  part  was  remitted 
home  to  Britain,  and,  together  with  bills  of 
exchange,  generally  remitted  to  London,  for 
the  proceeds  of  their  best  fish,  sold  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  served 
to  pay  for  the  goods  they  received  from  the 
mother  country.  This  trade  united  all  the 
advantages  which  the  wisest  and  most  phil- 
anthropic philosopher,  or  the  most  enlight- 
ened legislator,  could  wish  to  derive  from 
commerce.  It  gave  bread  to  the  industrious 
in  North  America  by  carrying  off'  their  lum- 
ber, which  must  otherwise  rot  on  their  hands, 
and  their  fish,  great  part  of  which  without  it 
would  be  absolutely  unsaleable,  together  with 
their  spare  produce,  and  stock  of  every  kind. 
It  furnished  the  West  India  planters  with 
those  articles  without  which  the.  operations 
of  their  plantations  must  be  at  a  stand,  and 
it  produced  a  fund  for  employing  a  great 
number  of  industrious  manufacturers  in  Great 
Britain :  thus  taking  off  the  superfluities, 
providing  for  the  necessities,  and  promoting 
the  happiness  of  all  concerned.  This  trade, 
however,  was  almost  entirely  ruined  by  the 
rigorous  execution  of  the  orders  against 
smuggling  and  the  collection  of  the  duties 
in  hard  silver,  which  soon  drained  the  country 
of  any  little  real  money  circulating  in  it. 
And,  as  if  government  had  intended  to  pre- 
vent the  colonists  from  having  even  the 
shadow  of  money,  another  act  was  passed  in 
a  few  days  after  that  for  the  new  duties,  de- 
claring that  no  paper  bills  to  be  henceforth 
issued  should  be  made  a  legal  tender  in  pay- 
ment, and  enjoining  those  in  circulation  to 
be  sunk  (that  is,  paid  off  in  hard  money)  at 
the  limited  time.  That  vast  quantities  of 
goods  were  imported,  in  direct  violation  of 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law  and  of  the 
commercial  system  of  the  mother  country, 
there  is  no  doubt.  But  it  could  not  well  be 
otherwise  in  a  country  so  remote  from  the 
government  to  which  it  professed  allegiance, 
and  possessing  an  extent  of  coast  which  no 
chain  of  revenue  cruisers  that  could  be  sup- 
ported by  government  would  be  sufficient  to 
guard  with  any  kind  of  effect.  The  soil  of 
the  New  England  provinces  scarcely  furnish- 
ed provisions  sufficient  to  support  the  in- 
habitants. Their  industry  had  therefore  been 


chiefly  directed  to  the  sea — to  fishing,  nav- 
igation, and  the  various  branches  of  business 
subservient  to  them.  The  cod,  salmon,  mack- 
erel, sturgeon,  and  other  species  offish  which 
frequented  the  coasts  and  rivers  in  prodig- 
ious shoals,  afforded  employment  to  great 
numbers  in  taking,  curing,  and  packing  them. 
The  New  Englandcrs  also  frequented  the 
banks  and  coasts  of  Newfoundland,  and  the 
fishing  grounds  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
as  far  as  the  coasts  of  Labrador.  Besides 
their  own  fishing,  they  procured  from  the 
Newfoundland  fishermen  a  part  of  the  fish, 
taken  by  them  in  exchange  for  rum  of  their 
own  manufacture,  and  other  articles  of  Amer- 
ican and  West  India  produce.  The  follow- 
ing record  of  rum  exported  from  the  colonies 
now  forming  the  United  States  (chiefly  from 
New  England)  to  the  provinces  of  Nova 
Scotia,  Quebec,  and  Newfoundland,  affords 
a  specimen  of  the  extent  of  that  trade  during 
a  few  years  preceding  the  revolution : — 

1770.        1771.       1772.        1773. 

West  India  rum,  gallons  52,712  36,873  47,7.36  50.716 
American  rum,  "  590,748  550,514  520,525  608,0--5 

643,460    587,387    568,261     658,741 

The  fish,  after  being  sorted  in  the  harbors, 
were  shipped  off  to  the  countries  for  which 
each  quality  was  best  adapted.  The  best 
were  carried  to  the  southern  parts  of  Europe, 
and  the  proceeds  were  generally  remitted  to 
Great  Britain  in  bills  of  exchange  to  pay  for  the 
goods  they  had  occasion  for.  A  small  quan- 
tity of  the  best  fish  was  also  sent  to  Britain, 
and  the  inferior  sorts  were  destined  to  give 
a  relish  to  the  plantains  and  yams  which 
constituted  the  principal  part  of  the  food  of 
the  negro  slaves  in  the  West  Indies.  After 
the  peace  of  1763,  the  whale  fishery  increas- 
ed in  the  seas  between  the  New  England 
coasts  and  Labrador,  in  consequence  of  the 
encouragement  given  to  it  by  the  great  re- 
duction of  the  duties  on  the  oil  and  whale 
fins,  so  much,  that  instead  of  eighty  or  ninety 
sloops,  which  had  gone  upon  the  whale 
fishery,  they  employed  160  in  that  business 
before  the  year  1775,  and  the  other  branches 
of  their  fishery  increased  in  the  same  pro- 
portion. In  addition  to  the  commerce  sup- 
ported by  the  produce  of  their  fisheries,  they 
drove  a  very  profitable  circuitous  carrying 
trade,  which  greatly  enriched  them,  and 
supplied  most  of  the  money  in  circulation. 
Besides  building  vessels  for  the  service  of 
their  own  commerce,  they  built  great  num- 
bers, but  of  no  very  good  quality  of  wood 
or  workmanship,  for  sale;  and  from  the 


136 


COMMERCE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


molasses,  which  they  brought  in  great  quan- 
tities from  the  West  Indies  (chiefly  from  the 
French  islands),  they  distilled  rum,  which, 
though  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  West 
Indies,  was  very  acceptable  to  the  Indians, 
who  readily  received  it  in  exchange  for  their 
furs  and  peltry.  They  also  found  a  great 
sale  for  it  among  the  fishermen;  consider- 
able quantities  of  it  were  shipped  to  Africa, 
and  exchanged  for  slaves,  or  sold  to  the 
resident  European  slave  merchants  for  gold 
dust,  ivory,  woods,  wax,  and  gums.  The 
candles  made  of  spermaceti,  furnished  by  the 
whale  fishery,  formed  also  an  article  of  ex- 
port to  the  amount  of  three  or  four  hundred 
thousand  pounds  weight  in  a  year,  besides 
what  were  consumed  upon  the  continent. 
Their  exports  to  Great  Britain  consisted 
chiefly  of  fish-oil,  whalebone  (or  fins),  masts 
and  other  spars,  to  which  were  added  several 
raw  materials  for  manufactures  collected  in 
their  circuitous  trading  voyages,  and  a  bal- 
ance paid  in  foreign  gold  and  silver  coins. 
In  short,  their  earnest  application  to  fisheries 
and  the  carrying  trade,  together  with  their 
unremitting  attention  to  the  most  minute 
article  which  could  be  made  to  yield  a  profit, 
obtained  them  the  appellation  of  the  Dutch- 
men of  America.  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware  have  a  much 
better  soil  than  that  of  the  New  England 
provinces,  and  they  then,  as  now,  produced 
corn  and  cattle  of  all  kinds  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  also  hemp,  flax,  and  lumber;  to 
which  may  be  added  iron,  potashes,  and  pearl- 
ashes.  Their  exports  were  corn  of  all  kinds, 
flour  and  bread  in  great  quantities,  salted 
provisions  of  all  sorts,  live  stock,  including 
horses,  horned  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep,  and 


all  kinds  of  poultry  in  great  numbers,  flax 
and  hemp,  boards,  scantling,  staves,  shingles, 
and  wooden  houses  framed  and  ready  to  fit 
up,  iron  in  pigs  and  bars,  and  vessels,  supe- 
rior in  workmanship  to  those  of  New  Eng- 
land. Their  chief  markets  for  these  com- 
modities were  the  British  and  foreign  West 
Indies,  Spain,  Portugal,  the  Western  islands, 
Madeira  and  the  Canary  islands,  whence  they 
carried  home  the  produce  of  each  country 
and  bullion.  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  re- 
ceived from  them  iron,  hemp,  flax,  feed, 
some  lumber,  and  skins  and  furs,  the  prod- 
uce of  their  trade  with  the  Indians,  together 
with  some  articles  of  their  imports  from  other 
provinces  and  from  foreign  countries,  which 
were  raw  materials  for  British  manufactures 
and  bullion.  Maryland  and  Virginia  almost 
from  their  first  settlement  made  tobacco  the 
principal  object  of  their  culture,  and  it  long 
continued  to  constitute  the  most  valuable 
export  of  British  America ;  but  the  quantity 
of  tobacco  was  diminishing  in  these  provinces 
for  many  years  before  the  revolution,  owing 
to  the  soil  being  exhausted  by  it,  and  the 
planters  had  turned  much  of  their  tobacco 
land  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat  and  other 
grain.  Their  tobacco  could  by  law  be  ex- 
ported only  to  Great  Britain ;  but  their  corn, 
flour,  lumber,  etc.,  were  carried  to  the  West 
Indies  and  elsewhere.  North  Carolina  pro- 
duced also  some  tobacco,  and  it  furnished 
pitch,  tar,  and  turpentine,  of  which  about 
130,000  barrels  were  annually  exported, 
whereof  the  greatest  part  came  to  Britain. 
The  following  accounts,  copied  from  those 
of  the  custom-house,  for  the  year  nearly 
preceding  the  revolution,  show  the  exports 
of  the  then  colonies  of  America: — 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  VALUE,  IN  STERLING  MONEY,  OF  THE  EXPORTS  OF  THE  SEVERAL  PROVINCES  UNDERMENTIONED, 

IN   THE   YEAR    1770. 

Total. 
£.     s.  d. 

550,089  19  '2 

231,906  1  7 
2,531  16  5 
410,756  16  1 

991,401  18  6 

569,584  17    3 
96,169  19    4 

Total £1,531,516    8    6   £552,93711    2   £747,910    3    7     £20,277    19   1  £2,852,441    8    4 

The  exports  of  North  Carolina  to  the  West    corn,  peas,  etc.     But  its  foreign  trade  was 
Indies  consisted  mostly  of  salt  pork,  Indian   very  trifling  in  proportion  to  its  great  extent, 


To  Great  Britain.  To  South  of  Europe. 
£.         s.    d.            £.       B.     d. 

To  West  Indies. 
£.         s.    d. 

To  Africa. 
£.        s.    d. 

New  Hampshire  "] 

[464 

0    5 

40,431 

8 

4 

96 

11 

8 

Massachusetts      1 
Rhode  Island       J 

142,775 

12 

9     < 

76,702 
1,440 

0    4 
11    0 

123,394 
65,206 

0 
13 

6 

2 

9,801     9 
7,814  19 

10 
8 

Connecticut         J 

2,567 

4    5 

79,395 

T 

6 

New  York  

113,382 

6 

8 

50,885 

13    0 

66  324 

1  >7 

5 

1  313 

2 

6 

New  Jersey  

2J531  16 

5 

Pennsylvania.  .... 

28,112 

6 

9 

203,952 

11  11 

178,331 

7 

8 

560 

9 

9 

Maryland  )  
Virginia    C  

759,961 

5 

0     - 

66,555 
73,635 

11  11 
3    4 

22,303 
68,946 

9 
9 

2 
1 

North  Carolina   ) 
South  Carolina  ) 

405,014 

la 

1     - 

3,238 

72,881 

3    7 
9    3 

27J944 
59,814 

1 

11 

9 
6 

71 
619 

15 

10 

4 

Georgia  

82,270 

2 

3 

614 

2    0 

13,285 

15 

1 

COLONIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF    INHABITANTS.       137 


and  even  to  the  quantity  of  its  productions, 
and  was  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  merchants 
of  the  adjacent  provinces  of  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina,  and  of  the  New  Englanders. 
In  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  rice  and  in- 
digo were  the  staple  articles.  The  former 
grows  on  the  marshy  grounds  near  the  coast, 
and  the  latter  on  the  dry  soil  of  the  inland 
country.  The  planters  had  for  some  time 
applied  themselves  to  the  culture  of  tobacco ; 
it  was  not  until  later  that  the  cultivation  of 
cotton  was  introduced.  They  made  then 
considerable  quantities  of  lumber.  Their 
exports  consisted  of  these  articles;  and  the 
merchants  of  Charleston  also  shipped  some 
skins  obtained  by  trade  with  the  neighboring 
Indians,  and  part  of  the  produce  of  North 
Carolina. 

The  chief  dependence  of  the  colonies  for 
the  means  of  turning  their  industry  to  ac- 
count, was  thus  apparently  the  West  India 
trade.  Every  interest  in  England  had  been 
protected  at  the  expense  of  the  colonies,  and 
the  united  restrictions  had  resulted  in  a  larger 
West  India  trade.  The  government  now 
came  in  to  protect  itself,  and,  to  raise  a  rev- 
enue, laid  a  heavy  tax  upon  the  West  India 
trade  in  1764. 

The  burdens  of  the  colonists  were  getting 
rather  too  many  and  heavy,  and  the  people 
more  and  more  disposed  to  question  the 
utility  of  a  connection  which  was  enforced 
avowedly  that  the  colonists  might  be  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  for  the  service 
of  the  mother  country.  The  first  movement 
jn  view  of  the  fact  that  the  cutting  off  of 
their  trade  would  prevent  them  from  buying 
of  the  mother  country,  was  to  enter  into  an 
association  to  abstain  from  British  goods, 
and  to  manufacture  for  themselves.  Then 
commenced  an  active  struggle.  Surveyors- 
general  were  sent  to  America,  stamp  duties 
levied,  and  all  the  stamped  paper  sent  out 
from  England  was  burnt  up  by  the  colonists 
as  soon  as  it  arrived.  The  merchants  enter- 
ed into  an  agreement  to  import  no  more 
goods  from  Great  Britain,  and  a  manufac- 
turing society  was  established.  Woollen 
factoring  became  the  rage,  and  so  far  was  it 
carried,  that  resolutions  were  passed  not  to 
eat  lamb,  and  not  to  patronise  any  butcher 
who  killed  lambs.  They  resolved  to  send 
no  more  tobacco  to  England.  These  reso- 
lutions caused  a  great  revulsion  in  England 
among  those  who  could  get  no  remittance 
and  those  who  had  made  goods  for  the  Amer- 
ican market.  The  government  felt  the  force 


of  this  pressure,  and  the  stamp  act  was  re- 
pealed; but,  at  the  same  time,  the  moral 
effect  of  the  repeal  was  destroyed  by  the 
declaration  that  the  acts  of  parliament  bound 
the  colonies.  Then  followed  more  duties, 
more  regulations,  more  resistance,  increasing 
anger  on  both  sides,  until,  in  the  year  1775, 
parliament  prohibited  all  trade  with  Amer- 
ica, and  the  united  colonies  opened  their 
ports  to  all  nations.  During  the  war  which 
ensued,  the  business  of  the  country  of  course 
suffered ;  but  a  very  extensive  illegal  trade 
was  carried  on  by  some  of  the  high  officers 
of  the  English  government,  who,  under  li-; 
censes  granted  to  carry  stores  and  provisions 
for  the  army,  cleared  vessels  for  Boston, 
Halifax,  or  Quebec,  with  liberty  to  go  to  any 
other  port,  and  sent  cargoes  of  general  mer- 
chandise for  sale  at  great  profits. 

These  events  closed  colonial  trade.  The 
high  profits  to  be  derived  from  the  sale  of 
goods  and  produce  during  the  war  were 
too  tempting  to  permit  trade  altogether  to 
cease,  notwithstanding  the  acts  of  Congress. 
Lord  Sheffield  states  that  one  ship  in  par- 
ticular cleared  from  London  for  New  York, 
but  went  directly  to  Boston,  where  her  cargo 
sold  at  270  per  cent,  profit.  Many  cargoes 
were  paid  for  in  cash  before  they  left  Eng- 
land, on  account  of  the  risk.  The  cities  in 
the  United  States  in  the  power  of  the  British 
were  crowded  with  the  faithful;  at  the  same 
time  the  surrounding  back  country  did  not 
sympathise  with  them,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
provisions  were  very  scarce  and  high.  This 
gave  rise  to  a  clandestine  trade,  by  which  a 
vessel  would  be  loaded  with  produce  and 
sent  to  a  particular  spot,  where,  through  con- 
nivance, she  would  be  "  captured,"  and  her 
cargo  sold  as  a  prize,  at  very  high  prices,  to 
the  profit  of  both  captors  and  owners.  Amer- 
ican produce  also  found  its  way  to  Europe. 

With  the  year  1783  came  peace,  and  with 
it  a  new  era  opened  in  the  world's  commerce. 
Britain  had  always  treated  the  colonies  as 
having  no  rights,  and  she  was  now  required 
to  treat  with  them  as  equals,  not  only  in  a 
political  and  commercial  sense,  but  as  rivals 
on  the  ocean,  which  she  had  hitherto  affected 
to  rule.  The  United  States  were  then  in  by 
no  means  a  prosperous  condition.  Their  com- 
merce had  been  ruined  by  the  war ;  the  few 
manufactures  which  had  been  forced  into 
being  during  the  difficulties  had  to  encoun- 
ter ruinous  competition  from  imports  with 
the  return  of  peace  ;  the  country  was  flooded 
with  depreciated  paper  money,  of  which  over 


133 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


$360,000,000  had  been  issued.  The  states 
were  in  debt  $20,000,000,  and  the  federal 
government  $42,000,375 ;  specie  had  mostly 
disappeared  from  circulation,  and  the  country 
was  without  a  mint,  or  a  regular  system  of 
finance.  Private  credit  was  greatly  impaired. 
The  collection  of  debts  had  been  suspended 
during  the  war,  and  with  the  return  of  peace 
the  courts  were  filled  with  suits ;  while  the 
markets  were  flooded  with  goods  beyond 
the  power  of  purchase.  The  several  states 
exercised  the  power  of  issuing  paper  money, 
and  making  it  a  legal  tender  for  debts,  and 
each  exercised  the  right  of  imposing  duties 
upon  imports  and  exports.  All  these  evils 
were  producing  the  most  disastrous  results, 
and  in  Massachusetts  an  open  insurrection, 
known  as  Shays's  rebellion,  threatened  not 
only  the  peace*  of  that  state,  but  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Union,  which,  indeed,  was  very 
feeble  under  the  confederation.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1787,  the  present  constitution  was  finally 
adopted,  and  the  work  of  construction 
commenced.  The  leading  measures  adopted 
did  not  come  fully  into  operation  until  1791, 
when  the  custom-houses,  the  mint,  the  bank, 
the  post-office,  commercial  treaties,  and  du- 
ties on  imports,  with  the  restrictions  upon 
the  states  as  to  levying  duties,  coining  money, 
making  paper  a  legal  tender,  and  minor 
regulations,  were  put  in  force. 

The  power  granted  to  Congress  by  the 
new  constitution,  of  levying  duties  upon 
goods  imported  into  the  country,  met  the 
exigencies  of  the  case.  The  states  had  been 
repeatedly  and  vigorously  called  upon  to  pro- 
vide the  means  of  meeting  the  public  debt 
and  expenses,  and  it  was  urged  upon  them 
that  independent  means  granted  to  it  was 
the  only  way  by  which  the  federal  govern- 
ment could  sustain  its  position.  This  power, 
with  that  to  levy  direct  taxes,  was  finally 
obtained  by  Congress  under  the  constitution 
of  1787.  In  the  meantime  the  exports  of 
the  country  were  actively  resumed  with  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.  There  were,  how- 
ever, no  means  of  knowing  the  actual  state 
of  trade  until  the  adoption  of  the  regulations 
under  the  constitution  of  1791.  The  trade 
was,  however,  very  active.  The  desire  to 
trade  on  both  sides  was  great ;  and  no  sooner 
was  peace  declared,  than  the  king  by  proc- 
lamation removed  all  legal  restraints  upon 
intercourse  with  the  United  States,  dispens- 
ing for  a  limited  time  with  a  manifest,  certifi- 
cate, or  other  legal  document  on  the  arrival 
of  any  vessel  belonging  to  the  United  States 


in  Great  Britain.  American  vessels  generally 
were  placed  upon  the  footing  of  colonial  ves- 
sels. Although  there  were  no  United  States 
official  returns,  the  English  custom-house 
returns  show  the  trade  between  the  two 
countries  for  that  period  as  follows : — 


1784, 
1785, 
1786, 
1787, 
1788, 
1789, 
1790, 


Exports  to 

Great  Britain. 

£743,345 

893,594 

843,119 

893,637 

1,023,789 

1,050,198 

1,191,071 


Imports  from 

Great  Britain. 

£3,670,467 

2,308,023 

1,603,465 

2,009,111 

1,886,142 

2,525,298 

3,431,778 


The  imports  from  Great  Britain  alone,  in 
the  two  first  years  of  peace,  must  have  been 
nearly  $30,000,000,  or  $10  per  head  of  the 
people  against  an  export  of  $9,000,000,  and 
were  sufficient  cause  for  much  distress.  This 
was,  however,  of  a  nature  which  would  natu- 
rally cure  itself,  since  it  involved  a  fall  in 
prices  that  would  promote  exports  and  check 
imports,  and  these  were  more  nearly  equal- 
ized in  1788. 

In  that  year,  however,  a  new  event  gave  a 
great  impulse  to  American  exports.  The 
French  government  had  previously  made  a 
free  trade  treaty  with  England  ;  and  in  1787, 
under  the  liberal  sentiments  which  that  gov- 
ernment espoused,  they  issued  a  decree, 
placing  American  citizens  commercially  on 
the  same  footing  as  Frenchmen,  and  admit- 
ting American  produce  free  of  duty.  Under 
this  regulation,  the  United  States  exported 
in  1788,  246,480  tierces  of  rice,  140,959 
barrels  of  flour,  3,664,176  bushels  of  wheat, 
558,891  bushels  of  rye,  520,262  bushels  of 
barley.  These  figures  represent  very  large 
exports  for  the  state  of  the  country  at  that 
time,  when  the  population  was  small,  and  the 
farm  produce  drawn  altogether  from  the 
Atlantic  states  of  the  country.  The  farms  of 
the  Hudson  river  and  its  milling  powers  were 
then  in  great  requisition.  The  fisheries  had 
large  sales,  and  the  south  exported  freely  its 
rice.  The  enjoyment  of  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish trade  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  shipping 
interest,  and  the  United  States  were  rapid- 
ly growing  into  a  power  whose  influence  was 
felt  in  all  the  commercial  relations  of  Eng- 
land. The  political  difficulties  of  Europe 
were  also  taking  a  new  shape.  The  failure 
of  the  harvests  hastened  the  march  of  affairs, 
and  a  new  war  between  France  and  England 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  United  States  the  carry- 
ing trade  of  the  world.  While  American  ship- 
ping was  called  upon  to  supply  raw  materials 


COLONIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF   INHABITANTS.       139 


and  food  for  England  and  western  Europe, 
it  was  also  called  upon  to  carry  between  Euro- 
pean countries  and  their  colonies.  French 
ships  could  no  longer  safely  trade  with  the 
West  Indies,  the  Spanish  merchants  and 
government  depended  upon  neutral  flags 
to  convey  their  merchandise  and  treasures, 
and  even  the  English  preferred  the  safety  of 
third  bottoms  for  the  transport  of  their  goods. 
The  insurrection  in  St.  Domingo,  and  the 
events  in  other  islands,  drove  great  numbers 
of  persons  to  the  United  States,  and  many 
fortunes  were  founded.  That  of  Stephen 
Girard  received  a  great  accession  from  the 
wealth  placed  on  board  his  ships  by  persons 
who  were  slaughtered  in  the  attempt  to  fol- 
low. The  activity  with  which  American 
shipping  was  employed  in  those  years  did 
not  prevent  them  from  seeking  new  trade  in 
the  east,  and  an  American  ship  made  its 
appearance  in  the  China  seas,  in  a  com- 
merce which  has  not  ceased  to  grow  to 
the  present  day.  The  period  was  marked 
by  the  development  of  the  most  enter- 
prising genius  in  mercantile  adventure. 
The  fame  of  William  Gray,  of  Boston,  soon 
became  world-wide,  and  was  as  honored  in 
the  east  as  it  was  in  the  west.  His  ships 
navigated  every  sea,  and  employed  hundreds 
of  hardy  men.  The  skilful  and  bold  seamen 
who  commanded  his  ships  were  not  of  the 
later  class  of  "  dandy  captains,"  who  came  in 
with  the  "liners,"  but  it  was  his  saying  that 
the  best  captains  would  sail  with  a  load  of 
fish  to  the  West  Indies,  hang  up  a  stocking 
in  the  cabin  and  put  therein  the  hard  dollars 
as  they  sold  the  fish,  and  pay  out  from  it  as 
they  bought  the  rum,  or  molasses,  or  sugar, 
tie  up  the  balance,  and  hand  it  into  the 
counting-house  on  their  arrival  home,  in  lieu 
of  all  accounts.  The  honesty  and  judgment 
of  their  proceedings  wer«  beyond  question ; 
and  the  problem  of  profits  between  the  fish 
sent  and  the  cargo  and  stocking  returned, 
was  for  the  clerks  to  solve.  The  genius  for 
plotting  long  and  intricate  voyages  belonged 
to  the  head  of  the  house.  New  York,  in 
John  Jacob  Astor,  had  still  a  more  extensive 
opei-ator.  He  first  projected  the  enterprises 
to  the  north-west  coast,  and  laid  out  schemes 
which  required  ten  years  to  ripen,  with  pro- 
found skill,  and  his  name  was  known  through- 
out the  world.  Philadelphia  had  an  exponent 
of  her  commercial  power  in  Stephen  Girard, 
whose  enterprises  belonged  to  the  same  pe- 
riod of  large  operations  and  bold  conduct. 
The  Patersons  of  Baltimore  led  the  com- 


merce of  that  city ;  and  behind  these  leading 
names  came  a  crowd  of  great  merchants — 
for  the  mercantile  intellect  seemed  as  active 
in  that  day  as  was  military,  political,  and 
literary  genius  both  on  this  continent  and 
throughout  the  world. 

With  the  year  1791  the  new  government 
of  the  United  States,  under  the  constitution 
adopted  1787,  came  into  operation,  and  from 
that  date  regular  official  figures  of  the  an- 
nual progress  of  the  national  commerce  have 
been  published.  The  leading  changes  pro- 
duced by  that  event  were  the  abolishment 
of  all  state  laws  imposing  duties  upon  im- 
ports and  exports ;  the  creation  of  a  tariff 
by  Congress ;  the  establishment  of  a  mint,  a 
national  bank,  a  post-office ;  the  funding  of 
the  government  circulating  paper,  the  with- 
drawal of  all  state  issues,  and  the  enactment 
of  a  navigation  law  in  retaliation  of  the 
English  law.  The  general  course  of  trade 
proceeded,  however,  much  as  before,  until 
it  encountered  the  interruption  that  grew 
out  of  the  European  war.  A  few  years  of 
this  prosperity  excited  the  ire  of  the  bel- 
ligerents, and  England  could  no  longer  re- 
frain from  treating  the  Americans  still  as 
colonists.  In  1793  she  issued  an  order  to 
prevent  food  from  being  carried  to  any  port 
occupied  by  French  troops,  and  also  to  pre- 
vent American  vessels  from  trading  between 
France  and  her  colonies.  She  also  exercised 
the  right  of  impressing  American  seamen  to 
man  her  navy.  Under  these  and  other  or- 
ders, American  merchants  had  been  robbed 
of  large  amounts  of  property.  The  com- 
plaints thus  created  threatened  war ;  but  it 
was  arrested  by  a  treaty  concluded  by  Mr. 
Jay,  under  which  $10,000,000  indemnity  was 
paid.  This  treaty  gave  umbrage  to  France, 
which  also  seized  American  vessels ;  but  the 
first  consul  put  an  end  to  the  complaints  in 
1800.  England  had,  however,  in  view  of 
the  apparently  progressive  difficulties  in 
Europe,  revived  the  principle  she  had  laid 
down  in  1756,  viz. :  that  neutrals  could  carry 
on  no  trade  in  time  of  war  that  they  had  not 
pursued  in  time  of  peace :  in  other  words, 
that  American  ships  should  not  do  the  French 
carrying  trade.  Her  next  step,  in  May,  1 806, 
was  to  promulgate  the  unheard-of  and  absurd 
edict,  that  Europe  was  in  a  state  of  blockade 
from  the  Elbe  to  Brest.  The  import  of  this 
was,  that  American  ships  should  visit  none 
of  those  ports.  This  monstrous  pretension, 
in  addition  to  some  minor  orders,  drew  from 
Napoleon,  November,  1806,  his  Berlin  de- 


140 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


cree  in  retaliation,  prohibiting  all  intercourse 
with  the  British  islands.  This  was  replied 
to,  by  Great  Britain  declaring  France  and 
her  colonies  in  a  state  of  blockade.  To 
these  insane  edicts  on  both  sides  succeeded 
others,  which  so  multiplied  the  difficulties  of 
commerce  that  the  United  States  government, 
to  avoid  war,  laid  an  embargo  upon  com- 
merce in  1808.  It  was  not  to  be  expected, 
however,  that  when  the  chief  interests  of  the 
country  were  commercial,  that  such  a  mea- 
sure should  be  otherwise  than  very  unpopu- 
lar, and  the  government  changed  it,  in  1809, 
to  non-intercourse  with  France  and  Great 
Britain.  Notwithstanding  all  the  troubles 
thrown  in  the  way  of  commerce  by  the  edicts 
of  France  and  England,  the  American  mer- 
chants contrived  to  carry  on  a  large  traffic. 
Under  Bonaparte's  continental  system,  which 
sought  to  exclude  colonial  and  British  pro- 
ductions, produce  was  very  scarce,  and  high 
in  Europe.  The  emperor,  to  remedy  the 
matter,  offered  high  premiums  for  the  in- 
vention of  substitutes  for  many  articles,  such 
as  indigo,  cane  sugar,  coffee,  etc.  To  those 
premiums  are  due  the  large  use  now  made 


of  chicory-root  as  a  substitute  for  coffee. 
It  originated  in  Germany,  but  has  since 
spread  to  England  and  the  United  States. 
Beet-root  sugar,  which  has  become  so  large 
an  industry  in  France  and  Germany,  being 
equal  iu  consumption  to  cane,  originated  in 
the  same  manner.  Nevertheless,  all  com-[ 
modities  were  very  high,  and  when  a  cargo" 
could  be  got  in,  it  realized  a  fortune.  To 
get  them  in  was  the  problem ;  and  this  was 
usually  done  by  fees,  or  pots  de  vin,  which 
were  mostly  appropriated  by  Talleyrand  and 
Fouche,  and  afterward  rights  were  openly  sold 
by  the  emperor  to  raise  money.  Jerome  Bon- 
aparte, who  died  so  recently,  had  married,  in 
1803,  Miss  Paterson,  of  Baltimore,  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  "  Old  Mortality,"  immortalized  by 
Scott  in  a  novel.  The  Paterson  interest 
with  Jerome  was  the  means  of  procuring 
admission  for  many  a  valuable  cargo.  In- 
terest and  enterprise  effected  much,  and  few 
merchants  desired  to  lose  all  chance  through 
the  intervention  of  their  own  government. 
Nevertheless,  the  embargo  took  place  in 
1808.  The  progress  of  trade  from  1790  to 
1808,  was  as  follows : — 


IMPORTS 

AND  EXPOETS  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES,  AND  TONNAGE  IN  THE  FOREIGN  TRADE. 

Tonnage. 

Dom.  exports. 

For.  exports. 

Total  exports. 

Imports. 

1790, 

474,374 

$19,666,000 

$539,156 

$20,205,156 

$23,000,000 

1791, 

502,146 

18,500,000 

512,041 

19.012  041 

29,200,000 

1792, 

564,457 

19,000,000 

1,753,098 

20,753,098 

31,500,000 

1793, 

520,764 

24,000(000 

2,109,572 

26,109,572 

31,100,000 

1794, 

628,618 

26,500,000 

6,526,233 

33,026,233 

34,600,000 

1795, 

747,965 

39,500,000 

8,489,472 

47,989.472 

69,756,268 

1796, 

831,899 

40,764,097 

26,300,000 

67,064^097 

81,436,164 

1797, 

876,913 

29,850,026 

27,000,000 

56,850,206 

75,379,406 

1798, 

898,328 

28,527,097 

33,000,000 

61,527,097 

68,551,700 

1799, 

939,400 

33,142,522 

45,523,000 

78,665,522 

79,069,148 

1800, 

972,492 

31,840,903 

39,130,877 

70,971,780 

91,252,768 

1801, 

947,577 

47,473,204 

46,642,721 

94,115,925 

111,363,511 

1802, 

892,104 

36,708,189 

35,774,971 

72,483,160 

76,333,333 

1803, 

949,172 

42,205,961 

13,594,072 

55,800,033 

64,666,666 

1804, 

1,042,404 

41,467,477 

36,231,597 

77,699,074 

85,000,000 

1805, 

1,140,368 

42,387,002 

53,179,019 

95,566,021 

120,600,000 

1806, 

1,208,716 

41,253,727 

60,283,236 

101,536,963 

129,410.000 

1807. 

1,268,548 

48,699,592 

59,643,558 

108,343,150 

138,500,000 

In  the  period  here  embraced  there  oc- 
curred many  events  which  had  a  very  lasting 
and  important  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the 
United  States.  The  temporary  free  trade 
with  France  had  imparted  a  sudden  impulse 
to  the  export  of  farm  produce.  The  wars 
that  succeeded  greatly  enlarged  the  sphere 
of  action  for  the  shipping,  and  we  find  in  the 
table  that  the  imports  of  goods  rose  year  by 
year  from  23,000,000  in  1790  to  138,000,- 
000  in  1807.  Of  these  large  imports,  how- 
ever, it  appears,  from  the  column  of  exports 
of  foreign  merchandise,  a  large  portion  was 


re-exported,  forming  the  carrying  trade  be- 
tween the  countries  of  Europe  and  their 
colonies,  that  the  war  threw  into  the  Ameri- 
can bottoms,  and  which  passed  through 
American  ports.  A  large  portion  of  this 
trade  was  paid  in  money  in  England,  form- 
ing those  credits  which  were  transferred  by 
the  Americans  to  the  English,  in  payment 
of  merchandise  thence  imported.  Thus  the 
trade  was  generally  in  favor  of  England 
with  the  United  States,  and  in  favor  of  the 
latter  with  Europe.  Now,  as  England  could 
have  no  direct  trade  with  Europe  during  the 


COLONIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF    INHABITANTS-      141 


war,  and  yet  was  compelled  to  send  funds 
thither  for  political  purposes,  the  credits  she 
received  from  the  Americans  were  of  vast 
service  to  her.  It  was  in  the  conduct  of  that 
trade  that  the  tonnage  multiplied  to  the  ex- 
tent seen  in  the  column.  The  amount 
increased  from  474,374  tons  in  1790, 
to  over  1,260,000  tons  in  1807,  or  an 
increase  in  capital  so  employed  from  $15,- 
000,000  to  $50,000,000  The  wealth  of  the 
country  was  thus  rapidly  increasing  in  a 
foreign  trade,  which  formed  one-half  of  the 
whole  commerce.  The  fisheries  were  very 
active  and  flourishing ;  the  agricultural  in- 
terest prospered  under  the  large  exports  and 
high  prices,  and  manufactures  began  to  be 
actively  developed.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Mr.  Hamilton,  in  his  celebrated 
report  upon  manufactures  in  1791,  says: 
"  It  is  certain  that  several  important  branches 
have  grown  up  and  flourished  with  a  rapidity 
that  surprises,  affording  an  encouraging  assur- 
ance of  successive  future  attempts."  Among 
those  enumerated  as  then  flourishing  are 
leather,  iron,  wood,  flax,  bricks,  paper,  hats, 
carriages,  etc.  It  was  computed  that  four- 
fifths  of  all  the  clothing  of  the  inhabitants 
was  made  by  themselves,  and  that  great 
quantities  of  coarse  cloths  for  table  and  bed- 
ding were  manufactured  in  households.  All 
these  industries  pertained  mostly  to  the 
north,  and  their  surplus  formed  at  that  time 
most  of  the  exports  of  the  whole  country. 
The  southern  states  were  possessed  of  600,- 
000  blacks,  for  whom  there  was  no  adequate 
employment.  They  were  mostly  engaged 
upon  the  production  of  tobacco  and  rice,  but 
the  market  for  them  was  not  such  as  to 


afford  much  encouragement  for  the  future. 
The  increase  of  blacks  who  were  not  earning 
their  support  was  not  regarded  with  favor 
by  southern  statesmen  under  such  circum- 
stances :  hence  the  incorporation  into  the 
federal  constitution  of  the  inhibition  of  the 
slave  trade  after  1808.  That  provision  was 
resisted  by  the  New  England  shipowners, 
of  whose  business  the  transportation  of  blacks, 
as  a  return  cargo,  after  carrying  produce  to 
England,  formed  an  important  part.  An 
event  occurred  in  1793,  however,  which 
wrought  an  entire  change  in  the  business  of 
the  country  and  the  prospects  of  the  south. 
Up  to  that  time  a  little  cotton  had  been 
raised,  but  the  difficulty  of  freeing  it  from 
the  seed  was  sitch  that  one  hand  could  clean 
but  1  Ib.  per  day,  and  even  at  30  cents  per 
Ib.  it  was  not  profitable,  under  such  condi- 
tions. The  mode  of  carding  and  spinning 
it  was  also  laborious  and  slow.  At  about 
that  period  the  steam-engine  in  England  was 
introduced  as  a  motive  power,  and  such  in- 
ventions were  made  in  the  process  of  carding 
and  spinning  cotton  as  to  enable  one  man  to 
do  the  work  that  required  2,200  by  old 
methods.  These  were  the  conditions  of  an 
immense  demand  for  the  raw  material.  Prov- 
identially, precisely  at  that  juncture,  1793, 
Eli  Whitney,  of  Massachusetts,  invented 
the  cotton-gin,  by  which  one  hand,  in- 
stead of  only  1  Ib.,  could  clean  360  Ibs.  per 
day.  Thus  the  market  for  cotton,  and  the 
means  of  preparing  it,  were  both  provided 
at  once,  and  they  were  thenceforth  to  furnish 
the  chief  employment  for  American  ships. 
The  items  of  domestic  exports  in  the  above 
table  were  therefore  varied  as  follows  : — 


Cotton.  Tobacco.  Flour  &  provisions.       Rice.  Manufactures.  Total. 

1700,              $42,285  $4,349,567  $5,991,171      $1,753,796  $12,136,819 

1803,            7,920,000  6,209,000  15,050,000         2,455,000  2,000,000  31,179,000 

1807,         14,232,000  5,470,000  15,706,000         2,307,000  2,309,000  44,002,400 


Thus  cotton  in  a  few  years  came  to  form 
nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  exports,  there- 
by supplying  to  the  shipping  in  1808  a  com- 
pensating freight  for  the  blacks,  who  were 
no  longer  to  be  imported.  That  cotton  trade 
has  not  ceased  to  grow  to  the  present  day, 
and  with  ever  increasing  importance.  It 
has  supplied  not  only  the  manufacturers  of 
Europe  with  raw  material,  but  also  those 
of  the  northern  states.  The  impulse  thus 
given  to  the  cotton  culture  produced  a  vital 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  south,  and 
this  change  is  well  indicated  in  the  charge 
made  by  Judge  Johnson,  of  Savannah,  in 

9 


1807,  in  the  case  of  a  suit  brought  by  Whit- 
ney to  make  good  his  claim  to  his  patent. 

"  The  whole  of  the  interior,"  said  Judge 
Johnson,  "  was  languishing,  and  its  inhabit- 
ants were  emigrating,  for  want  of  some  object 
to  engage  their  attention  and  employ  their 
industry,  when  the  invention  of  this  machine 
(the  gin)  at  once  opened  views  to  them 
which  set  the  whole  country  in  active  mo- 
tion. From  childhood  to  age  it  has  pre- 
sented to  us  a  lucrative  employment.  Indi- 
viduals who  were  depressed  with  poverty 
and  sunk  in  idleness  have  suddenly  risen  to 
wealth  and  respectability.  Our  debts  have 


COMMERCE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


been  paid  off,  our  capitals  have  increased, 
and  our  lands  doubled  in  value.  We  cannot 
express  the  weight  of  obligation  which  the 
country  owes  to  this  invention.  The  extent 
of  it  cannot  now  be  seen." 

In  these  words  we  have  the  proof  of  the 
utter  depression  that  then  existed  at  the 
south,  affording  a  strong  contrast  to  the  im- 
mense wealth  that  has  since  been  developed. 

The  kinds  and  quantities  of  goods  import- 
ed into  the  country  were  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  people  at  that  time,  when  lux- 
uries had  by  no  means  so  large  a  share  of 
the  public  taste  as  is  now  the  case.  The 
homespun  goods  of  the  country  were  to  be 
gradually  supplanted  by  machine  goods  as 
these  improved  and  cheapened,  and  they  did 
so  rapidly  under  the  influence  of  larger  sup- 
plies of  raw  material,  operated  upon  by  the 
most  astonishing  inventions  in  new  machines, 
and  the  improved  scientific  processes  applied 
to  the  manufacture.  The  American  manu- 
facturers were  required  to  withstand  not  only 
the  competition  of  the  large  capital  and 
cheap  labor  of  England,  but  the  constant 
effects  of  new  inventions,  of  which  the  first- 
fruits  were  manifest  in  imported  goods.  They 
therefore  grew  but  slowly,  and  hardware, 
dry  goods,  and  other  leading  branches  of 
merchandise,  continued  to  be  imported.  The 


1808, 
1809, 
1810, 
1811, 
1812, 
1813, 
1814, 
1815, 
1816, 
1817, 
1818, 
1819, 
1820, 


aggregate  amount  retained  in  the  country 
for  consumption  did  not  materially  increase 
in  the  ten  years  up  to  1807. 

All  branches  of  industry  were  in  a  high 
state  of  prosperity,  when  the  course  of  events 
brought  on  the  embargo,  which  produced 
an  immense  change  in  the  course  of  affairs. 
All  those  interests  that  had  thriven  so  well 
since  the  peace  of  1783,  became  suddenly 
depressed  by  the  circumstances  which  gave 
an  impulse  to  manufacture.  The  raw  mate- 
rial and  farm  produce  which  had  been  so 
actively  exported  now  accumulated  on  hand 
at  falling  prices,  tempting  the  manufacturer 
to  employ  the  labor  no  longer  occupied  with 
commercial  interests,  and  a  new  order  of  in- 
dustry sprang  into  being.  Trade  was,  how- 
ever, not  entirely  interrupted;  many  coast- 
ing vessels,  with  suitable  cargoes,  were  by 
pretended  stress  of  weather  driven  into 
foreign  ports,  and  the  United  States  courts 
were  filled  with  suits  brought  for  breaches  of 
the  embargo  acts.  Under  the  non-inter- 
course act  of  1809,  business  recovered  to 
some  extent,  only  to  encounter  those  new 
vexations  which  brought  on  the  war  of  1812. 
That  event  rather  changed  the  course  of 
trade  than  interrupted  it,  and  was  succeeded 
by  a  greater  degree  of  activity  than  ever. 
The  imports  and  exports  were  as  follows : — 


Tonnage. 

Domestic  exports. 

Foreign  exports. 

Total  exports. 

Total  imports. 

1,247,596 

$9,433,546 

$12,997,414 

$22,430,960 

$56,990,000 

1,350,281 

31,405,700 

20,797,531 

52,203,231 

59,400,000 

1,424,784 

42,366,679 

24,391,295 

66,757,974 

85,400,000 

1,232,502 

45,294,041 

16,022,790 

61,316,831 

83,400,000 

1,269,997 

30,032,109 

8,495,127 

38,527,236 

77,030,000 

1,166,629 

25,008,152 

2,847,845 

27,855,997 

22,005,000 

1,159,210 

6,782,272 

145,169 

6,927,441 

12,965,000 

1,368,127 

45,974.403 

6,583,350 

52,557,753 

113,041,274 

1,372,218 

64,781,896 

17,138,556 

81,920,452 

147,103,700 

1,399,911 

68,313,500 

19,358,069 

87,671,569 

99,250,373 

1,225,184 

73,854,437 

19,426,096 

93,280,533 

121,750,000 

1,260,751 

50,976.838 

19,165,683 

70,142,521 

87,125,000 

1,280,166 

51,683,640 

18,008,029 

69,691,669 

74,450,000 

$546,907,213      $185,376,954      $731,284,167    $1,039,910,347 


The  large  carrying  trade  that  had  existed 
in  foreign  produce  gradually  perished  on  the 
return  of  peace  in  Europe,  throwing  much  ton- 
nage out  of  employ ;  and  domestic  produce, 
although  it  found  its  way  abroad  to  some  ex- 
tent, still  fell  in  value,  and  accumulated  in 
quantity  in  the  home  ports.  Cotton  in  par- 
ticular felt  the  want  of  the  foreign  market, 
although  its  presence  in  New  Orleans  be- 
came an  instrument  in  the  great  triumph  of 
our  American  troops  over  the  British  vet- 
erans who  had  just  driven  the  French  out 


of  Spain.  The  same  men  who  had  routed 
the  legions  of  Napoleon  embarked  at  Bor- 
deaux for  New  Orleans,  to  fall  before  the 
cotton  bags  defended  by  Jackson  and  his 
gallant  band. 

The  course  of  events  that  had  been  pro- 
ductive of  so  much  prosperity  from  1783  to 
1808,  was  followed  in  the  next  seven  years 
by  commercial  disasters,  it  is  true,  but  those 
disasters  were  relieved  by  the  brilliant  posi- 
tion assumed  by  the  United  States  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth  as  a  naval  power. 


COLOHIAL    TRADE IMPERIAL    RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION    OF   INHABITANTS.       143 


The  American  tonnage,  which  increased  to 
over  1,000,000  in  1807,  had  given  employ- 
ment to  large  numbers  of  hardy  and  skilful 
seamen,  men  whose  professional  skill  and 
nautical  daring  had  already  made  them  fa- 
mous, and  had  incited  Great  Britain  to  those 
impressments  by  which  she  sought  to  ob- 
tain the  services  of  such  able  men.  When 
her  conduct  drove  the  American  government 
to  embargo  commerce,  the  employment  of 
ships  and  men  became  restrained,  and  their 
daring  manifested  itself  in  infractions  of  the 
law.  Non-intercourse  and  war  drove  them 
altogether  out  of  employment,  and  they 
crowded  into  the  navy  and  privateers.  Up 
to  that  time  England  was  the  admitted  mis- 
tress of  the  seas.  Every  nation  in  Europe 
had  been  driven  from  the  contest.  The 
best  fleets  of  Napoleon,  invincible  upon  land, 
had  invariably  struck  to  the  British  flag,  and 
the  feeble  nation  upon  this  continent,  just 
formed  out  of  revolted  colonies,  was  hardly 
worth  considering  at  all  as  a  power.  The 
proof  of  the  contempt  in  which  it  was  held 
was  given  in  the  conduct  of  the  nations  that 
forced  non-intercourse  and  war  upon  the 
United  States.  It  came  very  hard  for  all 
the  thriving  interests  here  to  face  ruin  in  the 
shape  of  war,  but  it  became  inevitable.  So 
distrustful,  however,  was  even  Congress  of 
the  ability  of  the  country  to  resist  England, 
that  it  was  determined,  on  the  declaration 
of  war,  to  send  the  government  ships  up  the 
rivers,  where  they  would  be  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  dreadful  English  cruisers.  It  was 
only  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  leading 
officers  of  the  navy  that  permission  was 
finally  given  for  the  ships  to  go  to  sea.  The 
astonishment  in  Europe,  the  dismay  in  Eng- 
land, and  delight  in  the  United  States,  could 
scarcely  be  equalled  when  the  encounter  on 
the  seas  resulted  in  the  unprecedented  spec- 
tacle of  a  series  of  triumphs  over  the  tyrant 
of  the  ocean.  In  the  short  period  of  twenty 
years  a  power  had  arisen  that  was  thenceforth 
to  know  no  master  upon  the  ocean,  and  sub- 
mit to  no  insults,  and  this  power  had  been 
born  of  commerce.  The  war  closing  with 
the  defeat  of  the  best  troops  of  England,  the 
"liberators  of  Spain,"  before  the  lines  of 
New  Orleans,  left  the  United  States  no  longer 
in  the  position  of  merely  liberated  colonies, 
but  in  that  of  a  victorious  power  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  It  had  cost  much  to 
win  that  position,  but  it  was  worth  the 
struggle,  since  it  ensured  continued  peace 
thereafter.  The  nations  of  Europe  have  not 


since  thought  it  worth  while  to  provoke  new 
hostilities,  but  have,  on  the  other  hand,  from 
time  to  time,  settled  up  for  the  injuries  they 
then  committed  upon  American  commerce. 

The  intervention  of  war  had  paralyzed  every 
industry.  The  farm  products  that  had  been 
raised  for  export  no  longer  had  an  outlet 
for  the  surplus ;  cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco  ac- 
cumulated idly  in  warehouses.  The  ships 
were  freightless  at  the  docks,  and  all  the 
earnings  of  industry  were  at  their  minimum. 
It  was  an  advantage  to  manufacturers,  indeed, 
to  have  no  competition  from  abroad ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  general  depression  of  all 
other  industries  destroyed  the  home  market 
for  goods.  The  general  depression  of  trade 
and  the  depreciation  of  property  undermined 
all  credits.  Those  who  had  contracted  obli- 
gations to  pay  when  merchandise  was  sale- 
able and  property  convertible,  could  not  pay 
when  all  values  were  paralyzed.  In  order 
to  remedy  this  state  of  affairs  to  some  ex- 
tent, which  was  ascribed  by  certain  parties  to 
the  want  of  a  United  States  bank,  new  state 
banks  were  multiplied,  under  the  erroneous 
notion  that  these  could  supply  capital.  In- 
asmuch, however,  as  the  radical  evil  was 
inability  to  pay,  increase  of  promises  did  not 
help  the  matter,  and  a  general  suspension  of 
the  banks  took  place.  The  country  was 
filled  with  irredeemable  paper ;  and  the  fed- 
eral debt,  which  had  been  $75,463,476  on 
the  consolidation  of  the  revolutionary  debt 
in  1790,  had  risen  to  $127,334,934  when 
peace  took  place  in  1815.  In  such  a  state 
of  affairs  the  return  of  peace  brought  with  it 
a  flood  of  imported  goods,  which  amounted 
to  $147,000,000  in  1816,  giving  the  govern- 
ment a  customs  revenue  equal  to  $36,306,- 
874  in  the  year.  The  new  United  States 
Bank  went  into  operation  at  the  same  time, 
causing  for  the  moment  additional  pressure ; 
but  the  sale  of  its  stock,  and  of  the  federal 
government  stock,  subscribed  to  its  capital, 
abroad,  helped  to  correct  the  exchanges. 
The  produce  that  had  accumulated  during 
the  war  also  went  forward  in  great  quan- 
tities, giving  a  considerable  impulse  to  the 
aggregate  of  domestic  exports,  which  rose  to 
$73,854,000  in  1818.  Of  this  amount  40 
per  cent,  was  cotton.  In  some  sort,  the 
trade  which  had  lain  dormant  during  the 
war  was  forced  into  the  first  three  years  of 
peace.  In  the  five  years  that  ended  with 
1820  there  was,  consequently,  great  activity 
of  trade,  demanding  greater  banking  facili- 
ties, thus  promoting  a  restoration  of  cou- 


144 


COMMERCE    OF   THE     UNITED     STATES. 


fidence,  and  aiding  the  United  States  Bank 
in  restoring  order  to  the  currency.  The 
year  1820  brought  with  it  new  regulations 
in  regard  to  the  taking  of  the  census,  and  a 
law  of  Congress  was  enacted  for  correctly 
keeping  the  import,  export,  and  tonnage 
returns,  which  has  since  been  done,  and  an- 
nually reported.  The  revenues  of  the  gov- 
ernment, which  depended  upon  duties  on 
imports,  suffered  interruption  during  the 
war,  and  a  resort  to  taxation  became  neces- 
sary. This  had  been  done  in  1791  by  a  tax 
on  houses  and  lands.  A  new  valuation  took 
place  in  1815  ;  and  this,  compared  with  the 
valuation  of  1791,  gives  the  progress  of  real 
property  in  all  the  states  during  that  period. 
The  census  of  1820  comprised,  in  addition 
to  the  population,  some  items  of  the  industry 
of  the  people.  Comparing  the  leading  aggre- 
gates at  the  two  periods,  the  results  are  as 
follows : — 


Population  Estimated 
Taxable  land,  acres. . 

Valuation 

Imports 

Exports 

Tonnage 

Bank  capital 

Manufactures 

U.  8.  debt 

u      revenue 

Post  offices,  No 

Post  roads,  miles. . . . 
Postal  receipts 


1791. 

.     4,049,600 

163,746,686 

479.293,263 

23,000,000 

20,205,156 

474,374 

3,000,000 

5600,000 

75,463,476 

4,399,478 

75 

1,905 
46,294 


1820. 

9,638,131 

188,286,480 

2,275,730,124 

74,450,000 

69,691,669 

1,280,166 

137,110,611 

62,776,530 

81,015,566 

16,779,331 

4,500 

67,586 

1,111,927 


Increase. 

5,588,531 

24,539,794 

1,796,486,861 

51,450,000 

40,486,518 

805,792 

184,110,611 

47,176,530 

15,555,090 

12,879,858 

4,425 

65,681 

1,064,738 


Such  was  the  progress  of  the  country  in 
the  first  thirty  years  of  its  existence.  Its 
population  had  increased  125  per  cent.  It 
had  added  five  states  to  the  Union,  and 
24,539,794  acres  to  its  taxable  property,  the 
value  of  which  had  risen  nearly  fivefold. 
Its  tonnage  had  increased  threefold,  its 
manufactures  tenfold,  and  the  capital  em- 
ployed in  banking  had  been  increased  $134,- 
000,000.  This  great  prosperity  had  mani- 
fested itself  in  face  of  a  war  with  the  great- 
est naval  power  the  world  had  ever  seen, 
and  over  which  a  decisive  victory  had  been 
won.  Commerce,  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, had  been  the  basis  of  this  great 
growth  of  wealth. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHANGED  INTERESTS— MANUFACTURES- 
COURSE  OF  TRADE  — SPECULATION- RE- 
VULSION—BANKRUPT  LAW  — ENGLISH 
FREE  TRADE— REVOLUTION  IN  FRANCE 
—FARMERS— GOLD. 

THE  events  of  the  war  of  1 81 2  had  brought 
with  them  much  experience.     Up  to  that 


period  great  dependence  upon  foreign  manu- 
factures had  existed.  It  is  no  doubt  true 
that  most  of  the  common  wearing  apparel 
and  similar  goods  were  made  in  families, 
but  iron  ware,  and  most  articles  that  enter 
into  the  materials  of  daily  avocations,  came 
from  abroad.  With  the  war  came  great 
deprivation,  and  many  necessary  goods,  that 
had  been  abundant,  were  no  longer  to  be 
had.  Materials  for  the  army  and  navy,  of  all 
sorts,  particularly  blankets  for  the  men,  were 
with  difficulty  obtained.  This  necessity 
gave  a  great  spur  to  individual  enterprise, 
and  at  the  same  time  forced  upon  the  gov- 
ernment the  idea  of  fostering  home  industry. 
This  necessity  was  also  apparent  from  the 
nature  of  the  government.  The  federal 
Constitution  had  given  to  Congress  the 
power  to  levy  duties  upon  imports,  and  also 
direct  taxes  for  its  support.  The  former 
right  was  exercised  up  to  the  war,  and  the 
government  finances  were  independent  and 
flourishing.  When,  however,  the  war  put 
an  end  to  commerce,  the  government  rev- 
enues also  ceased,  since,  there  being  no  im- 
ports, there  could  be  no  duties.  Resort  to 
taxation  was  then  the  alternative.  The  mode 
adopted  by  Congress  was  to  apportion  the 
amount  required  upon  each  state,  and  let 
the  respective  governments  collect  it.  It 
was  soon  found  that  this  was  a  very  ineffi- 
cient mode  of  proceeding,  since  the  states 
could  not  be  coerced,  and  the  federal  govern- 
ment was  in  danger  of  falling  to  pieces.  The 
statesmen  of  the  day  saw  the  necessity  of 
strengthening  the  government  on  the  return 
of  peace,  and  this  was  done  by  the  same 
means  as  it  was  sought  to  encourage  home 
manufacture,  viz.,  by  raising  the  duties  upon 
imported  goods.  A  new  tariff  was  therefore 
enacted  in  1816,  increasing  the  duties,  par- 
ticularly upon  cotton  goods,  in  taxing  which 
the  minimum  principle  was  introduced — 
that  is,  that  the  goods  should  pay  20  per 
cent,  duty,  but  that  the  cost  on  which  it 
was  calculated  should  not  be  less  than  a  fixed 
minimum.  Thus,  cotton  cloth  was  to  pay 
30  per  cent.,  but  the  cost  must  not  be  under 
20  cents  per  yard,  or  6  cents  per  square 
yard  duty.  The  new  duties,  falling  upon 
the  large  importations  that  followed  the 
peace,  rapidly  swelled  the  revenues  beyond 
the  current  wants  of  the  government ;  at  the 
same  time,  notwithstanding  that  the  navy 
had  so  well  discharged  its  duties  in  time  of 
war,  and  the  merchant  marine  had  so  well 
vindicated  its  ability  to  furnish  sailors,  Con- 


CHANGED    INTERESTS MANUFACTURES. 


145 


gress  saw  fit  to  pass  a  navigation  act,  by 
which  the  officers  and  three-fourths  of  the 
crews  of  American  vessels  should  be  Amer- 
ican citizens.  The  act  is  of  itself  mostly  a 
dead  letter,  since  naturalization  is  carried  on 
to  an  extent  which  makes  the  phrase  "  Am- 
erican citizen  "  a  very  ambiguous  one.  The 
object  is  desirable,  but  the  means  hampers 
trade,  and  does  not  effect  the  object.  With 
the  operation  of  the  higher  duties  during 
the  four  years  that  ended  with  1820,  the 
imports  diminished ;  the  currency  was  con- 
tracted and  restored  to  a  specie  basis  ;  the 
exports  of  the  country,  that  accumulated 
during  the  war,  passed  off;  the  proceeds 
had  cancelled  obligations,  bringing  the 
country  into  a  better  condition ;  and  the  fed- 
eral government  had  been  enabled  to  pay  off 
a  considerable  amount  of  its  debt.  The 
countries  of  Europe  had  also  become  settled 
after  the  convulsion  of  war  and  the  effects 
of  peace.  The  Bank  of  England,  that  had 
been  suspended  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
resumed  payments,  and  trade  generally  be- 

fan  to  resume  its  accustomed  channels, 
[any  currents  of  business  had,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  been  disturbed.  The  large  foreign 
carrying  trade  that  had  been  enjoyed  by 
American  vessels  was  now  resumed  by  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  new  currents  of  en- 


terprise were  to  grow  up,  under  new  appli- 
ances. The  capital  of  New  England,  that 
before  the  war  had  been  exclusively  employ- 
ed in  navigation  and  agriculture,  was,  by  the 
events  of  the  war,  diverted  to  banking  and 
manufactures,  and  was  now  growing  in  the 
last  direction,  banking  having  proved  dis- 
astrous. The  tariff  of  1816  had  been  meant 
to  aid  them,  and  in  1818  and  1819  additions 
were  made  to  the  protective  character  of  the 
duties.  Cotton  manufacture  grew,  and  the 
great  staple  culture  of  the  south — cotton — 
was  developed,  while  Europe,  no  longer 
wanting  so  much  food,  the  agriculturists  be- 
came depressed.  The  manufacturing  interest 
was  therefore  the  favorite,  and  in  1824  a  new 
tariff  of  higher  duties  was  demanded  and 
passed,  to  be  succeeded  by  one  of  a  higher 
grade  of  protection  in  1828.  The  effect  of 
these  changes,  with  the  steady  nature  of  the 
demand  for  produce  abroad,  was  to  keep 
the  imports  and  exports  at  moderate  figures 
up  to  1831,  when  a  reduction  of  duties  took 
place.  In  all  that  period,  under  the  action  of 
the  United  States  Bank,  and  the  annual  pay- 
ments of  an  average  of  some  $7,000,000  by 
the  government  on  its  public  debt,  the  curren- 
cy was  very  steady,  and  commerce  regular. 
The  exports  and  imports  for  the  ten  years 
under  those  rising  tariffs,  were  as  follows  : — 


Dom.  exports. 

For.  exports. 

Total  exports. 

Imports. 

Ex.  specie. 

1m.  specie. 

1821, 

43,671.894 

21,302,488 

64,974,382 

62,585,724 

10,478,059 

8,064,890 

1822, 

49,874,185 

22,286,202 

72,160,387 

83,241,511 

10,810,180 

3,369,846 

1823, 

47,155,408 

27.543,622 

74,699,030 

77,579,267 

6,372,987 

5,097,896 

1824, 

50  649,500 

25',337,157 

75,986,657 

80,549,007 

7,014.552 

8,379,835 

1825, 

66,944,745 

32,590,643 

99,535,388 

96,340,075 

8,932,034 

6,150,765 

1826, 

53,055,710 

24,539,612 

77,595,322 

84,974,477 

4,704,533 

6,880,966 

1827, 

58,921,691 

23,403,136 

82,324,827 

79,484,068 

8,014,880 

8,151,130 

1828, 

50,669,669 

21,595,017 

72,264,686 

88,509,824 

8,243,476 

7,489,741 

1829, 

55,700,193 

16,658,478 

72,358,671 

74,492,527 

4,924,020 

7,403,612 

1830, 

59,462.029 

14,387,479 

73,849,508 

70,876,920 

2,178,773 

8,155,964 

$536,105,024     $229,643,834     $765,748,858     $798,633,400    $71,673,494    $69,144,645 


If  we  compare  this  period  of  ten  years 
with  the  ten  years  of  comparative  quiet  im- 
mediately preceding  the  war,  we  shall  find 
the  following  aggregate  results  : — 


tic 


Tmnnrta    Re-CXports  of  Domestic 

imports.   foreign  goods.  espol.ts. 


Total 
exports. 

1798—1803.  $956,470,000  $422,500.00(1  $393.700.000  $816,200,000 
1621— 1831,'    798,633,427    229,643,834    586,104,918    765,748,752 

Decrease  $157,836,573  $192,856,166 


Increase $1 42,404,918 


$50,451,248 


The  decrease  was  altogether  in  the  foreign 
goods,  or  colonial  produce  brought  into  the 
country  during  the  European  war  for  re- 
shipment  to  Europe  ;  while  the  increase  in 
domestic  exports  was  mostly  cotton,  that 


article  forming  three-fifths  of  the  whole 
value  exported.  The  exports  of  flour  and 
provisions  were  limited,  but  manufactures 
began  to  form  an  item  in  the  exports.  It  is 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  Great  Britain  had 
made  great  efforts  after  the  war,  when  her 
navigation  laws  were  modified,  to  concen- 
trate the  trade  of  the  world  in  her  ware- 
houses. Inducements  were  held  out  by 
facilities  of  entry  and  advances  on  merchan- 
dise to  attract  thither  the  produce  of  all 
nations,  because,  under  such  circumstances, 
not  only  did  the  British  manufacturers  have 
within  their  reach  the  raw  materials  of  all 
manufactures,  but  trading  vessels  had,  in 


146 


COMMERCE    OF    THE     UNITED     STATES. 


those  ample  warehouses,    every   variety  of 
goods  to  make  up  an  assorted  cargo  for  any 
voyage  in  the  world,  and  make  of  them  the 
medium  of  selling  British  goods.     Thus,  all 
the  new  countries  of  America,  Africa,  and 
Asia  offered  markets  which  would  absorb 
small  quantities  of  a  great  variety  of  articles, 
but  a  cargo  of  any  one  description  would  glut 
them.     To  make  a  profitable  voyage,  there- 
fore, the  cargo  should  be  composed  of  such 
a  variety  of  wares  as  would  all  sell  to  ad- 
vantage.    If  Virginia  was  to  send  a  whole 
cargo  of  tobacco  to  Africa,  a  portion  of  it 
would  sell,   and  the  remainder  be  a  dead 
stock,  and  the  voyage  a  losing  one.     The 
same  thing  would  happen  to  a  cargo  of  rum, 
or  calicoes,  or  gunpowder,  or  hardware,  or 
the  infinite  variety  of  articles  that  make  up 
the  wants  of  a  small  community.     If  a  ves- 
sel's cargo  should  be  composed,  in  proper 
proportions,  of  all  these  articles,  the  whole 
would  sell  well,  and  the  voyage  pay;  but 
for  a  vessel  to  go  round  to  places  where  each 
of  these  articles  is  to  be  had,  and  so  collect 
a  cargo,  is  expensive,  and  would  still  result 
in   loss.      The   English   warehouse   system 
sought  to  supply  a  want  here  by  attracting 
into  them  all  possible  descriptions  of  tropical 
and    other   produce.     A   ship   might   then 
make  up  her  cargo  for  any  part  of  the  world 
at  the  smallest  average  expense,  and  every 
cargo  was  sure  to  be  completed  with  British 
manufactures.      Under  such  circumstances, 
they  could  compete  with  any  other  nation. 
The  advantage  was  so  manifest,  that  American 
ships  would  go  out  in  ballast  to  England,  to 
fit  them  out  for  Asiatic  markets.    It  resulted 
from  this  that  England  continued  to  be  the 
recipient  of  most  American   produce,  not 
only  for  her  own  use,  but  for  re-export  else- 
where.   With  her  large  capital  she  advanced 
on  the  produce,  and  so  controlled  it,  becom- 
ing the   banker  for  the  Americans.     The 
nations  of  the  continent,  slowly  recovering 
from  the  effects  of  the  long  wars,  began  to 
manufacture  such  articles  as  found  sale  in  the 
United  States,  while  they  did  not  purchase 
largely  in  return.     China  furnished  teas  and 
silks,  and  got  its  pay  by  bills  drawn  against 
American  credits  in  London.    The  new  bank 
of  the  United  States  operated  the  credit,  giv- 
ing the  China  merchant  a  six  months'  bill  on 
London,  which  he  took  in  preference  to  sil- 
ver, which  he  before  remitted.    These  bills 
were  paid  out  for  the  tea,  and  by  the  Hong 
merchant,  who    received   them,   were   paid 
to  the  British  East  India  merchant  for  opium 


or  raw  cotton.  By  the  latter  it  was  remit- 
ted to  London,  where  it  was  met  by  the  funds 
already  provided  through  the  United  States 
Bank,  by  sales  of  American  produce.  This 
centralization  of  trade  in  England  became, 
however,  inconvenient.  The  American  ships 
that  now  began  to  carry  cotton,  tobacco, 
rice,  and  some  breadstuff's  to  Europe,  had 
thence  no  adequate  return  freights,  because 
those  countries  did  not  as  yet  offer  a  good 
supply  of  merchandise.  Soon,  however, 
there  sprang  up  an  increasing  migration  to 
the  United  States  from  Germany  across 
France  via  Havre,  and  these  passengers  be- 
came a  desirable  return  freight,  causing  a 
change  in  the  model  of  the  ships  engaged  in 
the  trade.  By  this  means  the  freight  was 
reduced,  or  rather  the  ship  could  carry  cot- 
ton out  cheaper,  since  she  was  no  longer 
compelled  to  return  empty.  The  result  Avas, 
therefore,  cheapened  transportation,  in  the 
same  manner  that  the  modification  of  the 
navigation  laws,  enabling  ships  to  carry  car- 
goes both  ways,  had  cheapened  freight.  The 
increasing  exports,  and  the  weight  of  the 
tariff  of  1828  upon  imports,  had  so  operated 
upon  exchanges  as  to  cause  an  excess  of 
specie  to  be  imported  to  the  extent  of  some 
$15,000,000  in  the  last  few  years.  This  in- 
flux accumulated  in  banks,  and  disposed 
them  to  inflate  the  currency,  thereby  induc- 
ing imports  at  a  moment  when  reductions  in 
duties  were  made  by  the  tariff  of  1831 ;  and 
this  inflation  was  aided  by  the  conflict  which 
then  began  between  the  United  States  Bank 
and. the  government  in  relation  to  the  re- 
charter  of  the  institution.  These  circum- 
stances laid  the  foundation  for  the  great 
speculation  which  followed.  The  high  tariff' 
of  1828  had  produced  much  agitation,  that 
promised  serious  difficulties.  The  northern, 
or  New  England  states,  whose  interests  were 
originally  commercial,  opposed  the  war,  be- 
cause it  was  destructive  of  those  interests. 
Their  capital  was  turned  by  it  into  manu- 
factures, and  they  demanded  protection  for 
that  interest.  This  was  acceded  to,  because 
all  parties  had  witnessed  the  evils  of  a  de- 
pendence upon  foreign  nations  for  manufac- 
tures, and  also  because  the  federal  govern- 
ment needed  strengthening  by  the  support 
which  high  duties  would  give  it.  In  1830 
the  manufactures  had  enjoyed  fifteen  years 
of  protection,  and  should  be  firmly  rooted. 
The  federal  government,  from  being  too 
weak,  had  become  too  strong.  The  public, 
who  consumed  goods  foreign  and  domestic, 


COURSE    OF    TKADK SPECULATION REVULSION. 


147 


were  paying  too  high  a  tribute  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  manufacturers,  and  the  states 
felt  their  rights  encroached  upon  by  the 
growing  power  of  centralization.  A  change 
of  policy  in  respect  of  the  tariff  was  insisted 
upon,  and  a  reduction  took  place  in  1831, 
many  goods  being  made  free.  In  1832  Mr. 
Clay's  compromise  was  passed,  by  which 
biennial  reductions  were  to  take  place, 
until,  in  1842,  all  the  duties  should  be  re- 
duced to  a  general  level  of  20  per  cent,  ad 
valorem.  These  reductions  in  duties,  at  a 
time  of  bank  inflation  and  speculation,  emi- 
nently promoted  those  imports  which,  under 
such  circumstances,  were  carried  to  excess. 

The  manufactures  of  the  country  had 
largely  increased  during  the  ten  years  up  to 
1830.  The  capital  employed  in  cotton 
manufacture  at  that  date  was  $40,614,984. 
There  were  795  mills,  working  1,246,503 
spindles  and  33,506  looms.  They  produced 
230,461,000  yards  of  cloth,  that  weighed 
59,604,926  Ibs.,  and  was  worth  $26,000,000. 
These  mills  employed  117,626  persons, 
whose  wages  were  $10,294,944  per  annum. 
This  was  a  large  interest  grown  up  in  cotton. 
The  progress  of  manufactures  generally  was 
given  by  the  census,  as  follows : — 

1830. 

40,614,984 
14,528,166 
4,757,403 
16,737,251 
3,434,808 
935,173 
46,077,092 


1820. 

Cotton 4,834,157 

Wool 4,113,068 

Pig  iron  and  castings . . .  2,230,276 

"Wrought  iron 4,640,669 

Brewers  and  distillers  . .  4,876,486 

Salt 1,852,258 

Other  articles 29,919,621 


Total $52,466,535    $127,084,877 

In  the  considerable  increase  of  interests, 
here  apparent,  many  of  the  factories  suffered 
by  home  competition,  when  too  much  capi- 
tal had  been  induced,  by  hope  of  protection, 
to  go  into  the  business.  The  operations  of 
these  manufactures  no  doubt  produced  a 
local  demand  for  materials  and  food ;  but 
this  did  not  suffice,  however,  in  the  absence 
of  a  foreign  demand,  to  support  prices  of 

For.  exports. 
$20,033,526 
24,039,473 


farm  produce,  in  face  of  the  large  develop- 
ment given  to  agriculture  by  the  increasing 
immigration  and  settlement  of  the  western 
lands. 

The  season  of  speculation  which  now 
seized  the  public  mind  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  in  the  history  of  commerce. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  it  had  its  origin  in 
the  great  success  which  had  hitherto  been 
manifest  in  the  progress  of  the  country. 
Those  who  had  seen  but  thirty  years  of 
active  life  had  witnessed  the  most  extraordi- 
nary growth  of  numbers  and  wealth  in  the 
whole  country,  and  in  cities  particularly. 
The  highest  prizes  had  attended  those  who 
had  held  land  at  the  points  favorable  to 
trade,  which  trade  was  the  foundation  of 
cities.  There  seemed  hardly  any  limit  to 
the  rise  that  might  take  place  in  the  value 
of  property,  and  so  liberal  were  bank  accom- 
modations, there  was  very  little  difficulty  in 
procuring  the  means  to  hold  land.  In  almost 
all  cities,  the  early  settlers  had  become  pos- 
sessed of  land  cheap.  The  rapid  growth  of 
trade,  bringing  in  numbers  to  occupy  those 
lands  for  stores  and  dwellings,  caused  a 
competition  that  raised  rents  and  values 
rapidly  in  price.  The  effort  was  then  to 
become  possessed  of  land  for  speculation, 
and  this  effort  was  attended  with  the  wildest 
excitement ;  a  few  hours  sufficed  to  place  a 
moderate  fortune  in  the  hands  of  the  buyer, 
and  prices  rose  to  a  fabulous  extent  in  a 
short  tune.  From  the  cities,  the  excitement 
spread  all  over  the  Union,  and  productive 
employments  were  neglected  to  trade  in 
lands ;  at  the  same  time,  the  fictitious  for~ 
tunes  made  by  these  means  stimulated 
expense,  and  the  wealth  of  the  country  was 
diminished  by  a  double  process — by  lessened 
production,  and  increased  consumption — 
"  the  candle  was  burned  at  both  ends,"  and 
there  could  be  little  surprise  that  it  was 
speedily  consumed.  The  course  of  the 


follows : — 


Dom.  exports.  For.  exports.  Total  exports.  Imports.  Ex.  specie.  Im.  specie. 

1831,  $61,277,057  $20,033,526  $81,310,583  $103,191,124  $9,014,971  $7,305,945 

1832,  63,137,470  24,039,473  87,176,943  10],  029,266  5,656,340  5,907,304 

1833,  70,317,698  19,822,735  90,140,433  108,118,311  2,611,701  7,070,368 

1834,  81,034,162  23,312,811  104,346,973  126,521,332  2,076,758  17,911,632 

1835,  101,189,082  20,504,495  121,693,577  149,895,742  6,477,775  13,131,447 

1836,  106,916,680  21,746,360  128,663,040  189,980,035  4,324,336  13,400,881 

1837,  95,564,414  21,854,962  117,419,376  140,989,217  5,976,249  10,516,414 

1838,  96,033,821  12,452,795  108,486,616  113,717,404  3,508,046  17,747,116 

1839,  103,533,891  17,494,525  121,028,416  162,092,132  8,776,743  5,595,176 

1840,  113,895,634  18,190,312  132,085,946  107,141,519  8,417,014  8,882,813 

$892,899,909  $199,451,994   $1,092,351,903  $1,302,676,082  $56,839,933  $107,469,096 


148 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED     STATES. 


This  period  of  commerce  shows  remark- 
able results,  since  it  illustrates  the  nature  of 
the  pure  speculation  that  possessed  the  coun- 
try. In  the  period  up  to  1830,  the  imports 
had  exceeded  the  exports  $32,884,675,  or  5 
per  cent,  in  the  whole  ten  years,  an  amount 
which  was  not  more  than  healthy.  In  the 
succeeding  ten  years,  the  excess  of  imports 
over  the  exports  was  $210,334,181,  or  20 
per  cent.,  and  this  took  place  although  the 
exports  were  valued  at  inflated  prices,  which 
were  not  realized  abroad.  The  course  of 
business  at  that  period  required  shipments 
of  American  produce,  mostly  cotton,  to 
firms  abroad,  who  made  advances  on  the 
consignment  at  a  certain  ratio,  less  than  the 
face  of  the  invoices.  The  produce  was 
then  afterward  sold  for  the  account  of  the 
owner,  and  not  unfrequently  did  not  bring 
the  amount  of  advances.  Thus,  if  cotton 
was  shipped  at  16  cts.  per  lb.,  and  12  cts. 
advanced,  the  amount  realized  might  be  only 
11  cts.  Hence,  the  real  exports  of  the 
country  were  not  always  measured  by  the 


export  value.  On  the  other  hand,  the  goods 
imported  were  mostly  ordered  by  importers 
here,  and  purchased  on  credits  in  the  manu- 
facturing districts.  These  credits  were  oper- 
ated through  large  London  houses  connected 
Avith  the  American  trade,  and  whose  ability 
to  extend  credits  depended  upon  the  indul- 
gence of  the  Bank  of  England,  and  that 
institution  itself  was  subject  to  pressure 
whenever  the  harvests  should  fail.  The 
system  of  credits  was  open,  however,  up  to 
1836,  in  England,  under  apparently  favorable 
circumstances.  The  United  States  and  rival 
banks  here  favored  the  extension  of  credits 
in  every  possible  way ;  and  the  goods  bought 
on  credit  in  Europe  were  sold  on  credit 
here,  and  consumed  by  those  who  held 
fortunes  based  upon  the  apparent  rise  in 
lands  bought  on  speculation,  for  promises. 
The  numbers  so  engaged  diminished  pro- 
duction, while  luxuries  were  imported  more 
rapidly  than  ever.  The  returns  of  certain 
articles  of  domestic  exports  and  imports,  in- 
dicate the  extent  of  this  process  as  follows: — 


1831, 
1832, 
1833, 
1834, 
1835, 
1836, 
1837, 
1838, 
1839, 
1840, 


Silks. 
$5,932,243 

9,248,907 

9,498,366 
10,998,064 
16,677,547 
22,980,212 
14,352,823 

9,812,338 
21,752,369 

9,835,757 


Imports. 


Wines. 
$1,673,058 
2,397,479 
2,601,455 
2,944,388 
3,750,608 
4,332,034 
4,105,741 
2,318,282 


Imports. 
Spirits.                    Sugar. 
$1,037,737          $4,910,877 
1,365,018             2,933,688 

1,537,226 
1,319,245 

•    4,755,856 
5,538,097 

1,632,681 
1,917,381 
1,470,802 
1,476,918 

6,806,425 
12,514,718 
7,203,206 
7,586,825 
9,929,502 

5,580,950 

Flour. 
$10,461,728 
4,974,121 
5,642,602 
4,560,379 
4,394,777 
3,572,599 
2,987,269 
3,603,299 


Exports. 


Provisions. 
$17,538,227 
12,424,703 
14,209,128 
11,524,024 
12,009,399 
10,614.130 
9,588,359 
9,636.650 
14,147,779 
19,067,535 


Thus,  while  the  import  of  silk  rose  from 
less  than  $6,000,000  to  nearly  $23,000,000, 
and  the  four  articles,  including  wine,  spirits, 
and  sugar,  from  $13,550,000  in  1831,  to 
$41,850,000  in  1836,  the  export  of  provis- 
ions, notwithstanding  the  high  prices,  fell 
from  $17,538,227  to  $10,614,130.  So  great 
had  been  the  decline  in  production,  that  in 
the  last-named  year,  1836,  wheat  was  actually 
imported  at  $2  per  bushel,  from  Russia,  on 
credit,  to  feed  land  speculators  in  the  west. 
The  mania  for  land  speculation  was  fed  by 
bank  bubbles,  and  large  sums  were  drawn 
from  the  east  as  well  as  Europe,  for  the 
creation  of  banks  west  and  south-west. 
The  transmission  of  these  sums  was  the 
means  of  credits  by  which  goods  were  con- 
sumed. There  were  created  in  the  period 
from  1830  to  1840,  577  banks,  having  an 
aggregate  capital  of  $218,000,000.  These, 
banks  were  mostly  started  west  and  south- 
west, with  eastern  capital  paid  in  subscription 


to  the  bank  stock,  and  with  state  bonds  issued 
in  aid  of  the  banks.  Thus  a  stream  of  credit 
issued  from  London,  winch,  aided  by  cir- 
cumstances, poured  over  the  Union,  checking 
industry,  exhausting  capital,  and  raising 
prices.  The  harvests  of  England  had  been 
good  for  some  years,  and  the  importation  of 
corn  had  ceased.  As  a  consequence,  ex- 
changes were  in  favor  of  England,  and  the 
bank  disposed  to  be  liberal.  It  was  so  to 
the  American  houses  in  London.  These 
houses  were  thus  enabled  to  grant  credits  to 
United  States  importers  of  goods  who  made 
their  purchases  in  Lancashire.  The  goods 
arriving  in  the  United  States,  were  sold  to 
jobbers  and  through  the  auction  houses  at 
long  credits,  and  these  were  payable  at  the 
local  banks  started  all  over  the  country.  The 
quantity  of  goods  thus  sold  was  increased  by 
the  large  fire  in  New  York  in  December, 
1835,  by  which  it  was  estimated  $18,0.00,000 
worth  of  property  was  consumed.  These 


COURSE    OF    TRADE SPECULATION REVULSION. 


151 


goods  were  replaced  on  credit,  and  the  city 
rapidly  rebuilt  by  the  same  means,  adding 
much  to  the  accumulating  liabilities.  At 
the  same  time,  as  we  have  seen,  $200,000,000 
were  sent  from  the  east  to  the  west  to  start 
banks.  These  banks  were  also  authorized  to 
issue  paper  to  circulate  as  money ;  and  capi- 
tal and  circulation  were  loaned  to  those  who 
purchased  and  consumed  goods.  Thus,  while 
the  city  merchants  were  selling  their  goods 
to  the  dealers  of  the  interior,  on  credit,  the 
capitalists  were  sending  money  in  the  same 
direction,  with  which  to  start  banks ;  thejse 
were  to  lend  the  dealers  the  means  of  taking 
up  their  notes.  As  long  fa&  this  lasted, 
business  was  brisk ;  but  it  soon  came  to  an 
end.  The  federal  government  had  also  been 
a  party  to  the  excitement,  by  selling  its  lands 
on  credits  to  speculators,  and  the  amount  of 
these  sales  became  enormous,  when  suddenly 
the  government  issued  its  famous  "  specie 
circular,"  by  which  the  lands  were  to  be 
paid  cash  in  specie.  This  was  the  first  blow 
to  the  credits.  The  government,  determined 
to  curtail  all  credits,  had  made  peremptory 
demand  upon  France  to  pay  the  indemnity 
long  since  due.  This  payment  took  place, 
and  was  received  at  this  juncture  very  oppor- 
tunely in  gold.  The  capital  of  England, 
which  had  been  loaned  so  freely  all  over  the 
world,  began  to  run  short.  The  harvests, 
also,  which  for  so  many  years  had  sufficed 
for  the  national  wants,  suddenly  failed,  in 
1836,  and  it  became  necessary  to  import 
corn  for  cash.  This  circumstance  caused 
exchanges  to  run  higher  against  England, 
and  the  bank  began  to  contract.  Its  first 
notice  was  in  August,  1836,  to  the  American 
houses  to  curtail  their  credits.  This  was 
the  signal  for  payment  through  the  whole 
line  of  credits  from  the  Bank  of  England  to 
the  western  consumer  of  goods.  The  pres- 
sure became  intense,  and  in  May,  1837,  every 
bank  in  the  Union  had  suspended  their  pay- 
ments. The  three  large  American  houses  in 
London,  known  as  the  "three  W's,"  Wildes, 
Wiggins,  and  Wilson,  failed  for  many  mil- 
lions, and  their  assets  consisted  of  the  credits 
they  had  granted  American  importers.  The 
latter  stopped  in  great  numbers,  with  assets 
due  from  dealers  all  over  the  country ;  and 
the  latter  stopped  with  large  assets  due  from 
speculators  who  held  land  at  paper  prices, 
and  who  insisted  that  a  return  of  paper 
inflation  would  enable  them  to  pay.  The 
banks  of  the  interior  had  large  sums  due 
them  from  speculators  who  held  land,  as 


well  as  from  shopkeepers  who  had  trusted 
consumers.  The  shopkeepers  had  bought 
of  the  merchants  in  eastern  markets,  and 
had  given  notes  payable  at  their  local  banks. 
Those  notes  were  generally  sent  for  collection 
through  the  city  bank  to  its  country  corres* 
ponding  bank,  and  on  their  maturity  were 
met  by  a  discount  of  the  maker's  note  by  the 
local  bank.  This  mode  of  payment  only 
transferred  the  debt  from  the  merchants  to 
the  bank,  and  was  possible  only  as  long  as 
the  eastern  bank  did  not  claim  the  balance 
due  it.  When  that  was  done,  failure  took 
place.  A  great  struggle  was  made  to  restore 
that  inflation,  particularly  by  the  United 
States  Bank,  which,  with  its  southern  and 
western  dependents,  felt  that  unless  the 
debts  contracted  all  over  the  country  in  an 
inflated  currency,  could  be  paid  in  a  similar 
currency,  they  could  not  be  paid  at  all. 
Public  opinion  was,  however,  bent  on  re- 
sumption, and  January,  1839,  it  took  place. 
The  United  States  Bank  sought  to  create 
foreign  credits  by  obtaining  state  stocks  on 
credit,  and,  by  selling  them  in  Europe,  aid 
the  exchanges.  It  also  entered  the  cotton 
market  as  a  monopolizing  buyer.  The  insti- 
tution, on  the  expiration  of  its  United  States 
charter,  had  obtained  a  new  one  from  Penn- 
sylvania. When  it  went  into  operation  as  a 
state  institution,  its  old  bills  h«d  been  called 
in,  and  new  ones  issued.  When  it  struggled 
to  maintain  its  resumption  in  1839,  it  had 
the  boldness  to  exhume  its  old  bills  and  pay 
them  out  for  cotton  at  almost  any  price, 
which  cotton  was  sent  to  its  agents  in  Liver- 
pool for  sale,  and  against  which  to  draw 
sterling  bills,  which  it  sold  in  New  York  for 
cash ;  thus  forming  a  kiting  operation.  At 
the  same  time,  it  had  obtained  some  $15,- 
000,000  of  state  stocks  from  Mississippi, 
Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  other  states, 
on  similar  terms,  and  these  were  sent  to 
London  for  sale;  but  not  selling  readily, 
they  were  pledged  to  cover  bills  drawn  by 
the  bank.  All  these  plans  were  insufficient 
to  sustain  the  institution  under  its  load  of 
debt,  and  it  became  evident  that  nothing 
short  of  a  second  general  suspension  of  the 
banks  could  save  it.  This  it  undertook  to 
bring  about  by  selling  in  the  New  York 
market  its  bills  on  France  and  England  to 
any  amount,  and  drawing  the  proceeds  from 
the  New  York  banks  in  specie.  This  course 
was  pursued  through  August,  1839;  when, 
early  in  October,  the  news  came  that  the 
bills  so  sold  in  New  York  on  France  had 


152 


COMMERCE     OF    THE     UNITED     STATES. 


actual  settlement.  All  these  lands  were  now 
pressing  upon  the  market,  and  the  distress 
in  cities  attending  the  subsidence  of  building 
and  other  employments,  drove  crowds  upon 
farming  lands,  laying  the  foundation  of 
future  prosperity.  During  the  speculative 
years,  the  commercial  cities  increased  most 
rapidly ;  and  with  the  revulsion,  the  agricul- 
tural states  took  the  lead.  The  cotton  cul- 
ture had  received  a  great  impulse  during 
the  same  period,  by  means  of  the  banking 
credits.  The  old  lands  of  the  Atlantic  states 
were  capable  of  producing  cotton  at  6  cts. 
per  lb.,  but  it  was  found  that  the  new  lands 
of  the  Mississippi  valley  would  produce  it  at 
a  much  less  rate.  The  migration  of  planters 
with  their  hands  then  took  place  to  the 
new  lands  of  the  west,  and  the  means  of  so 
doing  were  supplied  to  a  great  extent  by  the 
state  bonds  issued  in  aid  of  banking  capital. 
These  institutions  made  loans  to  the  planters 
on  security  of  the  crops.  Under  this  spur, 
large  tracts  of  land  were  got  under  cultiva- 
tion, disastrously  to  the  banks,  but  favorable 
to  a  large  supply  of  cotton,  of  which  the 
export  became  large. 

The  ten  years,  1841  to  1850,  thus  opened 
under  great  depression.  The  receipts  of  the 
federal  government,  in  consequence  of  the 
revulsion  of  trade  in  1837,  had  fallen  far 
behind  its  expenses,  while  the  duties  under 
the  biennial  reductions  of  the  compromise 
tariff  were  approaching  their  lowest  grade  of 
20  per  cent.,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
restore  the  duties,  in  order  to  procure  rev- 
enue. The  utter  failure  of  the  United  States 
Bank,  of  which  a  large  portion  of  the  stock 
was  sent  abroad ;  the  failure  of  so  many 
states,  some  of  which  repudiated  their  debts 
altogether;  and  the  bankrupt  law,  which 
had  expunged  so  large  a  volume  of  private 
debts,  had  produced  so  much  discredit " 
abroad,  that  a  6  per  cent,  stock  of  the  fed- 
eral government  was  utterly  xinsaleable,  not- 
withstanding that  in  1835  the  last  dollar  of 
the  old  national  debt  had  been  paid  in  full. 
Congress,  therefore,  in  1841,  passed  an  act 
levying  20  per  cent,  duties  on  a  long  list  of 
articles  before  free,  and  in  1842  raised  the 
general  level  of  duties.  At  this  juncture 
there  had  been  no  plan  of  settling  the  state 
debts,  and  efforts  to  restore  the  national 
bank  failed.  Amid  these  adverse  circum- 
stances, however,  industry  revived  from  the 
ruins  of  speculation,  and  the  foreign  com- 
merce was  placed  upon  a  more  liberal  foot- 
ing. The  English  government,  taught  by 


been  protested.  The  bank  then  finally  failed, 
and  went  into  liquidation,  when  it  was  found 
that  more  than  its  whole  capital  had  been 
lost.  This  event  carried  with  it  most  of  the 
banks  in  the  country  that  had  followed  a 
similar  policy.  Liquidation  then  became 
general,  and  went  on  up  to  1843,  when  the 
lowest  point  of  credits  was  reached.  The 
short  harvests  of  England,  that  were  the 
immediate  cause  of  the  explosion  in  1837, 
were  also  the  cause  of  a  gradual  restoration 
of  sound  prosperity  in  the  United  States,  by 
reviving  a  demand  for  the  products  of  land. 
This  was  the  more  readily  done  that  the 
fictitious  paper  prices  that  prevented  Ameri- 
can farmers  from  competing  with  those  of 
Europe,  had  disappeared  with  the  bank 
stoppages.  The  farmers  had  nominally  sold 
their  produce  well,  but  they  had  taken  pay  in 
bank  paper,  which  the  revulsion  left  valueless 
in  their  hands.  The  process  of  liquidation 
swept  several  hundred  banks  out  of  existence, 
but  there  remained  an  immense  load  of  debt 
due  by  individuals,  to  relieve  whom  Con- 
gress, in  1841,  passed  a  bankrupt  law.  The 
operation  of  the  law  relieved  39,000  persons, 
from  debts  to  the  amount  of  $441,000,000. 
The  disasters  involved  the  failure  of  several 
states,  with  an  aggregate  debt  of  $100,000,- 
000.  The  banks  that  were  liquidated  had 
an  aggregate  capital  of  $200,000,000.  Thus, 
the  recorded  losses  were  as  follows : — 

States $100,000,000 

Bankrupt  debts 441,000,000 

Bank  capital 200,000,000 


$741,000,000 

The  debts  that  were  settled  without  the 
intervention  of  the  law,  were  supposed  to 
be  equal  to  those  legally  discharged,  but  the 
amount  recorded  is  an  enormous  sum.  In 
consequence  of  those  disasters,  many  states, 
in  revising  their  constitutions,  forbade  the 
authorization  of  more  bank  charters. 

While  speculation  had  thus  run  riot, 
during  the  ten  years  up  to  1840,  consuming 
the  available  capital  of  the  country,  the 
population  had  not  failed  to  increase  and 
extend  itself  over  the  face  of  the  country. 
Many  of  the  states  had  projected  large  works, 
for  the  construction  of  which  they  had  con- 
tracted debts;  and  the  expenditure  upon 
the  works  had  attracted  laborers,  who  ulti- 
mately became  settlers.  The  sales  of  public 
lands  had  been  very  large,  but  these  had  to 
a  great  extent  been  taken  up  by  speculators, 
and  this  operation  in  some  degree  prevented 


BANKRUPT  LAW ENGLISH  FREE  TRADE. 


153 


the  experience  of  the  past,  had  decided  to 
relieve  commerce  from  many  restrictions, 
and  in  1842  modified  her  corn  laws,  and  ad- 
mitted provisions,  which  had  previously  been 
prohibited,  to  entry,  at  comparatively  low 
duties.  The  first  opening  of  the  trade  to 
provisions — cheese,  butter,  etc. — was  not  at 
once  successful ;  many  attempts  were  re- 
quired, and  much  perseverance,  before  the 
American  articles  became  properly  prepared 
for  and  appreciated  in  the  English  markets. 
Success,  however,  ultimately  attended  the 
trade,  and  a  large  opening  to  western  prod- 


uce was  made,  that  has  proved  of  a  per- 
manent nature.  This  circumstance  gave  an 
impulse  to  commerce,  which  was  greatly  ac- 
celerated by  the  failure  of  the  potato  crops 
in  1845  and  1846.  That  event  was  of  so 
grave  a  nature  as  to  lead  to  the  abrogation 
of  the  corn  laws  altogether,  and  also  to  a 
suspension  of  the  navigation  laws  in  England, 
France,  Holland,  and  Belgium,  for  the  reason 
that  the  shipping  was  inadequate  to  the 
transportation  of  food.  The  course  of  com- 
merce during  the  ten  years,  1841  to  1850, 
was  as  follows : — 


Exports. 
Domestic.                Foreign. 

Total. 

Imports. 

Of  those  amounts. 
Specie. 

Exports. 

imports. 

1841, 

$106,382,723 

$15,469,081 

$121,851,804 

$127,946,177 

$10,034,332 

$4,988,633 

1842, 

92,969,996 

11,721,538 

104,691,534 

100,162,087 

4,813,539 

4,087,016 

1843, 

77,793,783 

6,552,697 

84,346,480 

64,753,799 

1,520,791 

22,390,559 

1844, 

99,715,179 

11,484,867 

111,200,046 

108,435,035 

5,454,214 

5,830,429 

1845, 

99,299,776 

15,346,830 

114,646,606 

117,254,564 

8,608,495 

4,070,242 

1846, 

102,141,893 

11,346,623 

113,488,516 

121,691,797 

3,905,268 

3,777,732 

1847, 

150,637,464 

8,011,158 

158,648,622 

146,545,638 

1,907,024 

24,121,289 

1848, 

132,904,121 

21,132,315 

154,036,436 

154,998,928 

15,841,616 

6,360,224 

1849, 

132,666,955 

15,088,865 

147,755,820 

147,857,439 

5,404,648 

6,651,240 

1850, 

136,946,912 

14,951,806 

151,898,718 

178,138,318 

7,522,994 

4,628,792 

$1,131,458,802     $131,105,780     $1,262,564,582    $1,267,783,782     $65,012,921     $86,906,156 


In  these  aggregates,  we  have  the  reverse 
of  the  trade  during  the  ten  years  to  1840, 
since  the  imports  scarcely  exceeded  the  ex- 
ports, including  specie;  and  exclusive  of 
specie,  there  was  an  excess  of  $14,677,036 
exports  over  imports.  The  exports  of  do- 
mestic produce  had  become  very  considerable. 
The  large  breadth  of  land  that  had  been 
brought  under  cotton,  and  the  rapid  settle- 
ment of  farm  lands  after  the  revulsion,  had 
laid  the  foundation  for  an  extended  produc- 
tion, while  the  means  of  transportation  had 
been  so  much  increased,  as  to  equalize  prices 
at  a  lower  level  on  the  seaboard,  and  supply 
a  far  larger  quantity  for  shipment  than  had 
been  possible  before.  Nevertheless,  the  de- 
mand became  so  urgent  in  the  three  years 
ending  with  1847,  as  to  tax  every  means  of 
transportation  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  to 
carry  freights  to  an  inordinate  height,  notwith- 
standing the  suspension  of  the  navigation 
laws  in  England. 

The  demand  for  food  abroad  had  super- 
seded that  for  all  others  to  a  considerable 
extent.  The  necessity  of  carrying  food 
raised  the  freights  so  high,  that  other  ma- 
terials would  not  pay  to  carry ;  the  more  so, 
that  it  is  a  well-known  effect  of  dear  food, 
to  lessen  the  purchase  of  clothing  and  other 
articles.  Hence,  when  the  market  for  cloths 
was  lowest,  the  freight  on  the  materials  was 


highest.  The  condition  of  Ireland  made  it 
necessary  to  introduce  Indian  corn  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  potatoes.  This  was  by  great 
efforts  accomplished  in  a  degree,  and  thereby 
a  permanent  market  made  for  corn.  That 
article  of  food  is,  however,  very  far  from 
being  popular  with  the  people.  The  effect 
of  the  famine,  joined  to  the  general  influence 
of  the  change  of  English  policy,  was  to  carry 
up  the  domestic  exports  from  $106,000,000 
in  1841  to  $150,000,000  in  1847.  This  in- 
crease was  almost  entirely  due  to  breadstuffe 
and  provisions,  which  reached  a  value  of 
$68,761,921  in  1 847,  beingnearly  one-half  the 
whole  domestic  exports  for  that  year.  The 
large  sale  of  western  produce  so  inaugurated 
gave  an  unusual  stimulus  to  the  activity  of 
internal  trade,  and  to  the  value  of  western 
lands  and  credits ;  and  the  foundation  was 
thus  laid  for  the  movement  which  so  sin- 
gularly culminated  in  1857. 

While  the  famine  demand  of  1846  caused 
so  large  an  export  of  American  produce,  in 
return  for  which  merchandise  was  necessarily 
to  be  received,  the  federal  government  re- 
covered from  the  embarrassments  induced 
by  the  revulsion.  It  was,  however,  still  em- 
barrassed, but  this  time  with  a  surplus, 
rather  than  a  revenue ;  and  in  1846  the  tariff 
was  again  revised,  so  as  to  reduce  the  gen- 
eral average  of  duties  some  7  per  cent.  The 


154 


COMMERCE     OF    THE     UNITED     STATES. 


principle  of  protection  was  finally  disavowed, 
and  that  of  revenue  only  admitted  as  a  rule 
of  action.  This  reduction  of  duties  naturally 
gave  a  spur  to  importation,  at  a  moment 
when  the  exports  were  very  large.  There 
was  at  that  time,  however,  no  speculative 
action  in  this  country,  nor  much  inflation  of 
credit,  by  which  large  quantities  of  goods 
could  be  suddenly  placed ;  and  the  sales  of 
produce  were  so  prompt,  as  to  throw  a  large 
cash  balance  in  favor  of  the  country :  hence, 
of  the  imports  of  1847,  $24,121,289  were  in 
specie — the  largest  amount  ever  imported 
from  abroad  in  one  year— a  fact  which  im- 
parted much  activity  to  trade ;  and  in  the 
following  year,  when,  the  exports  of  farm 
produce  declined,  $15,841,616  of  that  specie 
returned  whence  it  came.  That  re-export 
was,  however,  much  stimulated  by  the  ex- 
traordinary political  convulsions  that  over- 
took Europe  in  February,  1848.  The  pecu- 
liar theories  avowed  by  the  successful  rev- 
olutionists in  relation  to  property,  which 
was  declared  to  be  "  robbery,"  greatly  alarm- 
ed the  public  mind,  and  tended  to  make 
French  property  utterly  unsaleable  for  the 
moment.  The  consequence  was  the  most 
active  shipment  of  money,  silver  particularly, 
with  which  to  purchase  the  cheap  goods  of 
France.  The  panic  soon  passed,  but  de- 
pression continued  under  the  provisional 
government,  which,  in  order  to  encourage 
industry  and  employ  workpeople,  gave  the 
manufacturers  orders  for  goods,  and  allowed 
a  drawback  of  10  per  cent,  on  merchandise 
exported  out  of  France.  This  state  of  affairs 
caused  the  importation  thence  into  the 
United  States  to  be  larger.  Among  the 
goods  so  imported  was  a  quantity  of  Lyons 
silk,  which  had  been  ordered  by  the  govern- 
ment with  the  view  to  employ  the  operatives. 
As  the  government  had  given  no  directions 
as  to  colors,  the  whole  was  made  up,  to  the 
extent  of  10,000,000f.,  in  tricolor.  A  large 
portion  of  this  was  bought  by  a  New  York 
house,  and  gentlemen's  coats  for  a  long  time 
had  tricolor  sleeve  linings.  With  the  in- 
stitution of  the  new  government  in  France, 
confidence  returned,  and  new  branches  of 
trade  were  opened  with  France,  as  well  as 
other  countries  of  the  continent,  which  be- 
gan to  be  rivals  for  the  American  trade. 
The  Germans  and  Belgians  had  so  far  ad- 
vanced in  the  production  of  certain  manu- 
factures, as  to  dispute  the  French  and  English 
pretensions  to  supply  the  United  States,  and 
eredits  began  once  more  to  form  the  medium 


of  extended  sales  of  foreign  merchandise. 
The  competition  was  now,  however,  far  more 
severe  with  the  home  manufactures,  which 
were  so  far  advanced  as  not  only  to  main- 
tain themselves  against  new  competition,  but 
to  drive  out  those  which  had  long  held  the 
field  in  particular  goods.  The  balance  of  the 
ten  years'  business  was,  notwithstanding,  very 
small.  The  period  closed,  however,  with 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  discoveries 
of  modern  times.  We  allude  to  the  gold 
discoveries  in  California.  The  war,  which 
carried  Americans  to  California,  gave  them 
the  opportunity  to  discover,  and  the  "dust" 
was  soon  detected  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Captain  Sutter's  fort.  The  intelligence  was 
received  with  great  incredulity.  The  learned 
said  the  location  and  character  of  the  gold 
was  contrary  to  all  precedent ;  but  soon  the 
metal  came,  and  was  satisfactorily  assayed. 
Each  successive  arrival  brought  stronger 
confirmation,  and  about  $9,000,000  worth 
was  received  in  1850.  Since  then,  the 
amount  received  has  been  nearly  $50,000,- 
000  worth  per  annum. 

The  decade  ending  with  1860  was  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  in  the  history  of 
commerce.  It  commenced  with  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  astounding  gold  discoveries  in 
California,  followed  by  as  important  a  dis- 
covery of  the  same  nature  in  Australia. 
These  events  deeply  stirred  the  commercial 
mind  throughout  the  world,  coming,  as  they 
did,  at  the  moment  when  the  political  difficul- 
ties of  Europe  had  settled  down  in  a  manner 
to  win  public  confidence  in  continued  peace 
and  security.  The  discovery  of  such  large 
supplies  of  gold  induced  the  general  belief 
that  the  metal  would  depreciate,  as  compared 
with  commodities  and  silver,  and  that  the 
depreciation  would  manifest  itself  in  a  rise 
in  prices  of  all  industrial  products.  Seri- 
ous apprehensions  were  entertained  through 
this  superficial  view  of  the  case,  particularly 
in  Europe,  where  a  large  class  are  rich  on 
fixed  annuities,  or  in  the  receipt  of  a  fixed 
amount  of  money  per  annum.  If  all  property 
was  to  rise  in  value,  leaving  the  amount  of 
rents  the  same  in  money,  it  would  be  equiva- 
lent to  ruining  creditors  for  the  benefit  of 
debtors.  Thus,  if  a  farmer  had  mortgaged 
his  farm  for  say  $5,000,  the  annual  interest 
at  6  per  ct.  would  be  $300 ;  at  an  average 
price  of  $1  per  bushel  for  wheat,  it  Avould 
require  300  bushels  per  annum  to  pay  the 
interest,  and  ultimately  5,000  bushels  to  pay 
the  principal.  If  the  mortgage  run  five 


REVOLUTION"  IN  TRANCE FARMERS GOLD. 


155 


years,  lie  would  be  required  to  give,  alto- 
gether, 1,500  bushels  for  interest,  and  5,000 
bushels  for  principal — together,  6,500  bush- 
els. If,  through  the  influx  of  gold,  prices 
came  permanently  to  be  $2  for  wheat,  it 
would  at  once  reduce  the  quantity  per  annum 
that  he  would  have  to  pay  to  150  bushels, 
and  the  ultimate  amount  for  principal  to 
2,500 :  in  other  words,  he  would  save  half 
his  grain,  at  the  expense  of  his  creditor,  and 
the  money  value  of  his  farm  would  be 
doubled.  This  would  be  of  no  benefit  to 
him,  beyond  the  discharge  of  his  debt,  be- 
cause the  value  of  all  that  he  had  to  purchase 
would  rise  in  the  same  proportion.  All 
creditors  would  lose  half  that  was  due  them. 
This  was  an  important  consideration  for  the 
debt-covered  countries  of  Europe,  where  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  people  are  creditors 
of  the  governments.  In  Holland,  to  avoid 
this,  they  passed  a  law  doing  away  with 
gold  as  a  legal  tender,  and  making  silver  the 
only  medium  of  payment,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  silver  would  rise  in  the  same 
proportion  as  other  commodities.  In  the 
United  States,  the  same  impressions  were 
entertained,  but  the  event  showed  that  the 
fears  were  groundless.  But  this  view  natu- 
rally stimulated  the  production  of  commodi- 
ties that  were  to  rise  in  value,  and  industry 
became  unusually  active,  since  all  classes 
wished  to  profit  by  the  anticipated  rise. 
Above  all,  commercial  enterprise  and  migra- 
tion tended  strongly  to  the  gold  countries, 
the  direct  source  of  the  anticipated  benefits. 
A  vast  amount  of  capital  was  sent  to  both 
California  and  Australia.  The  United  States 
shipped  to  the  latter  country,  in  1853,  a  large 
amount  of  goods;  and  to  California  the  drain 
continued  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  with 
small  remuneration  to  the  shippers.  The 
production  of  California  gold  has  been 
$600,000,000,  and  it  has  cost  an  equal 
amount  of  capital.  In  other  words,  there 
has  been  no  profit  on  the  production.  The 
capital  that  it  cost  exists  in  the  gold  itself, 
and  in  the  cities  and  property  of  California. 
From  nearly  all  nations  the  capital  that  now 
constitutes  the  wealth  of  California,  flowed 
thither  in  exchange  for  the  gold.  While  this 
great  enterprise  of  gold  digging  has  been  in 
direct  prosecution,  another  equally  as  exten- 
sive was  undertaken,  viz. :  the  construction 
of  20,000  miles  of  railroads,  at  a  cost  of 
$720,000,000.  The  capital  for  the  enter- 
prise was  drawn  from  Europe,  in  the  shape 
of  money  and  iron,  and  from  the  eastern 


states,  in  subscriptions  to  stocks  and  bonds. 
These  have  not  all  turned  out  well,  but  the 
capital  expended  remains  in  the  shape  of 
railroads  that  are  now  ready  and  efficient 
means  of  developing  future  trade.  The 
speculative  investments  in  lands  and  western 
property  also  ran  to  an  inordinate  extent  in 
the  same  period,  and  nearly  $500,000,000, 
^n  the  best  estimates,  took  this  direction, 
following  the  trail  of  American  migration, 
from  the  eastern  to  the  western  states,  im- 
pelled by  the  large  immigration  from  Europe. 
As  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  2,518,054  per- 
sons arrived  from  abroad  in  the  period  here 
mentioned.  These  persons  brought  with 
them,  at  the  usual  estimate  of  $100  per  head, 
$251,805,400  in  capital,  as  money  and  goods. 
A  large  portion  of  this  was  expended  in 
transportation  expenses  and  in  settling  new 
homes.  We  have,  then,  the  following  esti- 
mated items  of  extraordinary  expenditures 
in  the  ten  years,  1850  to  1860: — 

Capital  sent  to  California $600,000,000 

"       spent  in  20,000  miles  of  railroad 720,000,000 

"       expended  in  land  operations 500,000,000 

"      expended  by  newly-arrived  immigrants 

at  fifty  dollars  each 125,900,000 

Total  extraordinary  expenditures $1,945,900,000 

The  300,000  persons  who  went  to  Cali- 
fornia to  consume  the  capital  sent  thither, 
returned  $600,000,000  worth  of  gold,  of 
which  a  large  portion  went  to  Europe,whence 
goods  came.  The  railroad  expenditure  re- 
sults in  effective  investments  in  trade.  The 
land  investments  are  not  "  active,"  for  the 
present,  but  are  not  entirely  lost.  The  im- 
migrants are  mostly  at  work,  producing 
capital  in  new  states. 

While  these  large  expenditures  took  place 
in  the  United  States,  Europe  incurred  a 
heavy  loss  in  the  failure  of  her  corn  harvests, 
that  she  was  obliged  to  make  good  from 
the  corn  crops  of  the  United  States.  She 
also  incurred  a  heavy  expense  in  the  Russian 
war,  which  returned  very  little  for  the  invest- 
ment, but  which  required  a  larger  supply  of 
American  produce,  particularly  pork,  whis- 
key, but  of  gold,  above  all.  The  loss  of  her 
vine  crops,  also,  brought  American  whiskey 
in  demand,  as  a  substitute,  and  thereby, 
possibly,  cut  off  permanently  a  supply  of 
genuine  grape  liquors  for  the  United  States. 
Those  events  caused  a  larger  demand  for 
produce,  at  a  time  when  the  expenditures 
for  gold,  rails,  and  land  were  so  active.  It 
is  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  under  all  these 
circumstances,  that  the  gold  diggers,  road 


156 


COMMERCE    OF    THE     UNITED     STATES. 


in  addition  to  war  and  short  crops,  demanded 
more  raw  materials.     The  imnort  nnd  nxnort. 
table,  therefore,  shc,,^  ^ 
ever  before,  as  follows : — 


builders,  speculators,  and  emigrants,  so  well 
supplied  with  money,  should  require  a  larger 
quantity  of  goods,  both  manufactured  and 
imported,  while  similar  activity  in  Europe, 


1        7 

more  raw  materials.  The  import  and  export 
table,  therefore,  shows  higher  figures  than 
ever  before,  as  follows : — 


1851, 

1852, 
1853, 
1854, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
1858, 
1859, 
1860, 


Domestic. 
$196,689,718 
192,368,984 
213,417,697 
253,390,870 
246,708,553 
310,586,330 
338,985,065 
293,758,279 
335,894,385 
385,000,000 


Exports. 

Foreign. 

$21,698,293 
17,289,382 
17,558,460 
24,850,194 
28,448,293 
16,378,578 
23,975,617 
30,886,142 
20,865,077 
25,000,000 


Total. 

$218,388,011 
209,658,366 
230,976,157 
278,241,064 
275,156,846 
326,964,908 
362,960,682 
324,644,421 
356,759,462 
410,000,000 


Imports. 

$216,224,932 
212,945,442 
267,978,647 
304,562,381 
261,468,520 
314,639,942 
360,890,141 
282,613,150 
338,768,130 
444,500,000 


Of  these  amounts. 
Specie. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


$29,472,752      $5,453,592 
42,674,135         5,505,044 
27,486,875 
41,422,423 
56,347,343 
45,745,485 
69,136,922 
52,633,147 
63,887,411 


78,500,000 


4,201,382 
6,958,184 
3,659,812 
4,207.632 
12,461^799 
19,274,496 
7,434,789 
7,000,000 


$2,766,799,881    $226,950,036    $2,993,749,917    $3,004,591,285    $507,306,493    $76,156,730 


The  imports  rose  steadily  to  over 
000,000  in  1854,  under  the  first  Australian 
and  Californian  excitement,  and  took  larger 
dimensions  as  the  railroad  operations  pro- 
gressed. Eailroad  iron  figured  largely  in 
the  amount  in  exchange  for  bonds.  The 
imports  of  silks  rose  from  $13,731,000,  in 
1 850,  to  $30,636,000.  The  most  remarkable 
rise  in  the  importation  was,  however,  in 
sugar,  which,  from  $11,000,000,  rose  to 
nearly  $55,000,000,  in  1857,  in  consequence 
of  the  failure  of  the  Louisiana  crop,  at  a 
moment  of  very  active  demand.  So  high  a 
figure  to  be  paid  for  sugar  at  a  critical  mo- 
ment went  far  to  disturb  the  exchanges,  and 
aid  the  panic  of  1857.  We  find  that  the 
whole  amount  of  importations  for  the  ten 
years  reached  $3,004,591,285,  exceeding,  by 
$1,736,807,503,  the  importations  of  the  pre- 
vious ten  years.  This  excess  of  expenditure 
corresponds  with  the  estimated  amount  of 
capital  expended  for  extraordinary  purposes, 
since  a  considerable  portion  of  the  expendi- 
tures was  applied  to  domestic  manufactures. 
The  operation  of  the  treaty  with  Canada  pro- 
duced a  somewhat  larger  receipt  of  foreign 
goods.  These  also  swelled  proportionately 
the  aggregate  imports.  The  excitement  man- 
ifest in  the  United  States  in  regard  to  gold 
and  railroads,  was  also  present  in  England 
and  Europe.  The  production  of  manufac- 
tured wares  to  send  to  the  gold  countries, 
and  to  avail  of  the  local  demand  for  goods, 
required  more  raw  material,  at  a  moment 
when  the  short  harvests  and  war  enterprise 
enhanced  general  wants.  The  effect  of  these 
was  equivalent  to  a  large  transfer  of  capital 
to  the  west,  not  only  from  Europe,  but  also 
from  those  eastern  states  that  are  usually 


buyers  of  food.  Thus  the  wheat  crop  of 
the  United  States  in  1850,  by  census,  was 
equal  to  22,000,000  bbls  of  flour.  The  aver- 
age export  price  in  that  year  was  $5,  giving 
to  the  crop  a  value  of  $110,000,000.  In 

1855,  the  average  price  was  $10,  giving  a 
value  of  $110,000,000  greater.      This  sum 
was  taken  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  food 
buyers,  to  the  profit  of  the  food  sellers,  at 
the  moment  when  the  latter  were  enjoying 
so  large  an  expenditure  for  other  purposes. 
The  export  value  of  agriculture  rose  from 
$24,309,210,  in    1850,   to   $77,686,455,  in 

1856.  The  great  activity  of  the  years  ending 
with  1 857  was,  then,  due  to  heavy  expenditure 
of  capital  at  the  west  simultaneously  with 
profitable  sales  of  its  crops.     The  panic  of 
that  year  caused  not  only  a  total  cessation 
of  the  expenditure,  but  an  earnest  desire  to 
recover  capital  invested  at  the  west.     Rail- 
road  building   stopped,   migration   ceased, 
speculation  was  at  an  end,  and,  at  the  same 
moment,  European  crops  being  good,  prices 
of  produce  fell  in  face  of  very  poor  western 
harvests.     With  this  combination  of  circum- 
stances, the  decade  closed  under  a  sort  of 
paralysis.    There  was  no  exhaustion  of  capi- 
tal, since  it  was  apparently  more  abundant 
and  cheaper  at  the  great  eastern  reservoirs 
than  ever  before ;   but  the  stimulus  to  its 
employment  was  gone,  and  it  accumulated 
in  first  hands.     The  broad  lands  of  the  west 
are  well  settled ;  they  are  well  supplied  with 
means  of  communication,  and  are  ready  to 
throw  out  limitless  supplies  of  capital,  when 
the  wheel  is  once  more  in  motion. 

If  we  bring  together  by  recapitulation 
the  aggregates  of  the  seven  decades  since 
the  formation  of  the  government,  we  shall 


FARMERS GOLD,  ETC. 


157 


have  a  very  interesting  synopsis  of  the  national 
progress  in  respect  of  commerce.  The  trea- 
sury department  has  also  caused  to  be  pre- 
pared, with  great  care,  the  annual  value  of 


agricultural  products  and  manufacturing  in- 
dustry at  corresponding  periods.  If  we  add 
them  to  the  table,  it  will  be  so  much  the 
more  complete,  as  follows  : — 


1800, 
1810, 
1820, 
1830, 
1840, 
1850, 
1860, 


Exports  for  periods  of  ten  years. 

Domestic.                 Foreign.  Total. 

$293,634,645  $191,344,293  $484,968,938 

383,401,077  372,536,294  755,937,371 

462,701,288  127,190,714  589,892,002 

536,104,918  229,643,834  765,748,752 

892,889,909  199,451,994  1,092.351,903 

1,131,458,801    129,105.782  1,260,564,583 

2,766,799,881    226,950,036  2,993,749,917 


Imports. 

Manuiaciures. 
Annual  value. 

Agriculture. 
Annual  value. 

$591,845,454 

.  . 

927.663,500 

$145,385,906 

688,120,347 

62,766,385 

798,633,427 

111,645,466 

1,302,476,084 

483,278,215 

$621,163,977 

1,267,783,782 

1,055,595,899 

994,093,842 

3,004,591,285 

2,000,000,000 

1,910,000,000 

$6,466,990,519    $1,476,222,947    $7,943,203,466    $8,581,113,879 


This  table,  mostly  official,  gives  the  ex- 
traordinary results  of  a  nation's  industry  and 
commerce  in  a  period  of  seventy  years.  The 
growth  has  such  an  accumulative  force,  as  to 
be  very  surprising.  In  the  item  of  re-exports 
of  foreign  goods,  the  trade  never  recovered 
the  figures  they  touched  at  the  period  when 
American  vessels  did  the  carrying  trade  for 
fighting  Europe.  Latterly,  however,  under 
the  warehouse  system  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  reciprocity  treaty  with  the  British ' 
provinces,  some  increase  in  that  respect  has 
taken  place,  the  more  so  that  steam  and  ex- 
tended relations  are  .opening  to  the  United 
States  a  larger  share  of  the  South  American 
trade,  tending  ultimately  to  give  the  United 
States  the  preponderating  influence.  The 
exports  of  domestic  goods  grow  rapidly 
under  the  more  extended  demand  for  cotton 
throughout  the  world,  and  of  which  the 
United  States  is  the  only  source  of  supply. 
All  other  cotton  countries,  India  particularly, 
require  more  cotton  in  the  shape  of  goods 
than  they  supply  in  the  raw  state.  The  de- 
mand for  cotton  clothing  increases  in  the 
double  ratio  of  greater  numbers  and  greater 
wealth  throughout  the  world.  Cotton  is, 
however,  not  the  only  article  which  increases 
in  export  value.  The  tables  show  us  that 
gold  has  figured  in  ten  years  for  $507,000,- 
000  as  an  article  of  export,  and  will  probably 
never  be  less.  The  agricultural  resources  of 
this  country  have  just  begun  to  be  developed. 
Up  to  1842  there  was,  under  the  restrictive 
systems  of  Europe,  comparatively  no  market 
for  American  farm  produce.  In  that  year 
the  statesmen  of  England  recognized  the  fact 
that  the  demands  of  English  workpeople  for 
food  had  outgrown  the  ability  of  the  British 
islands  to  supply  it  on  terms  as  low  as  it 
could  be  bought  elsewhere.  They  therefore 
removed  the  prohibition  upon  the  import  of 


cattle  and  provisions,  and  reduced  the  duty 
on  grain.  This  opened  a  market  for  Amer- 
ican produce,  which  grew  rapidly.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  the  famine  of  1846  justified 
the  wisdom  of  the  English  government,  and 
led  to  the  entire  removal  of  the  corn  duties 
in  1849.  That  example  was  followed  by 
France  and  her  neighbors.  France,  however, 
restored  the  duties  in  1859.  The  liberal 
legislation  of  England,  the  famine,  the  wars, 
and  speculations  of  Europe,  have  gradually 
extended  the  demand  for  American  produce, 
at  the  time  when  a  very  broad  field  had  been 
opened  to  supply  that  demand.  This  we  may 
illustrate.  The  area  of  Great  Britain's  in- 
dustry— hills,  lakes,  vales,  and  valleys — is 
53,760,000  acres;  and  the  population  in 
1812,  when  she  made  war  on  us,  was  11,- 
991,107.  Now  we  find  from  the  table  of 
land  sales,  elsewhere  given,  that  the  federal 
government  has  sold  in  the  last  twenty  years 
selected  farm  lands  to  the  extent  of  68,655,- 
203  acres,  and  has  given  to  railroads  42,- 
000,000  acres  more  of  selected  lands,  mak- 
ing 1 10,000,000  acres  that  have  mostly  passed 
into  the  hands  of  settlers.  This  is  a  surface 
double  the  whole  area  of  Great  Britain ;  and 
the  population  on  that  area  has  increased,  in 
the  same  time,  11,374,595,  or  a  number 
nearly  as  large  as  that  of  Great  Britain  in 
1812.  There  have  been  built  on  that  area  in 
the  last  ten  years,  and  are  now  in  operation, 
20,000  miles  of  railroads,  crossing  every  part 
of  it,  and  bringing  every  farm  within  reach  of 
a  market.  The  speculators  and  road  builders, 
who  ate  up  the  produce  of  that  area,  during 
the  process  of  road  construction,  have  van- 
ished, and  the  whole  is  now  offered  by  a 
hundred  channels  to  the  best  bidders  of 
Europe.  We  have  said  that  corn  is  the 
settler's  capital,  and  that  corn,  in  the  shape 
of  grain,  pork,  and  whiskey,  is  the  staple 


158 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


export  of  a  new  country.     The  corn  product  I  of  pork.     In  that  year  the  weight  of  pork 
of  1855,  per  state  reports,  was  600,000,000  !  exported    was    164,374,681    Ibs.      Of    this 


bushels.  The  number  of  hogs  packed  that 
year  was  2,489,050,  averaging  200  Ibs.  each, 
and  giving  a  total  weight  of  497,900,000  Ibs. 


amount,  58,526,683  Ibs.  went  to  England, 
or  12  per  cent,  of  the  whole  production,  as 
the  result  of  her  more  liberal  policy  of  1842. 


QUANTITIES   OF   CORN 

AND   PORK  EXPORTED  TO   GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Pork. 

Hams  and  bacon. 

Lard. 

Corn. 

"Wheat. 

Flour. 

barrels. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

bushels. 

bushels. 

barrels. 

1840, 

1,061 

104,341 

615,972 

620,919 

1841, 

4,769 

26,394 

444,305 

12,548 

119,854 

208,984 

1842, 

6,900 

160,274 

3,430,732 

123,665 

143,300 

208,024 

1847, 

73,940 

14,367,105 

17,798,770 

15,526,525 

4,399,951 

2,457,076 

1848, 

87,760 

29,218,462 

27,283,741 

5,062,220 

2,034,704 

958,744 

1849, 

111,385 

53,150,465 

21,388,265 

12,392,242 

608,661 

953,815 

1855, 

64,663 

30,240,161 

15,349,922 

5,935,284 

8,036,665 

2,026,121 

1858, 

13,578 

15,365,524 

10,288,474 

3,215,198 

8,926,196 

3,512,169 

The  cotton,  tobacco,  and  rice  of  the  south, 
the  farm  produce  of  the  west,  and  the  gold 
of  California,  each  contributed  an  increasing 
proportion  to  the  general  exports ;  but  manu- 
factures have  also  come  to  figure  largely 
the  general  aggregate. 


in 


The  following  table  gives  the  proportions 
in  which  the  general  heads  of  exports 
have  contributed  from  time  to  time  to  the 
result,  since  the  formation  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  also  the  total  exports,  including 
all  articles: — 


HEADS   OF  EXPORTS. 


Tobacco 

Flour  and 

United  States 

Total  of  all 

Cotton. 

and  rice. 

provisions. 

Manufactures. 

specie. 

domestic  exports. 

1790, 

$42,285 

$6,103,363 

$5,991,171 

$19.666,000 

1803, 

7,920,000 

8,664,000 

15,050,000 

$2,000,000 

42,'205,961 

1807, 

14,232,000 

7,783,000 

15,706,000 

2,309,000 

48,699,592 

1816, 

24,106,000 

15,187,880 

20,587,376 

2,331,000 

64,781.896 

1821, 

20,157,484 

7,143,349 

12,341,360 

2,752,631 

$10,478,059 

43,671,894 

1831, 

31,724,682 

6,908,655 

12,424,701 

5,086.890 

9,014,931 

61,277,057 

1836, 

71,284,925 

12,607,390 

9,588,359 

6,1071528 

345,738 

106,916,680 

1842, 

47,593,464 

11,448,142 

16,902,876 

7,102,101 

1,172,077 

92,969,996 

1847, 

53,415,848 

10,848,982 

68,101,921 

10,351,364 

2,620 

150,637,464 

1851, 

112,315,317 

11,390,148 

21,948,651 

20,136,967 

18,069,580 

196,689,718 

1854, 

93,596,220 

12,182,204 

65,941,323 

26,849,411 

38,234,566 

253,390,870 

1859, 

161,434,923 

23,281,186 

37,987,395 

32,471,927 

60,110,000 

335,894,385 

These  general  heads  represent  all  parts  of 
the  Union — cotton  and  tobacco  in  the  south, 
flour  and  provisions  in  the  west,  manufac- 
tures in  the  east,  and  gold  in  the  Pacific 
states.  It  is  difficult  to  see  any  great  dif- 
ference in  the  prosperity  which  may  attend 
each  in  the  future.  The  south  is  most  secure 
in  its  market,  holding,  as  it  does,  an  absolute 
monopoly  of  a  raw  material,  which  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  industry  of  5,000,000  people 
at  home  and  abroad,  without  which  $500,- 
000,000  employed  in  manufactures  would 
be  valueless,  and  without  which  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  clothing  of  civilized  man  would 
fall  short.  The  peril  of  this  position  to 
manufacturers,  operatives,  and  merchants  is 
apparent  to  statesmen,  and  the  utmost  efforts 
are  vainly  made  to  find  a  remedy.  The 
greater  the  exertion  used,  the  more  depen- 
dent are  the  manufacturers  on  the  south. 
India  was  long  the  hope  of  England,  but 
there  are  120,000,000  persons  in  India  whose 


scanty  hand-spun  clothing  is  composed  of 
cotton.  Every  effort  to  improve  their  con- 
dition, and  to  induce  a  larger  culture  of  cot- 
ton, has  but  one  result — viz. :  to  create  a 
larger  demand  for  cotton  machine  clothing 
from  them  ;  and  the  dependence  upon  the 
United  States  is  the  greater.  The  import 
of  cotton  from  India  has  been  the  cry  for 
thirty  years.  What  is  the  result  ?  English 
official  returns  give  the  following  figures  for 
1859  :— 

Ibs. 

Import  of  raw  cotton  from  India,  1859,  192,330,880 
Export  of  cotton  goods  to  India,  "  193,603,270 

Excess  of  cotton  sent  to  India, . .     1,272,390 

The  field  for  the  extension  of  the  machine 
goods  in  China  and  India  is  limited  only  by 
the  means  of  the  people  to  buy.  The  more 
those  means  are  increased,  the  greater  is  the 
demand  for  the  raw  material ;  and  the  value 
of  cotton  rises  annually  on  that  basis.  The 


FARMERS GOLD,  ETC. 


159 


productions  of  the  west  are  more  exposed  to 
rivalry  than  those  of  the  south ;  but  since 
the  formation  of  the  present  government, 
England  and  western  Europe,  from  being 
large  food  exporters,  have  come,  by  the  growth 
of  manufactures,  to  be  large  food  importers, 
and  their  supplies  are  drawn  more  steadily 
from  eastern  Europe.  Those  resources  are 
coming  to  be  narrowed,  for  the  same  reason. 
The  United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  with 
their  immense  plains  and  growing  means  of 
communication,  are  assuming  a  more  regular 
position  as  a  source  of  supply,  which  will 
annually  swell  the  exports.  The  column  of 
manufactures  is  a  gratifying  evidence  that 
the  colonial  position  is  at  last  overcome ;  that 
the  requisite  skill  and  capital  for  manufac- 
turing against  all  rivalry  are  at  last  acquired, 
and  that  American  industry  now  finds  sale 
in  the  markets  of  the  world.  The  South 
American  countries  offer  the  legitimate 
opening  for  that  sale.  The  gold  of  California 
is  always  a  merchantable  commodity,  and 
must  sell  under  all  circumstances. 

The  internal  production  of  wares  has  in- 
creased in  a  ratio  more  rapid  than  even  the 
importation  of  them.  The  annual  production 
rose  from  62,000,000  in  1820  to  1,055,000,- 
000  in  1850,  as  manifest  in  the  cplumn 
of  manufactures  reported  in  the  above 
table.  In  order  to  manufacture  to  advan- 
tage, something  besides  a  law  is  necessary. 
There  must  be  capital  and  a  supply  of  skilled 
labor.  Those,  in  the  long  race  of  a  thou- 
sand years,  grew  up  in  England,  where  the 
system  of  manufactures  is  mostly  individual. 
A  man  learns  his  trade,  and  devotes  himself 
to  the  production  of  an  article,  or  a  part  of 
an  article,  and  by  the  constant  exercise  of 
intelligence  and  economy,  he  comes  finally 
to  perfect  it  in  the  cheapest  manner.  These 
productions  are  combined  by  other  parties 
into  merchantable  commodities.  In  the 
United  States  it  was  a  consequence  of  the  pro- 
hibition under  the  imperial  government,  that 
these  individual  industries  did  not  grow  up. 
There  were  no  factories  in  which  young  ar- 
tisans were  learning  a  business,  and  when  sep- 
aration took  place  there  was  no  experienced 
labor.  When,  therefore,  the  capital  that 
had  been  earned  in  commerce  was  suddenly 
applied  to  manufactures,  the  only  mode  of 
proceeding  was  the  corporate  mode ;  the 
capital  was  subscribed  by  a  company,  and 
the  works  directed  by  persons  often  of  little 
practical  experience.  Under  such  a  system, 
progress  was  difficult.  With  the  large  im- 

10 


migration  of  skilled  workmen  from  abroad, 
however,  a  greater  breadth  has  been  given 
to  all  branches,  and  progress  is  very  rapid,  the 
more  so  that  the  general  prosperity  enables 
consumers  to  extend  the  best  possible  en- 
couragement to  producers,  by  buying  their 
wares.  The  chief  consumers  of  these  have 
been  the  agriculturists,  and  the  interchange 
of  manufactures  for  agriculture  forms  the 
chief  trade  of  the  whole  country.  In  1840, 
per  census  reports,  the  value  of  manufac- 
tures was  $483,278,215,  and  of  agriculture, 
$621,163,977  ;  the  imports  were  $107,000,- 
000.  The  interchange  of  these  commodities, 
at  first  hands,  would  involve  an  aggregate 
trade  of  $1,211,442,192.  The  same  items 
for  1850  would  give  an  aggregate  of  $2,305,- 
343,446 — nearly  double  the  amount.  But 
the  raw  material  passes  through  many  hands 
before  it  reaches  the  manufacturer,  and  his 
wares  pass  through  a  succession  of  mer- 
chants, jobbers,  and  retailers  before  they  are 
finally  consumed.  Grain  passes  through 
many  hands  before  it  is  finally  eaten.  The 
grinding  of  flour  is  one  of  the  largest  manu- 
factures of  the  country,  turning  out  in  1850, 
$136,056,736  per  annum.  It  is  probable 
that  each  of  the  articles  which  form  the  ag- 
gregate of  the  mining,  manufactures,  agricul- 
ture, and  imports,  is  sold  four  or  five  times 
before  it  is  finally  consumed.  This  would 
give  an  aggregate  trade  of  $10,000,000,000 
per  annum,  in  1850,  against  $6,000,000; 
000  in  1840,  or  an  average  of  $2,000  per 
annum  for  every  effective  man  in  the  country. 
This  seems  very  large.  If,  however,  we  have 
recourse  to  the  circular  of  the  leading  mer- 
cantile agency  in  New  York,  whose  rami- 
fications extend  over  the  Union,  we  find 
they  report  upon  their  books,  250,000  firms 
in  business  in  1857 — the  panic  year;  of 
these  firms  in  business  4,932  failed  in  1857, 
for  an  aggregate  of  $291,750,000  of  liabilities, 
or  an  average  of  $58,350  each.  If  the  aver- 
age of  all  the  persons  doing  business  was 
only  $50,000,  or  $8,350  each  less  than  those 
who  failed,  then  the  aggregate  amount  of 
credits  must  have  been  $12,500,000,000  in 
1857.  The  firms  on  the  books  do  not  in- 
clude the  retailers  to  any  great  extent.  Thus 
the  liabilities  of  1857  far  exceed  the  esti- 
mate we  made  on  the  figures  of  1850. 
Again,  the  bank  discounts  in  the  past  year 
are  $637,183,899;  these  purport  to  repre- 
sent bills  not  more  than  sixty  days  to  run. 
The  average  of  some  of  the  largest  city 
banks  is  fifty-four  days ;  at  sixty  days  the 


160 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED     STATES. 


amount  of  discounts  for  a  year  would  be, 
in  round  numbers,  $4,000,000,000;  and 
the  exchanges  at  the  New  York  clearing- 
house, as  we  see  in  another  chapter,  are 
over  $8,000,000,000  per  annum.  These 
figures  give  some  idea  of  the  vastness  of  that 
immense  traffic,  which  consists  in  the  inter- 
change of  the  products  of  industry.  In 
1840,  the  active  bank  loans  were  $278,000,- 
000,  which,  at  the  same  average  time,  would 
give  $1,668,000,000  of  discounts  for  the  year, 
which  holds  about  the  same.  In  1850,  the 
loans  were  $413,756,759,  which  would  give 
an  aggregate  discount  for  the  year  of  $2,484,- 
000,000.  Comparing  these  aggregates  for 
several  years,  we  have  results  as  follows : — 


Annual 

productions. 

1840,       $1,211,442,192 

1850,         2,305,343,446 

1860,         4,444,50(1,000 


Annual  Bank 

transactions.  discounts. 

$6,055,000,000  $1.668,000,000 

11,525,000,000  2,484,000,000 

22,222,500,000  8,943,003,000 


We  have,  then,  the  fact  that  the  national 
trade  doubled  in  the  ten  years  ending  with 
1850,  as  a  consequence  of  the  increased  pro- 
ductions of  industry ;  and  the  best  data  give 


the  same  general  results  for  the  decade  now 
closing.  These  large  figures,  astonishing  as 
they  seem,  are  not  out  of  proportion  to  the 
immense  growth  of  the  country  in  breadth 
and  numbers. 

The  broad  surface  of  the  Union,  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi 
river,  is  now  covered  with  states.  Thc- 
thirteen  colonies  that  emerged  from  a  war, 
eighty  years  since,  have  grown  to  be  thirty- 
three  states,  with  a  land  value  of,  in  round 
numbers,  $9,317,000,000.  All  this  vast  ter- 
ritory is  now  productive,  yielding  its  annual 
returns,  and  giving  a  productive  annual  cap- 
ital beyond  any  thing  the  world  has  hitherto 
witnessed. 

The  following  table  gives  the  states  in 
the  order  of  their  admission  into  the  Union, 
the  area  in  acres,  the  population  of  the  old 
states  in  1790,  and  the  population  and  land 
valuation  of  each  state  in  1850,  according  to 
United  States  census ;  also  the  same  figures 
from  the  state  censuses  made  nearest  to 
1860: — 


GROWTH   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


] 

ad 

5ate  of 
mission. 

178T 
17S7 
17S7 
1788 
178S 
1788 
1788 
1788 
1788 
,  1788 
1788 
1788 
1789 
1790 
1791 
1792 
1796 

Area  In 

acres. 

1,356,SOO 
30,080,000 
4,384,640 
87,120.0CO 
3,040.000 
4,640.000 
7,040.000 
17,920,000 
763,000 
5,139,200 
89,265.280 
29,440,000 
29,120,000 
82,000 
5,796,000 
24,115,200 
28,160,000 

1790. 
Population.  Valuation. 

59,096         4,053,238 
434,378       72,824,252 
184,139       21,287,981 
82,548       10,263,506 
238,141       40,163,955 
3:8,717       59,441,642 
819,728       21,634,004 
249,073       12,450,720 
69,110         8,082,855 
141,899       19,028,103 
748,308       59,976,860 
340.120       74,885,075 
893,751       27,909,479 

S5!,416       15.165,484 
73,077       £0,268,325 
35,791         5,847,662 

1850. 
Population.    Valuation. 

91,532          15,896,870 
2,311,786        600,275,851 
489,555         153,251.619 
906,185         121,619,729 
370,792         119,088,672 
994,514         551.100,824 
583,034         139,026,601 
668,507         105,737,492 
147,545          77.7JS,974 
817,976           92,251,596 
1,421,661         252,105.824 
3,097,894         715,369,038 
869,039          71,702.740 
51,687           14,409,413 
814,120          72,980,488 
982,405         177,013,407 
1,002,717         107,981,793 

Nearest  to  I  S60. 
Population.    Valuation, 

112,216           30,466,924 
2,906,115        6*8,770,384 

672,035         179,150,000 
1,057,286         337,969,471 
400,147         211,187.683 
1,231,  066         597.980.995 
087,049         255,477,588 
703,708          214,101,201 
174.620         111,175,174 
326,073         103,804,326 
1,596,318         730.817,653 
3,880,735      1,404,907,679 
992,622         271,781,101 
75,080           20,271.000 
3  J  5,098           89,136,34-i 
1,155,084         334,770.701 
1,109,80]          266,249,3S1 

Georgia  

Massachusetts  

South  Carolina  ...... 

Ehode  Island     
New  Hampshire  , 

New  York  

North  Carolina  , 

District  of  Columbia 
Vermont  

Ken  tucky  

Tennessee    .... 

Total  old  states 267,412,120      3,833,287     479,282,646     14,620,449    $0,287.570,916      17,455,653    $5,727,973,4IS 


Ohio  

1802 
1812 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
1836 
1837 
1845 
1845 
1846 
184S 
1850 
1857 

25,576,960 
29,715,840 
21,637,760 
80,174,OEO 
85,459,200 
32,462,080 
22,400,000         9 
43,123,200 
83,406,720 
35,995,520 
37,931.520 
152,043,520 
35,155,200 
84,511,360 
120,9  17.840 
90,774,960 

6,540 

Louisiana  

Indiana  

Mississippi  

Illinois  

Alabama  

Maine  

M  issonrl  
Arkansas  

Michigan  

Florida  

Texas  

Iowa  

Wisconsin    .  .          ... 

California  

Minnesota  

Total  new  states 
Grand  total  .  .  . 

.    781.2S5.760 

..l,04S;02l',890    3.929.827   $479.282.646 

1,980,329 
517,762 
988,416 
606,526 
851.470 
771,623 
583, 16D 
6S2,044 
209,897 
397,6,')4 

87,44J 
212,592 
192,214 
805.891 

92,597 
6,077 


433.872,632 

176,623,654 

!  i  2,870,399 

86,901,904 

114,7S2,<;45 
98,870,118 
90,799,513 
86,802,101 
20,372,101 
30,877,223 
10.924,107 
80.149.671 
23,714,658 
26,715.525 
21,923,173 
262,088 


8,485.206       1,411,460.792 
28,105,635    $4,699,031,708 


2,3?0,502 
708,002 

1,350,428 
791,305 

1,711,951 
964,201 
6'J8,279 

1.1^2,112 
435,450 
749,113 
140,425 
609,215 
674,948 
775,881 
379,!KI4 
173,855 


840,800,034 
878,911,905 

318,204,964 
161.747..VC, 
407,477,307 
901,100,100 
162.472.914 
274.1)65.!  (14 

53,255,7  II 
120,36-2.474 

22.210.915 
133,722.433 
J97,22n..T>0 
152,537.700 


13,000,361   3,56-2.079.984 
31,065,214  $!),317,fi92,-.'61 


In  addition  to  these,  New  Mexico  had,  in 
1850,61,547;  Oregoji,13,294;  Utah,  11,380. 
The  official  United  States  census  for  1860 


will  change  the  figures  of  the  states  some- 
what.    The  aggregate  is  31,429,891. 


SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION    LAWS. 


161 


CHAPTER  III. 

SHIPS— TONNAGE— NAVIGATION  LAWS. 

THE  appearance  of  the  United  States  as  a 
nation  was  fraught  with  the  most  extraordi- 
nary results  in  respect  to  the  condition,  pol- 
icy, and  governments  of  Europe,  but  in  none 
greater  than  in  respect  of  navigation.  From 
the  moment  that  the  stars  and  stripes  floated 
from  the  mast-head  of  a  merchantman,  a 
revolution  was  commenced  which  has  not 
yet  ceased  its  influence  upon  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  Up  to  that  time,  England  had 
gradually  attained  the  supremacy  of  the 
seas.  The  Dutch,  who  had  fought  a  steady 
battle  with  the  ocean,  until  they  had  driven 
it  back  and  fortified  their  country  by  dykes 
from  its  invasion,  had  earned  a  right  to  rule ; 
which,  by  their  energy,  they  did  for  a  time. 
Their  country  was  small,  however,  and  pro- 
duced but  little :  hence,  there  was  no  room  to 
support  commerce  in  the  face  of  the  power 
of  England.  Great  Britain  is  an  island  of 
great  productive  power,  although  but  little 
larger  than  New  York.  Its  coast  is  indentr 
ed  on  all  sides  with  good  harbors;  and  from 
which  side  soever  the  wind  blows,  it  is  fair 
for  some  of  her  vessels  to  arrive,  and  others 
to  depart.  A  sea-girt  population  is  neces- 
sarily a  nautical  population.  The  English 
were  peculiarly  fitted  for  sea  adventure ; 
and  with  such  advantages,  added  to  their 
skill  in  building,  they  could  not  fail  to  ac- 
quire ascendancy  upon  the  ocean,  which 
their  large  population  maintained  and  fed 
by  planting  colonies  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
When  the  commerce  of  England  had  well 
grown,  as  a  consequence  of  these  advan- 
tages, her  government,  in  the  hands  of  Crom- 
well, sought  to  increase  it  by  enacting  the 
famous  "  navigation  law,"  which  was  popular, 
because  it  professed  to  give  England  the 
supremacy  of  the  ocean.  The  principle  of 
the  law  was,  that  no  goods  should  be  im- 
ported into  England  from  Asia,  Africa,  or 
America,  except  in  British  vessels;  that 
goods  imported  from  Europe  in  European 
vessels  should  pay  more  than  if  imported  in 
British  vessels.  This  was  very  plausible. 
It  would,  it  was  supposed,  give  England  the 
world's  commerce  ;  but  as  there  then  exist- 
ed none  but  British  vessels  in  either  of  the 
three  continents  out  of  Europe,  there  was  no 
more  trade,  in  consequence  of  the  law,  than 
before.  The  law  was  a  dead  letter.  The  growth 
of  English  commerce  was  evidently  great. 


The  statesmen  of  Europe  ascribed  it  rather 
to  the  law  than  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
people,  and  they  imitated  its  provisions. 
The  trade  between  England  and  her  colonies 
was  large,  but  the  vessels  were  all  British. 
The  ^development  of  this  industry  of  the 
North  American  colonies,  and  their  trade, 
was  probably  the  first  real  opposition  on  the 
ocean  that  the  Dutch  received.  So  much 
did  it  flourish  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
that  Sir  Joshua  Childs,  writing  in  1670, 
states  that  "  Our  American  plantations  em- 
ploy nearly  two-thirds  of  our  English  ship- 
ping, and  thereby  give  constant  subsistence 
to,  it  may  be,  200,000  persons  here  at  home." 
Ship-building  had  been  pursued  with  great 
success  in  the  colonies ;  and  the  genius  of 
the  colonists  had  already  given  their  ships  a 
distinctive  character.  On  the  declaration  of 
peace,  in  1783,  that  "bit  of  striped  bunt- 
ing" was  found  floating  at  the  gaft  of  all  the 
best  vessels.  They,  by  the  law,  could  now 
carry  no  goods  to  England.  The  large  ex- 
ports of  the  United  States  were  now  to  go 
in  the  worst  vessels,  because  they  were 
English.  The  United  States  immediately 
passed  a  similar  law,  that  forbade  any  goods 
to  be  imported,  except  in  American  vessels. 
The  American  vessel  then  went  out  in  bal- 
last to  bring  home  English  goods,  and  the 
English  vessel  came  out  in  ballast  to  carry 
home  American  produce.  Two  ships  were 
employed  to  do  the  work  of  one,  and  all  im- 
ports and  exports  were  charged  two  freights. 
This  was  too  absurd,  even  for  statesmen. 
A  treaty  was  consequently  made,  by  which 
the  vessels  of  both  nations  were  placed  upon 
the  same  footing.  The  practical  effect  of 
this  was  to  double  the  quantity  of  tonnage 
employed,  since  the  vessels  of  both  nations 
could  now  carry  freights  both  ways.  The 
position  of  affairs  was,  however,  entirely  new. 
The  United  States — a  young  country,  with 
few  ships  and  less  capital,  distributed  among 
a  sparse  population — presented  itself  to  the 
old,  wealthy,  and  aristocratic  governments 
of  Europe,  and  demanded  of  them  that  they 
should  admit  its  ships  to  visit  their  pop- 
ulous and  wealthy  cities,  in  return  for  the 
privilege  of  their  visiting  the  comparatively 
poor  and  unattractive  towns  of  the  states. 
This  kind  of  reciprocal  intercourse  had  never 
existed ;  and  the  United  States  now  came 
forward  to  propose  it,  and  to  lay  down  prin- 
ciples for  its  guidance.  Their  moral  influ- 
ence caused  them  to  be  adopted.  These 
principles  were,  "  independence,"  "  equal 


162 


COMMERCE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


favor,"  and  "  reciprocity."  These  principles 
were  first  laid  down  in  the  treaty  made  be- 
tween France  and  the  United  States  in  1778, 
and  they  became  the  basis  of  all  subsequent 
negotiations.  The  commercial  sagacity  of 
the  English  prompted  them  to  accede  at 
once.  The  United  States  vessels  were  ac- 
cordingly placed  upon  the  footing  of  the 
"most  favored  nation."  From  the  moment 
the  United  States  entered  that  wedge,  the 
iwhole  system  of  exclusiveness  began  to  fall 
to  pieces.  There  are  now  forty-eight  treaties 
between  the  United  States  and  other  coun- 
tries, most  of  them  containing  the  favored 
nation  clause.  The  benefits  of  this  example 
have  been  so  fruitful,  that  all  the  nations  of 
Europe  have  eaten  through  their  old  restric- 
tive systems,  by  similar  treaties  with  each 
other.  Although  England  was  forced  into 
this  concession  in  her  direct  trade,  she,  for 
a  long  time,  refused  it  in  respect  of  her  col- 
onies. It  was  reserved  for  a  later  period  to 
force  her  into  that  movement.  The  vessels 
of  the  United  States  having  thus  gained  an 
international  footing,  events  supervened  to 
give  a  great  impulse  to  their  employment  in 
the  carrying  trade.  In  colonial  times,  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  was  the  chief  theatre  for  ship- 
building, but  Maryland  was  also  noted  for  it. 
The  vessels  built  in  1771  were  as  follows: — 

AN    ACCOUNT  OF  THE  NUMBER  AND  TONNAGE  OF  VESSELS 
BUILT  IN  THE  8EVEHAL  PROVINCES   IN  THB  YEAR  1771. 

Square-rigged  °1°°J)S 

vessels?  ,and  Tonnage, 
schooners. 

Netsr  Hampshire 15  40  4,991 

Massachusetts  Bay  ...     42  83  7,704 

Ehode  Island 15  60  2,148 

Connecticut 7  39  1,483 

New  York 9  28  1,698 

New  Jersey 2  70 

Pennsylvania 15  6  1,307 

Maryland 10  8  1,645 

Virginia 10  9  1,678 

North  Carolina 8  241 

South  Carolina 3  4  560 

Georgia 2  4  543 


Total..  .    128 


291 


24,068 

The  tonnage  entered  and  cleared  for  the 
year  1771,  to  all  ports,  was  as  follows : — 

Cleared  from 
colonies. 

Great  Britain 98,025 

Southern  Europe 37,237 

West  Indies 108,150 

South  and  Central  America.   107,552 


Entered 
colonies. 
82,934 
37,717 
106,713 
104,578 


350,964  331,942 

This  was  before  the  war.  After  the  war, 
the  trade  received  a  great  development  from 
the  French  treaty  of  1778,  and  from  that  with 


Great  Britain.  The  ship-building  during 
the  colonial  period  had  been  in  very  different 
styles,  so  that  every  seaman,  at  a  glance, 
could  recognize  the  origin  of  the  vessel. 
The  Baltimore  clipper,  the  Essex  fishing 
schooner,  the  Chesapeake  schooner,  the 
down  east  lumber  schooner,  or  brig,  the 
Hudson  river  sloop,  the  Long  Island  sloop, 
the  Newport  boat,  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
dory,  were  distinct  types,  and  still  preserve 
their  styles  to  some  extent,  although  the 
march  of  improvement  has  tended  to  assimi- 
late all  styles,  by  combining  their  good 
points.  The  changes  of  trade  have  varied 
the  demand,  and  since  California  has  brought 
clippers  in  demand,  they  are  now  by  no 
means  a  Baltimore  peculiarity.  The  fishing 
vessels  were  peculiarly  adapted  to  their  em- 
ployment. The  fisheries  were  the  chief 
business  of  the  northern  colonists,  and  they 
had  not  only  the  benefit  of  the  large  sale  to 
the  West  Indies  and  to  the  Catholic  countries 
of  Europe,  but  the  eating  of  fish  in  England 
had,  by  the  law  of  Elizabeth,  in  1563,  been 
ordered  on  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays,  for 
the  encouragement  of  seamen,  thus  affording 
a  large  market,  from  which  foreign  fish  were 
excluded.  The  same  law  became  a  custom 
down  to  our  day,  it  being  still  almost  uni- 
versal in  New  England  to  eat  fish  on  Satur- 
day. Indeed,  so  strictly  was  this  custom 
observed,  that  in  the  old  slave  days  of 
Massachusetts,  it  being  ordered  that  slaves 
should  not  be  in  the  streets  on  Sunday,  a 
black  was  arrested  on  the  common.  He 
denied  that  it  was  Sunday,  and  proved  his 
point  by  showing  that  "massa  no  eat  salt 
fish  yesterday."  The  fisheries  were  thought 
to  be  the  nursery  of  seamen,  and  when  the 
Union  was  formed,  a  law  of  July  4,  1789, 
allowed  a  drawback  on  fish  exported  equal 
to  the  supposed  quantity  of  salt  used.  This 
law,  in  1792,  was  changed  to  a  bounty  per 
ton  on  the  vessels  engaged  in  the  fisheries, 
and  has  been  continued  down  to  the  present 
time.  The  number  of  tons  now  in  the 
cod  fisheries  is  129,637,  and  the  bounty  paid 
to  the  interest  from  the  origin  of  the  grant 
to  the  close  of  the  year  1859,  amounts  to 
$12,944,998,  of  which  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Massachusetts  received  nearly  the 
whole.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  this 
bounty-fed  interest  has  prospered  less  than 
any  other.  The  whale  fishery  seemed  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  skill  and  daring  of  the 
American  seamen.  The  whale  boats  were  of 
a  peculiar  build,  and  gradually,  although  they 


SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION    LAWS. 


163 


received  no  protection  from  the  government, 
they  drove  away  other  nations  from  the  seas. 
The  interest  is,  however,  depressed,  from  the 
growing  scarcity  of  whales,  and  the  great 
competition  that  its  product  receives  from 
other  sources.  The  making  of  lard  oil 
brought  "prairie  whales"  into  effectual  com- 
petition with  those  of  the  ocean. 

The  tonnage  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade 
increased  up  to  1810  very  rapidly  under  the 


^Registered 

"Whalers. 

Cod 

Mackerel 

Steam. 

tons. 

Coasting. 

tons. 

fishery. 

fishery. 

Ocean. 

Coasting. 

1789, 

123,893 

68,607 

9,062 

1810, 

984,269 

405,347 

1,227 

35,168 

.  . 

1821, 

619,896 

559,435 

27.994 

51,351 

.  . 

.  . 

1829, 

650,143 

508,858 

57,278 

101,797 

35,973 

54,036 

1840, 

899,764 

1,176,694 

136,926 

76,035 

28,269 

281,339 

1850, 

1,585,711 

1,755,796 

146,016 

85,646 

58,111 

44,942 

481,004 

1858, 

2,223,121 

1,710,332 

198,593 

110,896 

29,593 

78,027 

651,363 

This  table  gives  a  sort  of  chart  of  the 
whole  progress  of  the  tonnage.  It  is  observ- 
able that  up  to  the  close  of  the  first  period, 
viz. :  to  the  embargo  and  non-intercourse  of 
1809,  the  registered  tonnage,  or  that  engaged 
in  the  foreign  trade,  increased  most  rapidly ; 
there  were  then  no  large  home  productions 
to  require  much  inland  transportation,  and 
the  carrying  trade  of  Europe  was  very  active. 
With  the  growth  of  cotton,  however,  an 
immense  freight  was  given  as  well  to  coasting 
as  to  registered  tonnage,  and  that  was  far 
more  valuable  to  the  latter  than  the  carrying 
trade  which  had  been  lost.  When  the  war 
and  non-intercourse  stopped  the  growth  of 
external  tonnage,  a  great  impulse  was  given 
to  that  of  the  interior.  The  lakes  and  rivers 
began  to  be  covered  with  craft,  which  swelled 
the  enrolled  tonnage.  In  the  south  a  good 
portion  of  this  tonnage  was  employed  in  the 
transportation  of  cotton  to  the  seaboard, 
where  it  was  freighted  to  Europe  in  regis- 
tered vessels.  The  operation  of  the  laws  in 
relation  to  the  measuring  of  vessels  had  an 
injurious  influence  upon  the  form.  The 
making  the  beam  of  the  vessel  an  element 
in  the  calculation  of  the  tonnage  she  would 
carry,  led  to  the  construction  of  "kettle 
bottoms,"  which  swelled  out  in  the  form  of 
a  kettle,  allowing  her  to  carry  much  more 
than  her  register  showed.  These  vessels 
carried  cotton  mostly  to  European  ports, 
whence  there  was  little  return  cargo ;  but 
when,  after  the  war,  migration  set  in  freely 
from  Havre,  affording  a  return  freight,  the 
form  was  altered  to  give  accommodation  to 
the  passengers,  and  an  impulse  was  given  to 
ship-building.  The  latter  branch  of  industry 


influence  of  the  carrying  enjoyed  under  the 
treaties  with  Europe,  and  the  effect  of  the 
wars  between  the  great  powers.  The  coast- 
ing trade  did  not  increase  in  the  same  ratio, 
for  the  reason  that  the  trade  enjoyed  by  the 
registered  tonnage  was  not  the  carrying  of 
American  goods,  but  of  foreign  products 
from  colonies  to  Europe.  The  compara- 
tive increase  of  the  tonnage  is  seen  as  fol- 
lows : — 


Total. 

201,562 
1,424,789 
1,298,958 
1,260,797 
2,180,764 
3,535,454 
5,049,808 


languished  up  to  1829,  since  there  was  little 
carrying  trade,  and  the  cotton  crop  was  only 
one-fourth  its  present  quantity.  The  British. 
government  had  refused  to  allow  the  West 
India  colonies  to  be  open  to  American  ves- 
sels. The  West  Indies,  however,  were  depend- 
ent upon  the  United  States  for  supplies  of 
produce,  while  they  were  required  to  send 
their  own  sugar,  coffee,  and  rum  to  the 
mother  country  in  British  vessels.  By  re- 
fusing to  let  American  vessels  go  thither, 
she  sought  to  secure  three  freights  for  British 
ships.  Thus,  a  vessel  left  England  with 
goods  for  the  United  States,  then  loaded 
provisions  for  the  West  Indies,  and  took 
home  thence  sugar,  etc.,  to  England,  making 
a  round  voyage.  This  the  United  States 
refused  to  permit,  unless  American  vessels 
participated ;  and  the  trade  was  closed.  The 
English  colonists,  deprived  of  American  sup- 
plies, set  up  a  clamor  which  compelled  the 
government  to  open  certain  ports  to  Ameri- 
can ships  on  the  same  terms  as  British  ships ; 
and  Congress,  in  return,  authorized  the  Pres- 
ident, by  proclamation,  to  open  United 
States  ports  to  colonial  vessels,  whenever  he 
should  have  proof  of  a  reciprocal  movement. 
This  took  place  in  1830,  and  the  trade  has 
rapidly  increased  since. 

The  increase  of  registered  tonnage,  as  of 
all  others,  had  been  large  up  to  1 840,  under 
the  general  animation  that  trade  encountered 
from  the  speculative  action  of  those  years. 
Two  circumstances  now,  however,  occurred 
to  enhance  the  demand  for  shipping.  These 
were  the  English-China  war,  and  the  Amer- 
ican-Mexican war.  The  attempts  of  the 
English  to  force  the  opium  trade  upon  the 


164 


COMMERCE    OF   THE     UNITED     STATES. 


Chinese,  contrary  to  their  laws,  had  induced 
the  Chinese,  in  1841,  to  destroy  a  large 
quantity  of  opium.  This  brought  on  the 
war,  which  resulted  in  the  opening  of  five 
Chinese  ports  to  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
and  by  so  doing  had  increased  the  demand 
for  American  ships — always  favorites  with 
the  merchants  in  the  trade  between  India 
and  China.  One  result  of  the  English  war 
with  the  Chinese  was  the  negotiation  of  a 
treaty  of  a  very  favorable  nature  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment. The  great  success  of  the  Americans 
in  that  respect  was  a  matter  of  envy  upon 
the  part  of  the  English ;  but  it  was  not  a 
matter  of  surprise,  that  since  the  Chinese 
were  compelled  to  open  their  ports  to  trade, 
they  should  favor  those  who  had  been  friend- 
ly rather  than  their  victors.  The  Americans 
and  English  had  long  traded  together, 
and  their  nationality  had  long  been  a  puzzle 
to  John  Chinaman.  As  far  as  he  could  see, 
they  both  spoke  the  same  language,  although 
they  sailed  under  different  flags;  but,  with 
his  natural  acuteness,  he  had  observed  that 
the  "  red-haired  devils "  had  more  capital 
than  the  Americans ;  he  consequently  classi- 
fied the  latter  as  "  second-chop  Englishmen." 
He  was  now,  however,  not  sorry  to  give 
them  the  advantage  in  the  treaty  negotiated 
by  Hon.  Caleb  Gushing,  or,  as  they  styled 
him,  Ku-ching.  The  return  of  that  minister 
to  the  United  States  across  Mexico  was  at- 
tended with  a  new  insult  from  that  people, 
who  robbed  him  of  his  baggage.  Sub- 
sequently, the  long  train  of  insults  heaped 
upon  Americans  through  the  recklessness 


Lines. 

Port. 

Style. 

Ownership. 

Cunard  line, 

Liverpool, 

paddle-wheel, 

British, 

u 

Havre, 

screw, 

it 

Collins 

Liverpool, 

paddle-wheel, 

American, 

Scotch 

Glasgow, 

screw, 

British, 

Irish 

Cork, 

" 

(i 

French 

Havre, 

K 

French, 

Old  Havre  line, 

(i 

paddle-wheel, 

American, 

Vanderbilt    " 

M 

u 

u 

Independent  line 

11 

u 

(( 

Belgian 

Antwerp, 

screw, 

Belgian 

Bremen 

Bremen, 

paddle-wheel. 

American, 

Hamburg 
Cunard 
Philadelphia 

Hamburg           screw, 
Bost'ntoL'pool,  paddle-wheel, 
Liverpool           screw, 

German, 

British, 

u 

Portland 

a 

a 

II 

Total  ,    . 

and  arrogance  of  the  Mexicans,  ended  in  a 
war  in  1846.  That  event  caused  a  large 
demand  for  shipping  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment, for  transports.  The  expedition 
fitted  out  under  General  Scott  for  Vera  Cruz, 
was  the  largest  naval  enterprise  ever  under- 
taken by  any  nation  up  to  that  time — that 
is,  a  like  number  of  troops  had  never  before 
been  transported  so  great  a  distance  by  sea 
to  open  a  campaign  in  an  enemy's  country. 
The  British  and  French  expedition  from 
Varna  to  the  Crimea,  ten  years  afterward, 
was  no  greater  in  magnitude,  although  great- 
ly trumpeted  by  English  writers.  The  Amer- 
ican expedition  was  promptly  successful, 
when  even  the  French  had  failed  in  their 
previous  attack  upon  Vera  Cruz.  Following 
these  two  events,  that  absorbed  so  much 
shipping,  came  the  Irish  famine.  The  same 
famine,  which  created  the  extended  demand 
for  American  produce,  also  stimulated  a 
large  migration  to  the  United  States,  fur- 
nishing ample  freights  to  the  homeward- 
bound  shipping. 

The  increase  of  steam  tonnage  was  the 
most  remarkable.  The  first  arrival  of  a 
steamer  from  England  was  the  Sirius,  April 
23, 1838.  That  experiment  was  looked  upon 
with  distrust,  but  it  has  succeeded  so  far, 
that  fifteen  lines,  running  forty-five  ships, 
have  since  been  started  between  the  United 
States  and  Europe.  In  July,  1840,  the 
Britannia,  the  first  Cunard  boat,  arrived  at 
Boston ;  and  that  line  has  continued  to  be 
the  most  uniformly  successful  up  to  the 
present  time.  The  lines  since  started  are  as 
follows,  mostly  running  from  New  York  : — 


Vessels. 

4 
5 
3 
3 
2 
3 
3 
3 
1 
5 
2 
2 
4 
3 
2 

45 


Average  passag< 

Tons. 

out. 

days,  hours. 

10,360 

11       3 

11,800 

9,727 

12       3 

6,612 

13       0 

2,000 

4,500 

15       0 

7,200 

13       6 

7,600 

13       0 

1,800 

12,590 

4,000 

14     12 

2,400 

16       0 

8,100 

11     12 

6,856 

3,000 

98,545 


Such  has  been  the  progress  of  steam  be-  ]  ence,  time  and  distance  have  been  reduced 
tween  Europe  and  America.     By  its  influ-  J  one-half,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  cap- 


SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION    LAWS. 


165 


ital  has  been  virtually  increased,  since,  by 
quicker  communication,  it  can  be  more  fre- 
quently turned.  Many  disasters  have  at- 
tended the  ocean  service  of  steam ;  but  it 
has  been  estimated  that  since  the  first 
steamer  arrived,  in  1838,  500,000  persons 
have  crossed  the  Atlantic  by  steam.  Of 
this  number,  2,709  have  been  lost;  giving  a 
chance  of  loss  as  one  out  of  184.  The  first 
ocean  steamer  lost  was  the  President,  in 
1841,  with  130  lives,  Since  then,  the  loss- 
es have  been  as  follows  : — 


President, 

Arctic, 

Pacific, 

San  Francisco, 

Central  America, 

Independence, 

Yankee  Blade, 

City  of  Glasgow, 

Union, 

Huraboldt, 

Franklin, 

City  of  Philadelphia, 

Tempest, 

Lyonnais, 

Austria, 

Canadian, 

Argo, 

Indian, 

Northerner, 

Hungarian, 


Ownership. 
British, 
American, 


Brit  sh, 
American, 


British, 

(i 

French, 

German, 

British, 


Lives 
lost. 
130 
300 
240 
160 
387 
140 
75 
420 


150 
160 
456 


27 
32 


American, 
Brit.,  (about)  120 


Value  of  ves- 
sel and  cargo. 
$1,200,000 
1,800,000 
2,000,000 
400,000 
2,500,000 
100,000 
280,000 
850,000 
300,000 
1,600,000 
1,900,000 
600,000 
300,000 
280,000 
850,000 
400,000 
100,008 
125,000 
75,000 
270,000 


Total 2,797  $15,930,000 

Showing  that  a  fleet  of  twenty  fine  steam- 
ers, many  of  them  first-class,  have  been 
totally  lost  within  the  period  named.  The 
President,  Pacific,  City  of  Glasgow,  and  Tem- 
pest, were  never  heard  from;  the  Arctic, 
San  Francisco,  and  Central  America,  foun- 
dered ;  the  Independence,  Yankee  Blade, 
and  Northerner,  were  wrecked  on  the  Pacific, 
and  the  Canadian,  Humboldt,  Franklin,  Argo, 
and  Hungarian,  on  the  Atlantic  coast ;  the 
Lyonnais  waa  sunk  by  collision,  and  the 
Austria  was  burnt.  Not  enumerated  in  this 
list  are  two-thirds  as  many  more,  generally 
of  a  class  much  inferior,  which  were  lost  in 
the  California  trade. 

The  growth  of  steam  service  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  country  was  more  rapid  than 
its  external  development.  The  amount  of 
steam  tonnage  in  ocean  navigation,  in  1850, 
was  44,942,  against  none  in  1840.  The  in- 
land tonnage  engaged  on  lakes,  rivers,  and 
coasting,  was  481,004 — an  increase  of  283,- 
000  in  ten  years,  at  a  cost  of  $28,000,000. 

When  the  western  country,  with  its  fer- 


tile fields  and  magnificent  water-courses, 
attracted  settlers,  and  these  had  produce  for 
sale,  there  was  but  one  way  to  market,  and 
flat-bottomed  boats,  launched  upon  the  de- 
scending streams,  bore  the  freights  to  New 
Orleans.  At  that  point  they  were  not  un- 
frequently  broken  up,  the  owners  returning 
by  land.  In  1794,  two  keel  boats  sailed  from 
Cincinnati  to  Pittsburg,  making  the  trip  in 
four  weeks.  Each  boat  was  covered,  so  as 
to  be  rifle-proof;  was  loop-holed  for  muskets, 
and  six  guns,  to  carry  pound  balls.  It  was 
in  this  manner  that  persons  and  property 
were  protected  from  Indian  aggression. 
The  other  western  rivers  presented  similar 
means  of  travel.  Even  this  was  progress, 
however;  and  each  year  saw  the  numbers 
and  wealth  of  the  dwellers  increase.  In 
1790  the  first  sea-going  brig  was  built 
at  Marietta,  Ohio.  She  was  called  the  St. 
Clair,  120  tons,  owned  and  commanded  by 
Commodore  Preble,  who  descended  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and  arrived,  via  Hav- 
ana, at  Philadelphia,  where  she  was  sold. 
In  1802—4,  four  ships,  three  brigs,  and  three 
schooners  were  built  at  Pittsburg  for  the 
Ohio  navigation.  Keel  boats  and  sea-going 
vessels  rapidly  multiplied ;  but  the  dangers 
of  the  navigation  retarded  commerce  The 
dangerous  falls  of  the  Ohio  were  a  drawback ; 
and  the  Kentucky  legislature,  in  1 804,  incor- 
porated a  company  to  cut  a  canal  round 
them.  This  was,  however,  not  done  until  1830. 
After  1806,  the  march  of  commerce  and 
civilization  began  to  make  itself  felt,  and 
trade  was  carried  on  in  keel  boats,  which, 
however  comfortably  they  might  float  wit h  the 
s£ram,required  three  months  for  a  voyage  from 
New  Orleans  to  Cincinnati.  The  first  steam- 
boat on  the  rivers  was  built  by  Fulton  at  Pitts- 
burg, in  1811.  She  cost  $20,000,  and  took 
her  first  freight  and  passengers  at  Natchez, 
arriving  at  New  Orleans  in  December.  She 
continued  to  run  three  or  four  years  between 
those  points,  eight  days  up  and  three  days 
down,  clearing,  the  first  year,  $20,000. 
Steam  tonnage  then  rapidly  multiplied. 
The  annexation  of  Louisiana,  and  the  events 
of  the  war,  had  greatly  stimulated  western 
trade  and  river  tonnage.  From  the  period 
last  named  up  to  the  year  1839 — a  period 
of  twenty-eight  years,  or  thereabout — how  do 
we  find  the  aspect  of  matters  altered  ?  The 
surface  of  the  "  beautiful  river,"  as  the  French 
call  the  Ohio,  constantly  agitated  by  the 
revolutions  of  paddle-wheels,  and  its  shores 
decked  with  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  the 


166 


COMMERCE     OF    THE    UNITED     STATES. 


appearance  of  which  sufficiently  indicated 
the  vast  stores  of  wealth  which  a  thrifty,  in- 
dustrious population  was  rapidly  bringing  to 
light.  It  is  computed  that  the  country 
drained  by  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries  em- 
braces one-third  of  Pennsylvania,  one-third 
of  Virginia,  two-thirds  of  Ohio,  all  of  Ken- 
tucky, three-fourths  of  Indiana,  and  one- 
fourth  of  Illinois — making  an  aggregate  of 
142,000  square  miles,  or  91,000,000  of  acres. 
The  Ohio  rises  near  the  42 d  degree  of  north 
latitude,  and  empties  itself  into  the  Missis- 
sippi, near  the  37th  degree,  within  which 
space  all  the  tributaries,  with  the  exception 
of  the  great  bend  of  the  Tennessee,  are  cir- 
cumscribed. The  computation  of  those  who 
owned  the  first  steamboat  on  this  river, 
made  after  her  first  trip,  is  said  to  have  been, 
that  if  6  cents  freight  could  be  obtained  on 
each  pound,  and  they  could  get  enough  to  do, 
the  investment  would  be  a  profitable  one. 
The  result  has  shown  that  freight  has  been 
reduced  to  less  than  a  cent,  and  that  ample 
employment  is  aftbrded  for  hundreds  of 
boats !  The  number  of  steamboats  built 
previous  to  the  year  1835  inclusive,  was 
588,  of  which  173  were  built  at  Pittsburg, 
and  164  at  Cincinnati.  The  number  of 
boats  in  active  business  in  1838  was  357, 
measuring  65,000  tons,  or  180  tons  each; 
and,  in  1858,  the  tonnage  had  increased  to 
124,941. 

The  opening  of  the  Erie  canal,  in  1825, 
gave  a  new  direction  to  western  produce. 
The  great  lakes,  from  forming  a  separation 
from  Canada,  at  once  became  a  means  of 
communication  between  the  inhabitants  of 
the  vast  circle  of  their  coast  and  Buffalo, 
the  gateway  to  the  east.  Those  vast  seas 
form  a  basin,  into  which  pours  from  every 
quarter  the  produce  of  eight  sovereign  states, 
not  including  the  Canada  side.  On  these 
lakes  a  few  craft  had  floated ;  and  in  Erie 
harbor,  in  1812,  was  built,  in  seventy  days 
from  cutting  the  timber,  that  remarkable 
fleet  that  bore  Perry's  flag  to  victory,  and 
made  the  lakes  American  seas.  Tonnage 
multiplied  as  the  produce  increased,  and  the 
construction  of  the  Ohio  canals  gave  a  north- 
ern direction  to  it. 

Up  to  1820  there  was  but  one  steamer  on 
the  lakes,  and  not  until  1827  did  a  steamer 
reach  Lake  Michigan.  In  1832  a  steam- 
boat landed  troops  at  Chicago.  In  1833 
there  were  on  the  lakes  eleven  boats,  which 
had  cost  $360,000.  They  carried  61,480 
passengers  in  that  year.  In  1840  there 


were  forty-eight  boats  on  the  lakes,  and 
their  value  was  $2,200,000.  In  1859  the 
number  of  boats  was  186,  and  the  value 
$3,997,000,  including  propellers.  The  amount 
of  tonnage  upon  the  lakes  is  now  as  fol- 
lows : — 

STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  NUMBER,  KIND,  TONNAGE, 
AND  VALUATION  OF  VESSELS  ENGAGED  IN  THE  COM- 
MEBCE  OF  THE  LAKES  IN  1859. 


AMERICAN   BOTTOMS. 


Number.          Eig. 

68  Steamers 

118  Propellers 

72  Tugs 

43  Barques 

64  Briga 

833  Schooners 


Tonnage.  Valuation. 

46,240  1,779,900 

55,657  2,217,100 

7,779  456,500 

9,666  482,800 

30,452  456,000 

178,362  4,378,900 


1,198'  Total 328,156      $9,771,200 


CANADIAN   BOTTOMS. 


Number.          Eig. 

54  Steamers 

16  Propellers 

17  Tugs 
15  Barques 
14  Brigs 

197  Schooners 


Tonnage. 

21,402 
4,127 
2,921 
5,720 
3,295 

32,198 


Valuation. 
989,200 
140,500 
184,800 
134,000 
78,400 
778,300 


313 


Total 69,663      $2,305,200 


The  losses  of  screw-propellers  upon  the 
lakes  by  wreck  and  fire,  rose  from  $39,000 
in  1848  to  $1,159,957  in  1855,  and  have 
since  diminished  to  $91,830  last  year.  The 
number  of  vessels  lost  in  ten  years  was 
402,  and  the  value  $3,752,131.  The  num- 
ber of  vessels  built  in  1858,  was  113  on  the 
rivers,  and  31  on  the  lakes. 

Broad  canals  and  numerous  railroads  are 
always  busy  delivering  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
lakes  the  wealth  annually  created  by  5,000,- 
000  of  people,  and  valued  at  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  The  borders  of  those  lakes 
are  dotted  with  cities,  whose  marvellous  growth 
has  been  proportioned  to  the  rapid  settle- 
ment of  the  surrounding  country.  Oswe- 
go,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Sandusky,  Toledo, 
Monroe,  Detroit,  St.  Joseph,  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee, Racine,  and  many  smaller  ports, 
have,  like  nets,  so  to  speak,  accumulated  a 
portion  of  the  vast  wealth  that  has  rushed 
by  them  over  the  bosom  of  the  lakes.  Each 
of  these  cities  has  a  large  tonnage  employed 
in  the  transportation  of  produce  and  mer- 
chandise ;  and  that  tonnage  has  in  the  last 
few  years  received  a  new  development  by 
the  introduction  of  the  newly  constructed 
screws.  The  invention  of  Fulton  consisted 
in  the  adaptation  of  paddle-wheels  to  propel 
vessels.  The  idea  of  propelling  by  a  screw 
in  the  stern  was  quite  as  old  as  that  of  the 


SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION   LAWS. 


167 


paddle-wheels ;  it  was  not,  however,  success- 
fully constructed  until,  in  1839,  after  many 
failures  by  others,  Ericsson  succeeded.  A 
small  iron  screw-steamer  was  built  and  navi- 
gated to  this  country  in  1839,  byCapt.  Crane, 
and  she  became  a  tug  on  the  Raritan  canal. 
From  that  time,  screws  vindicated  their  value 
for  certain  purposes,  as  superior  to  paddles. 
They  have  lately  performed  so  well  as  to 
lead  to  the  impression  that  they  may  yet 
supplant  the  paddles  altogether.  This  is 
more  particularly  the  case  with  inland  navi- 
gation. The  form  of  the  screw  has  undergone 
continual  changes,  to  obviate  some  of  the 
difficulties  that  presented  themselves.  The 
model  until  recently  in  use  upon  the  lakes, 
is  the  Loper  propeller,  invented  by  Capt. 
Loper,  of  Philadelphia.  The  screw  was  cast 
in  one  piece,  and  of  a  form  that  combines 
many  advantages,  particularly  that  of  hoisting 
out  of  water  with  a  fair  wind.  Within  the 
last  three  or  four  years,  however,  a  Buffalo 
invention  has  been  introduced,  by  which  the 
engineer  may  regulate  the  "  pitch,"  or  angle 
of  the  screw  blades,  according  to  the  circum- 
stances, without  taking  up  the  screw.  These 
steam  propellers  are  obviously  of  a  nature  to 
monopolize  the  trade  of  the  lakes.  They 
make  their  trips  with  regularity  and  prompt- 
ness. There  are  now  1 1 8  on  the  lakes,  with 
a  tonnage  of  55,657;  and  68  paddle-wheels, 
tonnage  46,240.  The  great  progress  made 
in  the  last  ten  years  in  railroads,  which  have 
come  to  rival  canals  and  rivers  throughout 
the  west  and  skirting  the  lakes,  has  greatly 
affected  the  trade  in  vessels,  as  well  steam  as 
sail.  The  introduction  of  steam  lessened  the 
amount  of  tonnage,  because  steam  can  per- 
form more  voyages.  Railroads  have  again 
reduced  the  quantity  of  tonnage  required, 
because  they  run  all  winter,  and  at  all  times 
with  greater  speed.  While  this  has  been 
taking  place,  however,  greater  facilities  for 
getting  to  sea  have  made  ship-building  on 
the  lakes  more  active.  Several  vessels  have 
been  built  at  the  lake  ports  for  Liverpool, 
going  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  some 
schooners  have  recently  been  built  at  Cleve- 
land, to  run  between  Boston  and  Albany 
and  Chesapeake  bay.  Those  of  about  200 
tons  cost  $10,000.  The  advantage  of  build- 
ing on  the  lakes  consists  in  the  fact  that 
ship  plank  is  much  cheaper,  say  $20  in 
Cleveland  to  $60  in  Boston,  spars  $40 
against  $100 ;  and  the  vessel  makes  a  hand- 
some freight  in  lumber  on  the  voyage  out. 
Nevertheless,  in  the  last  two  or  three  years, 


there  has  been  a  decrease  of  lake  tonnage, 
as  well  through  the  competition  of  the  raiU 
roads,  as  the  diminished  transport  of  grain, 
arising  from  the  cessation  of  the  export 
demand  for  grain.  The  wrecks,  condemna- 
tions, and  departures  for  the  ocean,  at  a  time 
when  building  is  slack,  have  decreased  the 
actual  tonnage.  This  year  the  vast  crops 
moving  require  every  available  means  of 
transportation. 

These  circumstances  of  the  increase  of  the 
western  and  lake  tonnage,  indicate  the  means 
by  which  freights  accumulated  at  the  sea- 
ports to  employ  the  ocean  or  registered 
tonnage,  had  increased  in  such  rapid  pro- 
portions in  the  last  nine  years.  The  in- 
crease from  1850  to  1858  was,  it  appears, 
637,410  tons,  while  the  sail  coasting  tonnage 
actually  declined.  The  discovery  of  Califor- 
nia gold  led  to  the  employment  of  clipper 
ships  for  quick  passages  round  the  cape,  and 
these,  under  the  pressure  of  high  freights, 
rapidly  multiplied.  In  1855,  the  number 
of  vessels  built  was  2,034,  having  a  tonnage 
of  583,450,  or  a  quantity  equal  to  the  whole 
coasting  tonnage  of  the  Union  in  1830.  The 
tonnage  increased  too  fast,  and  reaction 
overtook  it.  The  quantity  built  in  1859 
was  only  870  vessels,  of  156,602  tons.  In 
ordinary  years,  cotton  is  the  chief  freight 
of  ships,  and  the  ordinary  proportion  of 
shipping  is  as  one  ton  to  a  bale  of  cotton 
produced.  The  progress  of  the  registered 
tonnage  during  the  eight  years,  from  1851  to 
1858,  was  as  follows  : — 


REGISTERED  TONNAGE. 


1851, 
1852, 

1853, 
1854, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
1858, 


Built. 

165,850 
193,021 
209,898 
320,012 
336,098 
260,676 
195,962 
96,459 


Lost 
at 

sea. 

23,149 
28,083 
33,850 
53,493 
46.149 
58',  580 
63,232 
46,198. 


Sold 
Condemned,    to 

foreigners. 
3,801  15,247 
2,060  17,612 
6,400  10,035 
7,448  59,244 
6,696  65,887 
6,992  41,854 
9,371  51,791 
13,699  25,925 


Increase. 

123,647 

145,265 

159,613 

199,826 

218.366 

153^248 

71,567 

10,635 


The  building  under  the  clipper  fever  more 
than  doubled  from  1851  to  1855.  The  sales 
to  foreigners  have  risen  to  a  large  item.  In 
the  five  years,  1854-58,  it  amounted  to  244, 
700  tons,  or  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  quan- 
tity built.  This,  at  an  average  of  $100  per 
ton,  amounts  to  $24,470,000,  or  yearly  aver- 
age sales  of  $4,895,000,  forming  a  considerable 
manufacture.  The  cheapened  cost  of  build- 
ing on  the  lakes  and  western  rivers  will 
transfer  to  that  region  much  of  that  trade 
The  enrolled  tonnage  has  been  as  follows : — 


168 


COMMERCE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


1851, 
1853, 
1855, 
1857, 
1858, 


Built 

132,353 
215,673 
247,351 
182,841 
145,827 


Lost  at  Condemned.  Bold, 
sea. 


7,675 
11,819 
15,068 
19,257 
17,263 


2,047 
3,209 
2,138 
1,877 
2,337 


858 
378 


Increase. 

122,631 
200,645 
230,144 
160,848 
125,847 


The  amount  of  shipping  owned  in  the 
United  States,  and  engaged  in  either  foreign 
or  domestic  commerce,  reached  its  highest 
point  in  1856,  and,  after  some  remarkable 
fluctuations,  had  attained  nearly  the  same 
point  in  1861  ;  but  the  presence  of  rebel 
privateers  in  the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Indian 
oceans,  during  the  war,  led  to  the  sale  or 
transfer  of  great  numbers  of  vessels  to  a 
foreign  flag.  Since  the  close  of  the  war  there 
has  been  great  activity  in  the  building  and 
purchase  of  ships,  and  three  or  four  years 
will  probably  restore  the  supremacy  of  Ameri- 
can shipping.  The  following  table  shows 
the  changes  which  have  taken  place,  since 
1850,  in  the  amount  of  shipping  engaged  in 
our  commerce.  It  has  reference  to  the  port 
of  New  York  alone,  but  gives  the  proportions 
of  foreign  and  American  shipping  very  fairly. 


Date. 

1850, 
1851, 
1855, 
1856, 
1861, 
1862, 
1864, 
1865, 


AMERICAN. 
No. 

Vessels. 


1,832 
2,353 
2,487 
2,763 
3,034 
2,693 
1,568 
1,430 


Tonnage. 

807,581 

1,144,485 

1,340,257 

1,684,597 

1,618,258 

1,472,989 

845,172 

774,459 


FOREIGN. 
No. 
Vessels. 


1,451 
1,490 
904 
1,098 
1,943 
2,713 
3,207 
3,210 


Tonnage. 

446,756 

470,567 

220,000 

386,263 

865,447 

1,079,492 

1,416,734 

1,473,815 


The  commerce  of  the  United  States,  both 
in  the  exportation  and  importation  of  goods 
and  products,  has  advanced  with  far  greater 
rapidity  than  that  of  any  other  nation  of 
Christendom.  The  following  table  shows 
the  extraordinary  rapidity  of  its  increase,  as 
compared  with  that  of  Great  Britain  and 
France,  the  two  greatest  commercial  nations 
of  the  world : — 


NATIONAL  EXPORTS. 


Date. 
1800, 
1819, 
1829, 
1839, 
1849, 
1859, 
1860, 
1862, 
1863, 
1864, 
1865, 


United  States. 
$31,480,903 
64,974,382 
72,358,671 
121,028,416 
145,755,820 
355,894,385 
400,122,296 
229,790,280 
331,809,459 
445,791,370 
336,697,123 


Great  Britain. 
$118,413,084 
176,057,005 
179,213,115 
266,167,900 
317,980,125 
626,114,049 
664,732,635 
951,134,453 
709,010,477 
802,000,000 


France. 
$53,750,816 
83,095,885 
121,563,730 
188,101,247 
207,281,108 
321,182,291 
424,950,000 
819,150,000 
420,506,250 
499,218,750 


The  exports  from  the  United  States,  in 
1866,  will  probably  considerably  exceed 
$500,000,000. 

The  exports  of  a  nation,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, are  but  a  part  of  the  surplus 
remaining  after  the  wants  of  the  people  are 
supplied  with  the  article  exported.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  with  all  agricultural  pro- 
ducts, and  the  amount  of  these  exported 
bears  often  a  very  small  proportion  to  the 
whole  crop.  Of  cotton,  fully  one-half  the 
yield  is  consumed  at  home  ;  while  of  bread- 
stuff's, the  export  in  1865  was  $53,502,511, 
and  the  total  yield  of  the  year,  in  twenty- 
one  states  and  one  small  territory  only,  was 
$360,000,000,  or  about  seven  times  the  whole 
export.  With  each  year,  too,  the  proportion 
of  manufactured  goods,  the  prod  act  of  skill 
bestowed  upon  the  raw  material,  is  increasing; 
though  as  yet  we  are  not  so  far  free  as  we 
should  be  from  the  use  of  foreign  manufac- 
tured products ;  and  the  many  duties  which 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  impose  upon 
foreign  manufactures,  so  far  from  diminishing 
their  consumption,  have  seemed  to  increase  it. 
The  importations  of  1866,  at  agold  valuation, 
were  $437,638,966,  equal  to  over  $650,000,- 
000  in  currency,  larger  than  in  any  previous 
year  of  our  history,  although  almost  every 
article  imported  pays  a  duty  of  from  thirty- 
three  to  fifty  per  cent,  on  its  prime  cost.  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  notwithstanding 
the  immense  waste  and  destruction  caused 
by  the  war,  the  wealth  of  the  country  has 
increased  at  the  average  rate  of  about  five  per 
cent,  per  annum,  and  at  the  next  decennial 
census  will  undoubtedly  exceed  twenty-five 
thousand  millions  of  dollars;  thus  showing 
an  actual  gain  of  about  sixteen  thousand 
millions  in  the  value  of  property  in  ten  years. 
This  rate  of  gain,  continued  for  five  decades, 
or  fifty  years,  would  make  this  the  wealthiest 
nation  on  the  globe ;  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  it  will  not  only  be  continued, 
but  increased,  since  within  the  next  five  or  ten 
years,  with  our  Pacific  railroad  and  its  branches 
completed,  we  shall  become  the  carriers  for 
the  whole  population  of  the  globe.  Swift 
steamers  will  then  bear  the  products  of  the 
far  East  to  the  great  port  of  San  Francisco 
in  twenty  days,  or  less,  whence  they  will 
be  brought  to  New  York  in  five  days,  and 
reach  Liverpool  in  eight  days  more,  thus 
making  the  circuit  of  three-fourths  of  the  globe 
in  thirty-three  days,  while  the  Atlantic  Cable 
and  the  Russo- American  telegraph  give  instant 
communication  with  the  antipodal  markets. 


CENSUS,  1860. 

THB  FOLLOWING  TABLE  GIVES  THE  TOTAL  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  ACCORDING  TO  THE  CENSUS  OF 
1860,  DISTINGUISHING  FREE  FROM  SLAVE,  SHOWING  ALSO  THE  NUMBER  OF  STATES,  THE  RANK  OF  EACH 
STATE  ACCORDING  TO  ITS  POPULATION  AND  THE  NUMBER  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  TO  WHICH  IT  IS  ENTITLED 
IN  CONGRESS,  THE  TAXABLE  VALUATION  ACCORDING  TO  THE  LATEST  RETURNS,  AND  THE  NUMBER  OP 
MILITIA  IN  EACH  STATE. 


Mute* 

Total  free 
population. 

Slaves. 

Represen- 
tation in 
Congress. 

Rank 
as  per 
popu- 
lation. 

Valuation. 

Militia. 

Maine  

619  953 

5 

22 

$162,472,914 

73,552 

New  Hampshire  

826  072 

8 

27 

103,804  326 

33,538 

Vermont  

315  877 

8 

28 

86,775,213 

28,915 

Massachusetts  

1  231*494 

10 

T 

597  936  995 

161  192 

Rhode  Island  *  , 

174  621 

1 

29 

111,175174 

17,826 

Connecticut  

460670 

4 

24 

211,187,683 

51.680 

New  York  

3  851  563 

80 

1 

1  404  907  679 

418846 

New  Jersey  

'676*084 

5 

20 

281  333  349 

81.984 

Pennsylvania  

2  924,*501 

28 

2 

568,770,234 

350,000 

Ohio  

2  877  91T 

19 

3 

840,800  031 

279,809 

Michigan  

'754'291 

6 

16 

120,362,474 

109,570 

Illinois  

1  687*404 

18 

4 

407  477  367 

257  420 

Indiana  

l'370'802 

11 

6 

818  204  964 

53918 

Wisconsin  

768  485 

6 

15 

152,537.700 

51,321 

Iowa  

682  002 

5 

19 

197  223  350 

110000 

Minnesota  

172  793 

1 

80 

781  100 

24990 

Kansas  

143642 

1 

82 

679  240 

21,000 

884770 

3 

26 

131  306  269 

207  780 

Oregon  

52566 

1 

86 

1  981  101 

9,000 

Maryland  

646183 

85382 

6 

17 

255,477,588 

46,864 

Delaware  

110,548 

1,805 

1 

83 

80,466,924 

9,229 

Virginia  

1,097  373 

495  826 

11 

5 

730,817  658 

143,155 

District  of  Columbia  

72,093 

8,234 

85 

20,271,000 

8,201 

North  Carolina  

679  965 

328  877 

7 

12 

271  781  101 

79448 

South  Carolina  

808  186 

407,185 

4 

18 

214,101  201 

86,072 

Georgia  

615,336 

467,461 

7 

11 

837,969,471 

78,699 

Florida  

81  885 

68  809 

1 

31 

22216915 

12  122 

Alabama  

520444 

435,473 

6 

13 

201  100  100 

76,662 

Louisiana  

854  245 

312,186 

4 

21 

878,911,905 

91,324 

Mississippi  

407  551 

479  607 

5 

14 

161,747  536 

36084 

Missouri  

1  085  590 

115,619 

9 

8 

274,965  164 

118047 

Kentucky  

933,707 

225,902 

8 

9 

834,770,701 

88,979 

Tennessee  

859528 

287.112 

8 

10 

266  249  384 

71  252 

Arkansas  

331,710 

109,065 

3 

25 

53,255,711 

47,450 

Texas    

415,999 

184,956 

4 

28 

188,722,683 

19,766 

Nebraska  ... 

28,893 

88 

New  Mexico  

82,060 

84 

Utah  

50,000 

87 

Washington  

11,624 

89 

Dakotah  

4,839 

40 

Total  

27,673,271 

4,002,996 

234 

$9,312,404,850 

3,803,811 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  figures  for  the  total  population  do  not  quite  agree  with  those  in  vol.  i.,  p.  160,  for  the  year  1860. 
This  arises  from  the  fact  that  after  that  table  was  printed  a  revision  took  place  in  the  official  tables.  The  column  of  valu- 
ations, it  will  be  borne  in  mind,  is  that  of  the  several  States,  each  for  its  own  taxation  purposes,  and  each  on  its  own 
peculiar  basis.  The  figures  do  not  therefora  give  relative  values  between  the  States. 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  THB  UNITED  STATES,  INCLUDING  ONLY  THOSE  WITH  A  POPU- 
LATION OP  OVER  50,000  IN  1860. 


Name. 

1790. 

1800. 

1810. 

1820. 

1880. 

1840. 

1850. 

1860. 

New  York  

83,131 

60,489 

96,373 

123  706 

203  007 

812  710 

615547 

821  113 

Brooklyn     

8,298 

4,402 

7,175 

12042 

36233 

96838  ) 

Williamsburg  

1  620 

5680 

80  780  ) 

273,325 

Boston  

18,038 

24,027 

32,250 

48298 

61  372 

93883 

136  881 

177902 

Baltimore  

18,503 

26,614 

46,555 

62788 

80625 

102  313 

169  054 

218,412 

Philadelphia  

42,520 

70,287 

96,664 

108116 

167  1S3 

258  037 

408  762 

568084 

750 

2,540 

9644 

24831 

46338 

115  436 

158851 

Chicago  

4,479 

29  963 

109  420 

1,357 

4012 

10352 

21  210 

48,194 

70226 

Newark  

6,507 

10*953 

17290 

38894 

72055 

New  Orleans  

17,242 

27,196 

46310 

102  193 

11  6*375 

170,766 

St.  Louis                            

4893 

5852 

16469 

77860 

160,577 

Buffalo  

1,508 

2,095 

8653 

18213 

42261 

81,541 

Washington... 

81210 

8,208 

13,247 

18.827 

23.364 

41,000 

61,400 

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TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION, 

STEAM  ENGINES, 
MANUFACTURES,  MACHINERY,  &c. 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION  ILLUSTRATED. 


TRAYEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  ROADS— POST  ROADS— MACADAM- 
NATIONAL. 

OF  all  the  marvels  that  have  marked  the 
present  century,  those  which  manifest  them- 
selves in  the  development  of  the  means  of 
locomotion  and  transportation  are  among 
the  most  wonderful.  With  the  emancipation 
of  the  states  from  their  colonial  condition, 
and  the  formation  of  a  federal  government, 
a  most  extraordinary  activity  seems  to  have 
been  imparted  to  the  inventive  faculties 
of  the  American  people,  and  to  which  side 
soever  we  direct  our  attention,  we  find 
that  all  the  great  and  useful  creations  of 
genius  take  date  from  that  auspicious  event. 
The  art  of  transportation  has,  as  it  were, 
been  created.  Not  that  our  fathers  were  not 
possessed  of  the  means  of  transportation  by 
land  or  water,  but  those  means  were  so  im- 
measurably below  those  no  win  use,  thatitmay 
be  fairly  claimed  that  a  new  art  has  been 
created.  When  our  fathers  landed  on  these 
shores,  it  is  easily  understood  that  they 
found  no  roads,  or  carriages,  or  other  means 
of  moving  from  one  place  to  another.  In- 
deed, the  countries  they  had  left  were  at 
that  time  but  poorly  provided  with  such 
means,  as  compared  with  what  they  have  at 
present. 

The  first  attempts  to  exchange  the  prod- 
ucts of  labor,  which  mark  the  nascent  ^com- 
merce of  a  people  emerging  from  barba- 
rism, are  developed  through  manual  labor, 
and  the  application  of  the  strength  of  ani- 
mals in  a  rude  and  imperfect  way.  The 
peddler  with  his  pack,  and  progressively  his 
pack-horse,  are  the  instruments  of  intercourse 
in  an  infant  society.  From  village  to  vil- 
lage, pathways  are  formed,  wheel-carriages 
are  invented  to  gather  the  fruits  of  harvests, 
and  they  wear  their  own  paths  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  and  finally  the  road  is  con- 
structed, more  or  less  perfect,  as  a  means  of 
transport  between  places  more  or  less  dis- 


tant. In  such  a  state  of  affairs  the  roads 
are  very  imperfect,  and  the  carriages  of  the 
rudest  description.  It  is  conceivable  that 
the  first  step  from  the  pack-horse  and  its 
pathway,  to  the  two-wheeled  cart  and  a  road 
was  a  very  great  advance — nearly  as  much 
as  from  the  road  to  the  railway.  And  this 
improvement  has  by  no  means  been  of  so 
distant  a  date  as  at  first  we  might  imagine. 
Not  only  is  the  construction  of  good  roads 
of  very  recent  date,  but  up  to  the  present 
moment  a  very  large  portion  of  the  world 
called  civilized  is  without  them.  Certain 
parts  of  Europe,  the  French  colony  of  Algiers, 
and  the  United  States  alone  possess  them. 
In  other  words,  but  little  more  than  one- 
quarter  of  the  inhabited  part  of  the  globe 
is  provided  with  roads.  In  China  a  large  part 
of  the  internal  land  transportation  is  upon 
human  backs.  With  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  important  communities,  the  extensive 
empire  of  Russia,  with  60,000,000  inhabi- 
tants, is  without  roads ;  communication  is 
kept  up  only  in  the  winter,  when  the  ground  is 
frozen,  by  sledges.  Spain  is  little  better  off 
than  Russia,  and  Italy  has  few  of  such  im- 
provements. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  this  country 
before  the  construction  of  roads  is  evident 
to  the  hardy  pioneers  of  the  western  fron- 
tier, and  has  been  at  times  common  to  every 
part  of  the  country.  The  first  settlers  on 
arriving  here,  it  is  certain,  found  no  roads, 
and  were  not  skilled  in  following  an  Indian 
trail.  They  built  their  houses  upon  the 
summits  of  hills,  as  well  to  avoid  the  mias- 
mata of  swamps  as  to  get  notice  of  the  ap- 
proach of  hostile  savages.  The  connection 
between  these  houses  was  by  foot-paths  that 
became  horse  tracks,  and  with  the  progress 
of  events  were  enlarged  into  wagon  roads. 
These,  ultimately  fenced  in,  became  the  high- 
ways, running  irregularly  over  the  face  of 
the  country,  as  they  were  prolonged  by  settle- 
ments. The  science  of  road  making  never 
guided  their  direction,  nor  would  farmers 


EARLY  ROADS POST  ROADS MACADAM NATIONAL. 


173 


permit  the  squareness  of  their  fields  to  give 
place  to  the  straightness  of  roads.  These 
highways  are  made  in  the  general  idea  of 
making  the  passage  of  a  vehicle  between 
any  two  given  points  possible,  and  various 
expedients  are  resorted  to,  to  overcome  ob- 
stacles at  the  smallest  expense.  The  plough 
turns  up  the  sides,  and  the  scraper  draws  the 
earth  to  the  summit,  which  is  levelled  off  to 
be  hardened  by  travel.  The  reduction  of 
hills  or  the  filling  in  of  swamps  is  not  resorted 
to  in  new  settlements,  but  the  latter  are 
mostly  made  passable  by  laying  down  logs 
across  the  track,  and  parallel  with  each 
other.  This  (corduroy)  road  is  better  than  a 
swamp,  but  offers  so  great  resistance  that  a 
far  less  load  can  be  drawn  over  it  than  over 
a  smooth,  level  road.  The  roads  of  the 
whole  country,  encountering  these  natural 
difficulties,  took  their  character  from  their 
location,  and  transportation  in  each  district 
was  more  or  less  difficult,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. The  best  roads  of  the  day 
were  such  as  would  now  nowhere  be  tol- 
erated; as  a  general  thing,  the  water-courses, 
so  abundant  in  the  country,  were  the  main 
arteries,  and  most  roads  were  directed  toward 
these,  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  large  city 
they  converged  upon  it  as  a  common  centre. 
The  number  of  even  these  roads  at  the 
date  of  the  formation  of  the  government 
was  not  large,  nor  was  their  quality  to  be 
admired.  The  streams  and  water-courses 
were  well  supplied  with  small  craft,  that 
delivered  goods  and  produce  between  distant 
points,  but  where  the  route  left  the  water,  the 
transportation  became  difficult  and  expen- 
sive. The  war  and  its  success  had  deeply 
stirred  the  public  mind,  and  imparted  lull 
activity  to  the  independent  genius  and  en- 
terprise of  the  people.  Those  3,000,000 
of  souls  occupied,  as  it  were,  but  a  foothold 
on  this  immense  continent,  to  the  ultimate 
possession  of  the  whole  of  which  they  al- 
ready looked  forward.  The  means  of  trans- 
portation were  the  first  object  and  desire 
that  presented  themselves  to  thinking  men. 
Steam,  as  a  power  of  locomotion,  was  un- 
known, and  the  science  of  road  making 
little  developed.  Canals,  therefore,  pre- 
sented themselves  almost  simultaneously  to 
leading  men  in  various  sections.  General 
Washington  had,  before  he  attained  his 
twenty-first  year,  crossed  the  mountains  and 
given  his  careful  attention  as  an  engineer  to 
the  subject  of  canals,  more  particularly  the 
connection  of  the  Chesapeake  with  the  Ohio 

11 


river.  At  a  subsequent  period  he  received 
the  thanks  of  the  Virginia  House  for  his 
report  on  the  results  of  his  examination  of 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  And  the  war  had  no 
sooner  closed  than  we  find  him,  in  1784,  pre- 
siding at  a  commission  sitting  at  Annapolis, 
on  behalf  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  to  con- 
sider the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Potomac,  which  improvement  ultimate-! 
ly,  in  after  years,  became  a  canal  to  Pittsburg. 
General  Washington,  as  an  engineer,  always 
took  an  active  interest  in  works  of  internal 
improvement.  When  the  Dismal  Swamp 
canal,  connecting  the  Chesapeake,  at  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  with  Edenton,  Albemarle  Sound, 
North  Carolina,  a  distance  of  28  miles, 
through  the  vast  Dismal  Swamp,  was  project- 
ed and  executed  at  the  expense  of  individuals 
with  some  government  aid,  he  took  some 
of  the  stock.  One  certificate  of  this  stock, 
originally  issued  to  him  for  £300,  or  $1,000, 
was  sold  in  1825,  at  auction,  in  Alexandria, 
for  $12,100,  to  Judge  Washington.  Penn- 
sylvania, nearly  at  the  same  time,  appointed 
commissioners  to  explore  routes  for  connect- 
ing the  Delaware  with  the  lakes.  They 
reported  in  favor  of  the  Juniata,  partly  by 
canal  and  partly  by  river.  The  result  was  a 
charter  of  the  Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna 
Company,  in  1789,  and  the  Delaware  and 
Schuylkill  in  the  following  year,  with  $400,- 
000  capital.  In  New  York  the  active  mind 
of  Gouverneur  Morris  had  already  projected 
the  Erie  canal.  In  Massachusetts,  the  Mid- 
dlesex canal,  30  miles,  was  authorized  in 
1789,  and  navigated  in  1804.  In  South 
Carolina  the  Santee  canal  was  finished  in 
1802.  These,  with  many  other  events,  show 
the  activity  of  the  public  mind  at  the  date 
of  the  birth  of  the  Union,  in  relation  to 
means  of  transportation.  It  will  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  the  people  were 
then  few  in  number.  They  were  heavily  in 
debt.  Their  productions  were  small  and 
trade  limited.  There  was  no  surplus  capital 
to  carry  out  those  magnificent  ideas,  which 
were  in  advance  of  the  times.  The  natural 
water-courses  of  the  country  ran  through 
the  finest  farms  and  delivered  most  of  the 
produce  upon  noble  bays,  which  were  well 
provided  with  ships  to  transport  it  abroad 
for  sale.  This  natural  traffic  absorbed  all 
the  commercial  capital  of  the  country,  but 
it  was  so  profitable  that  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  it  supplied  accumulations  for 
other  objects,  and  it  was  left  for  a  few  years 
later  to  witness  the  prosecution  of  great  en- 


174 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


terprises.  The  roads  of  the  country  were  in 
a  terrible  state,  however,  and  since  the  new 
constitution  had  empowered  Congress  to 
establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  mails,  it  became  its  duty 
to  look  to  the  roads,  and  this  was  the  first 
practical  bond  of  union  between  the  states. 


A  systematic  connection  of  every  town  in  the 
whole  thirteen  states,  by  state  routes  under 
one  organization,  completed  the  means  of 
communication  and  established  passenger 
routes.  The  statistics  of  the  post-office 
afford  a  very  good  indication  of  the  progress 
of  that  kind  of  transportation  : — 


MAIL   SERVICE. 


No.  of          Miles 
post  offices,  post  roads. 

89    1,905 
...  2,403   37,031 
...  8,450  115,176 
1859 27,977  260,052 


By  stages.  Sulkies  and  horses.  Steam. 


Miles. 

89,650 

2,534,102 

17,693,839 

23,448,398 


Miles. 
756,818 
3,058,960 
8,531,909 
27,021,658 


Miles. 


628,737 
4,569,962 


Rail. 
Miles. 


27,268,384 


Annual. 

Miles. 

846,468 

5,592,652 

26,854,485 

86,308,402 


This  table  gives  the  transportation  of  the 
mail  in  the  first  year  of  its  operation ;  in 
1811,  when  steamboats  began  to  run;  in 
1833,  when  railroads  began  to  claim  a  share  ; 
and  in  the  past  year,  when  all  these  means 
have  been  more  fully  developed  in  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country.  There  are  thus  three 
distinct  periods  of  transportation:  1790  to 
1810  were  20  years  of  common  roads  and 
sail  vessels;  from  1810  to  1830  were  20 
years  of  canals  and  steamboat  progress ;  and 
since  1830  there  have  been  30  years  of  rail- 
road progress,  which  has  produced  immense 
results,  throwing  an  entire  net-work  over  the 
surface  of  the  country  between  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Mississippi,  and  superseding  other 
means  of  transportation.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  in  the  first  year  of  the  opera- 
tions of  the  post-office  department,  there 
were  but  1,905  miles  of  post-roads,  and 
that  on  these,  nine-tenths  of  the  service  was 
on  horseback,  the  stage  service  being  very 
small ;  but  as  the  roads  were  improved  up 
to  1811,  the  stage  service  came  nearly  to 
equal  the  horse  service.  From  that  date 
steam  began  to  take  the  mails  that  ran  on  or 
near  water-courses,  and  subsequently  to 
1830  the  railroads  began  to  compete  with 
the  stages  on  land ;  since  that  time  the  stage 
service  has  increased  but  six  millions,  while 
in  the  previous  20  years  it  had  increased 
over  fifteen  millions  of  miles.  The  extension 
of  post  routes  has  been  in  70  years,  it 
appears,  over  258,000  miles  in  the  whole 
country,  and  the  federal  government  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  extension  of 
roads.  The  most  important  work  of  this 
kind  undertaken  was  the  Cumberland  or 
national  route  across  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois  to  St.  Louis.  For  this  purpose, 
large  annual  appropriations  were  made  by 
Congress.  Other  roads  in  many  directions 
were  projected,  particularly  jfrom  Washing- 


ton to  New  Orleans  ;  and  in  the  frontier 
states,  numerous  roads  were  constructed  by 
the  troops  under  the  direction  of  the  war 
department. 

It  was  thus  that  the  federal  government 
imitated  imperial  Rome,  which  in  the  days 
of  its  power  clearly  understood  that  that 
power  was  to  be  maintained  only  by  the  rap- 
id march  of  its  legions.  From  the  "eternal 
city,"  noble  causeways  ran  to  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  then  world.  These  were  mili- 
tary routes  simply,  and  intelligence  was  con- 
veyed upon  them  from  station  to  station  with 
great  rapidity.  On  the  fall  of  the  empire, 
those  noble  works,  instead  of  being  preserv- 
ed for  the  uses  of  commerce,  were  in  a  great 
measure  demolished  by  small  states,  as  a 
means  of  preventing  invasion.  Nevertheless, 
those  Roman  roads  remained  the  best  roads 
in  England  down  to  the  present  century. 
What  is  called  Ermine  street  connected  Lon- 
don with  Carlisle,  in  Cumberland.  Another  is 
known  as  Watling  street.  Apart  from 
those  old  works,  the  roads  of  England  were 
no  better  than  those  of  this  country  up  to 
the  present  century.  In  this  respect  there 
is  great  difference  between  the  works  of  the 
Romans  and  those  of  the  United  States. 
Those  old  Roman  roads  had  no  competitors. 
During  1,400  years  they  continued  the 
best  means  of  conveyance.  The  United 
States  roads,  on  the  other  hand,  were  hardly 
done  before  the  inventive  spirit  of  the  age 
set  up  a  successful  rival  in  the  giant  railway, 
which  has  become  the  trunk  road.  The 
French  government,  under  the  empire,  saw 
the  necessity  of  roads,  and  began  a  system 
for  Europe.  The  noble  way  over  the  Sim- 
plon  was  the  first  of  these.  With  the  fall 
of  the  empire  that  system  became  confined 
to  France,  but  has  since  been  vigorously 
pushed — $20,000,000  per  annum  was  ex- 
pended for  many  years  in  their  construction. 


EARLY    ROADS — POST    ROADS — MACADAM NATIONAL. 


175 


There  were  in  1815,  3,000  leagues  of  "roy- 
al" roads,  and  these  had  increased  to  10,000 
in  1850.  2,000  leagues  of  departmental,  or 
county  roads  had,  in  the  same  time,  increas- 
ed to  12,100,  and  town  roads  were  extended 
by  15,000  leagues.  These  extended  means 
of  communication  have  imparted  to  French 
prosperity  much  of  its  strength. 

In  the  United  States  the  impulse  given  to 
road  building  by  the  federal  government  was 
taken  up  by  the  several  states,  if  not  direct- 
ly at  the  public  expense,  yet  by  laws  which 
compel  inhabitants  to  work  on  the  local 
roads.  These  regulations  are  different  in 
different  states.  The  essential  features  of  all 
the  laws  are  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  where  the  directing  power  is 
in  "  commissioners  of  highways,"  who  are 
chosen  in  each  town,  tinder  these  over- 
seers are  also  chosen.  The  commissioners 
direct  as  to  the  grade  of  the  road,  general 
shape,  drainage,  etc.  The  overseers  sum- 
mon the  persons  who  are  to  work,  see  that 
they  do  actually  work,  collect  fines  and  com- 
mutation money.  Every  person  owning  land, 
and  every  male  over  twenty-one  years,  is  as- 
sessed to  work.  The  whole  number  of  days' 
work  shall  be  at  least  three  times  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  in  each  town.  Under  this 
system  the  roads  are  never  very  good.  The 
commissioners  work  gratuitously,  and  skill, 
labor,  and  time  are  never  to  be  had  for  that 
price.  The  overseers,  being  changed  every 
year,  are  never  experienced  in  the  undertak- 
ing. The  men  they  summon  go  to  it  as  a  half 
holiday,  and  the  work  the  overseer  sets  them 
at  is  pretty  sure  to  be  that  which  most  bene- 
fits his  own  place.  The  money  subscribed  is 
not  expended  in  the  best  manner.  These 
are  all  circumstances  which  do  not  favor  the 
construction  of  such  roads  as  will  greatly 
reduce  the  cost  of  transportation.  In  the 
laying  out  of  the  road  in  this  way,  a  passa- 
ble track  is  the  most  aimed  at. 

To  admit  vehicles,  the  track  must  be 
cleared  of  wood  by  the  ax-men,  swamps  must 
be  overlaid  with  materials,  rivers  bridged, 
and  the  route  laid  around  hills  in  order 
to  avoid  the  difficulties  of  ascent.  These 
are  the  main  points  to  make  a  road  practica- 
ble. It  is  Very  soon  discovered  that  trans- 
portation on  a  bad  road  is  much  more  ex- 
pensive than  on  a  good,  and  efforts  are  ac- 
cordingly made  by  the  most  enterprising  to 
improve  the  bad  roads.  The  first  step  is  to 
make  the  roads  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ac- 
commodate the  greatest  nnmber  of  people, 


and  at  the  same  time  allow  the  largest  loads 
to  be  drawn  by  horses.  The  better  the  road 
the  larger  will  be  the  load  that  a  team,  or  two 
horses,  can  draw  at  a  given  speed,  and  of 
course,  the  cheaper  the  transportation.  It  is 
to  be  understood,  however,  that  the  road 
must  be  equally  good  for  the  whole  distance 
that  a  load  is  to  be  drawn,  since  if  there  is  a 
space  where  great  difficulties  are  to  be  en- 
countered, the  load  must  be  gauged  to  meet 
that  difficulty,  no  matter  how  good  may  be 
the  remainder  of  the  road.  If  a  highroad 
leading  through  one  township  is  not  kept  up, 
it  neutralizes  the  public  spirit  of  those  ad- 
joining ;  hence  the  necessity  of  a  general 
system  to  insure  continuous  cheap  transpor- 
tation. To  effect  this,  science  has  devoted  its 
attention,  but  with  little  effect  in  the  man- 
ner that  country  roads  are  made  and  kept  in 
repair.  The  requisites  of  a  road  are :  1  st, 
straightness,  because  straight  lines  are  the 
shortest ;  2d,  it  should  be  as  level  as 
possible,  because  every  ascent  causes  a  loss 
of  power.  Thus,  if  a  horse  draws  on  an  or- 
dinary level  road  two  tons,  and  comes  to  an 
ascent  of  one  foot  in  every  twenty,  he  can- 
not ascend,  because,  in  addition  to  the 
draught,  he  must  lift  up  200  pounds,  or  one- 
twentieth  of  the  whole  weight  through  the 
whole  height.  To  make  the  road  level,  and 
save  this  labor  and  expense,  the  road  must 
wind  round  the  hill.  There  is  little  lost  by 
this,  because  generally  it  is  no  further  round 
than  over.  To  prove  this,  cut  an  egg  in  half 
longitudinally,  and  set  it  upon  the  table  ;  the 
line  which  goes  round  the  base  is  the  same 
as  that  which  goes  over  the  top.  The  half 
of  an  apple  or  any  similar  body  will  give  the 
same  result.  Even  if  it  were  longer,  it  is 
better  to  go  round,  since  the  horse  can  do 
the  last  and  not  the  other.  The  road  should 
never  be  less  than  a  rod  wide,  to  allow  two 
vehicles  to  pass.  The  surface  of  the  road 
must  be  as  smooth  and  hard  as  possible,  in 
order  to  overcome  as  much  as  possible  the 
resistance  offered  by  sinking  in,  which  is 
very  serious,  because  the  depression  creates 
little  hills  before  the  wheels.  Thus,  if  a 
wheel  four  feet  in  diameter  sinks  in  one 
inch,  to  overcome  the  resistance  thus  offered 
one-seventh  of  the  load  would  require  to  be 
lifted  up  over  it.  The  harder  the  road,  the 
less  the  resistance  from  this  source.  The 
greater  the  number  of  stones,  hard  substan- 
ces, and  inequalities  there  are  to  be  encoun- 
tered, the  greater  the  resistance  from  colli- 
sion. The  resistance  of  friction  is  proper- 


176 


TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


tional  to  the  roughness  of  the  road,  and  the 
extremes  of  this  may  be  illustrated  by  a  car- 
riage wheel  on  gravel  and  a  rail  wheel.  The 
loss  of  power  on  a  road,  or  in  other  words, 
the  cost  of  transportation,  is  increased  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  of  these  resist- 
ances, and  inversely  as  they  are  diminished. 
To  overcome  them  many  improvements  have 
been  gradually  adopted,  such  as  earth,  gravel, 
broken  stone,  stone  pavements,  wood,  and 
railroads. 

In  marshy  forests  charcoal  roa%ds  are 
made.  Timber  from  6  to  1 8  inches  thick  is 
cut,  24  feet  long,  and  piled  up  lengthwise  in 
the  centre  of  the  road  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  pile  will  be  about  1 2  feet  high.  This  is  cov- 
ered with  earth,  taken  from  ditches  on  either 
side.  When  the  wood  is  charred,  the  coal 
is  raked  down  to  the  widthof  10  feet,  with  a 
depth  of  two  feet  in  the  centre  and  one  at  the 
side.  Such  a  road  becomes  very  compact, 
and  free  from  dust.  Such  a  one  in  Michigan 
cost  $660  per  mile. 

In  the  older  states  mostly  plank  roads 
were  at  one  time  favorites,  and  many  hun- 
dreds of  miles  were  constructed  at  a  cost  of 
$1,250  per  mile.  This  plan  has  been  gen- 
erally abandoned.  The  roads  not  kept  up 
are  a  nuisance,  and  many  have  been  com- 
plained of,  and  removed  as  such. 

Gravel  roads  have  sometimes  been  made 
with  the  gravel  from  the  shores  of  rivers,  but 
the  resistance  offered  by  these  roads  is  con- 
siderable. 

The  modes  of  road  making  here  alluded 
to,  are  those  which  are  prevalent  mostly  in 
the  country  districts,  and  where  the  work  is 
performed  as  a  tax.  These  answer  for  cross 
roads ;  but  the  great  thoroughfares  were 
taken  in  hand  either  by  the  state  or  by  au- 
thorized companies. 

Turnpike  companies  were  chartered  by 
most  of  the  states,  with  the  intention  that 
they  should  construct  roads  having  all  the 
requisites  of  the  best  routes,  and  they  were 
authorized  to  make  a  charge  to  those  who  use 
them.  These,  like  most  corporations,  were 
subject  to  abuse  ;  and  the  people  were  com- 
pelled to  pay  tolls  when  they  had  gained  noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  easier  transportation.  New 
England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  other 
states,  authorized  a  number  of  companies 
which  answered  a  purpose  before  railroads. 
The  New  York  turnpike  laws  enact  that  ve- 
hicles having  tires  six  inches  wide  shall  pay 
half  tolls,  those  with  nine  inches,  one  quar- 
ter, and  those  1 2  inches,  none  at  all.  These 


enactments  were  designed  to  encourage  the 
use  of  broad  tires,  as  being  less  destructive 
to  roads,  but  where  the  road  is  well  made,  as 
on  the  Macadam  plan,  the  breadth  of  the 
tire  has  no  effect ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
horses'  feet  do  the  most  damage.  It  has 
been  calculated  that  a  set  of  tires  will,  in 
average  weather,  on  a  macadamized  road, 
run  2,700  miles,  but  that  a  set  of  shoes  will 
bear  only  200  miles  travel. 

The  Macadam  road,  invented  by  a  Scotch 
gentleman  of  that  name,  was  introduced  in 
1820.  The  principle  is  simply  that  stones 
broken  into  angular  fragments  not  over  a 
certain  size,  say  that  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  will, 
under  the  pressure  of  wheels,  combine  into 
a  compact  mass,  excluding  all  water,  and, 
therefore,  not  subject  to  the  action  of  frost, 
and  be  as  solid  as  the  original  stone.  These 
have  proved  to  be  the  best  roads,  an- 
swering most  of  the  conditions,  and,  there- 
fore, allowing  of  transportation  at  the  small- 
est cost.  Good,  well-made  pavements,  as 
used  in  cities,  are  better,  since  they  give  lit- 
tle resistance,  and  afford  a  foothold  to  the 
horses.  In  order  to  understand  the  differ- 
ence in  value  of  these  roads,  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  a  machine  has  been  invented 
called  a  dynamometer.  It  resembles  a  spring 
balance ;  one  end  is  connected  with  the  car- 
riage, and  the  other  with  the  horses,  and  the 
power  they  exert  is  shown  by  the  index. 
By  such  an  instrument  it  was  determined 
that,  on  a  gravel  and  earth  road,  the  resist- 
ance to  draught  of  one  ton  was  147  Ibs. ;  on  a 
Macadam  road,  65  Ibs. ;  on  a  good  pave- 
ment, 33  Ibs. ;  and  on  a  rail  track,  8  Ibs. 
Whence  it  appears  that  a  horse  can  draw 
three  times  as  much  on  a  Macadam  road  as 
on  an  earth  road  ;  on  a  pavement,  four  and  a 
half  times  as  much ;  on  a  railway,  eighteen 
times  as  much. 

These  figures  indicate  the  gradual  advance 
made  in  the  power  of  transportation,  since 
the  roads,  under  the  action  of  the  state  and 
federal  government,  and  of  the  enterprising 
towns  and  cities,  gradually  improved  from 
mere  wagon  ways  to  well-constructed  roads 
in  those  sections  where  land  carriage  was 
most  used.  While  individuals,  companies,  and 
states  thus  contributed  to  the  improvement 
of  roads,  the  federal  government  entered 
the  field  with  greater  vigor. 

There  were  two  motives  for  the  construc- 
tion of  roads  and  internal  improvements  by 
the  federal  government.  The  first  was  to 
facilitate  the  mails ;  and  the  second  Avas  to 


EARLY  ROADS POST  ROADS MACADAM — NATIONAL. 


177 


facilitate  communication.  It  was  obvious 
that  the  new  and  infant  states  had  little 
means  to  expend  in  the  construction  of 
roads  that  were  to  be  more  or  less  for  the 
general  benefit.  The  government,  therefore, 
in  organizing  new  states  upon  the  national 
territory,  made  provision  for  the  construc- 
tion of  roads  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  sold  within  each  state.  The  gov- 
ernment everywhere  constructed  numerous 
roads,  and  after  the  war  of  1812,  when  its 
finances  began  to  be  easy,  it  employed  the 
French  General  Bernard  and  a  corps  of  en- 
gineers in  the  construction  of  fortifications 
and  roads.  Among  these  engineers  was  Capt. 
Poussin.  This  gentleman  went  back  to 
France,  carrying  with  him  the  republican 
ideas  here  collected.  He  there  propagated 
them  with  such  effect  that  he  was,  in  1848, 
when  the  Revolution  chased  the  last  Bourbon 
from  the  throne,  attached  to  the  Paris  Na- 
tional, the  republican  newspaper,  and  be- 
came, in  consequence,  ambassador  of  the 
provisional  government  to  the  United  States 
in  1849.  Thus,  after  the  lapse  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  returning  to  the  scene  of  his 
early  labors. 

When  the  state  of  Ohio  was  admitted  into 
the  Union,  there  were  very  few  roads  there, 
and  the  federal  government  was  the  chief  pro- 
prietor of  the  land.  It  was  agreed,  therefore, 
that  two  per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  land 
sold  should  be  applied  to  the  making  of  a 
road  leading  to  the  state.  The  same  condi- 
tion was  made  when  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Mississippi,  and  Alabama  were  ad- 
mitted, and  the  road  was  commenced.  A 
turnpike  road  from  Baltimore,  170  miles  to 
Wheeling,  was  laid  out,  and  a  similar  road 
from  Washington,  150  miles  to  Cumberland 
was  constructed.  From  that  point  the  Cum- 
berland road  runs  135  miles  to  the  east  bank 
of  the  Ohio  ;  of  this  distance,  85  miles  are  in 
Pennsylvania,  35  in  Maryland,  and  15  in  Vir- 
ginia. This  was  extended  west  80  miles  to 
Zanesville,  and  so  through  the  states  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  to  St.  Louis.  The 
road  has  cost  the  government  over  $3,500,- 
000.  Its  effect  upon  transportation  was 
very  great.  Before  its  construction  it  re- 
quired, to  go  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling, 
8  days.  This  was  reduced  to  3  days.  The 
figures  were  the  same  for  the  length  of 
travel  from  Washington  to  Wheeling.  Its 
influence  upon  the  country  through  which  it 
ran  was  great.  Villages  multiplied  in  its 
neighborhood,  and  the  value  of  property 


was  much  enhanced.  The  city  of  Wheeling 
was  particularly  influenced  by  it.  In  the  year 
1828  it  forwarded  to  Baltimore  over  that 
road  3,500,000  Ibs.  or  1,750  tons  of  prod- 
uce, by  over  1,000  wagons.  Anticipations 
were  then  indulged  that  a  small  reduction 
in  the  cost  of  transport  would  bring  100,000 
tons  of  Ohio  produce  over  the  road  to  Bal- 
timore. They  did  not  then  foresee  that  the 
reduction  in  cost  would  be  brought  about 
only  by  rails  to  Baltimore. 

The  Cumberland  road  by  no  means  monop- 
olized the  attention  of  Congress,  but  roads 
were  constructed  in  most  of  the  states  under 
the  war  department,  and  in  the  new  states 
the  army  was  employed  in  making  them. 
Some  800  miles  were  thus  made  in  Arkansas. 
We  may  allude  to  a  few  of  these  roads,  as 
that  to  Mars  Hill,  Maine ;  Detroit  to  Fort  Gra- 
tiot,  Michigan  ;  do.  to  Saginaw  bay  ;  do.  to 
Chicago  ;  Laplaisance  bay  to  the  Chicago 
road ;  Fort  Howard  and  Fort  Crawford ; 
road  to  Chattahoochee ;  canal  surveys  in 
Florida  ;  road  to  Apalachicola ;  Pensacola  bay 
to  Pittsburg,  Miss. ;  road  from  Jackson  to  Ful- 
ton, Mississippi ;  Memphis  to  Little  Rock ; 
Green  bay  to  Winnebago.  These  few  names 
of  roads  spreading  from  Maine  to  Arkan- 
sas and  Florida  will  give  an  idea  of  the  ex- 
tended works  of  the  government,  which  also 
embraced  removing  obstructions  of  rivers 
and  improving  river  navigation.  A  grand 
system  of  internal  improvements  was  thus 
developed,  until  its  growing  magnitude  made 
it  a  political  issue,  and  the  whole  system 
came  to  an  end  under  the  Maysville  road 
veto  of  General  Jackson.  The  principle  was 
adopted  by  one  party,  that  the  federal  gov- 
ernment had  no  power  to  construct  any  but 
strictly  national  works,  or  not  any  that  were 
entirely  within  a  single  state.  The  system 
thus  came  to  a  violent  end,  after  an  expendi- 
ture of  some  $30,000,000,  but  not  until  rail- 
roads had  begun  already  to  supersede  canals 
and  roads.  The  federal  government  had 
thus  lent  a  powerful  hand  to  the  extension 
of  highways.  The  great  thoroughfares  that  it 
had  laid  open  had  facilitated  migration  and 
settlement,  and  wherever  these  had  taken 
place,  local  roads  multiplied,  until  we  find 
that  in  the  present  year  there  are  260,052 
miles  of  post-road  in  the  Union. 

The  mails  of  the  government  were  given 
out  by  contract  to  the  highest  bidder  for 
four  years'  service.  The  whole  mail  service 
was  divided  into  sections,  north,  east,  west, 
and  south,  each  being  let  for  four  years,  but 


178 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


every  year  one  of  those  fell  due.  The 
contractors  agreed  to  deliver  the  mails  on 
certain  routes  in  a  given  time,  for  a  certain 
amount  of  money.  The  mail  money  was 
generally  depended  upon  for  the  expenses  of 
running  the  vehicles,  and  such  passengers  as 
could  be  carried  by  the  same  conveyance 
afforded  a  profit.  Thus  the  system  for  the 
circulation  of  letters  and  newspapers  became 
the  machinery  for  the  circulation  of  the  peo- 
ple. These  accommodations  were,  however, 
far  from  being  luxurious  at  a  distance  from 
the  great  cities.  In  these,  indeed,  the  staging 
was  conducted  in  a  style  approaching  the 
splendid.  The  eastern  stages  running  into 
Boston,  and  penetrating  into  every  part  of 
New  England,  were  celebrated  for  their 
quality  and  style,  as  were  those  of  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  and 
most  other  large  cities  that  were  the  centres 
of  traffic,  as  well  as  post  service.  The  dif- 
ferent "  lines"  'ran  such  opposition,  as  re- 
duced the  fare  and  promoted  speed.  The 
dandy  "  turn-out"  being  ready  at  the  hour, 
well  dressed,  polite,  smart  drivers  received 
the  "ribbons"  with  gloved  hands,  and  the 
"  team"  went  through  with  a  skill  that  could 
get  the  best  time  out  of  the  nature  of  the 
road.  As  the  traveller  receded  from  the  great 
centres,  he  found  the  "teams"  worse,  and 
the  roads  to  match.  The  mails  ran  fewer 
times  in  the  week,  the  vehicle  dwindled  from 
the  easy  coach  to  the  covered  spring  wagon, 
to  the  open  wagon  without  springs,  ultimately 
to  the  horse,  and  finally  perhaps  to  a  man's 
back,  and  the  traveller's  accommodation 
diminished  in  proportion. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COASTERS— STEAMBOATS— CANALS. 
IN  the  neighborhood  of  the  water-courses 
the  traveller  was  better  accommodated  by 
the  coasting  vessels.  The  early  settlements 
of  the  country  had  been,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  upon  the  coast  and  on  the  numerous 
streams  with  which  the  country  is  supplied. 
The  roads  had  extended  back,  more  or  less, 
into  the  country  from  these  settlements, 
where  the  freights  accumulated  at  the 
landings,  whence  they  were  carried  by  water 
for  interchange  with  other  towns,  or,  as  the 
country  grew,  to  be  exported  abroad.  The 
wagon  charge  for  freight  was  always  so  high 
as  to  absorb  the  value  of  the  produce  at 


moderate  distances,  and  travelling  was  most- 
ly upon  horses,  unless  water  conveyances 
could  be  availed  of.  This  was  the  common 
mode  for  long  journeys  on  all  the  rivers. 
The  following  advertisement,  from  a  New 
York  paper  early  in  the  present  century, 
gives  an  idea  of  the  style  of  travelling  in  the 
youth  of  men  now  not  old. 

"  SLOOP  EXPERIMENT — FOR  PASSENGERS 
ONLY. — Elias  Bunker  informs  his  friends  and 
the  public,  that  he  has  commenced  running 
a  sloop  of  about  110  tons  burthen,  between 
the  cities  of  Hudson  and  New  York,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  passengers  only.  The 
owners  of  this  vessel,  being  desirous  to  ren- 
der the  passage  as  short,  convenient,  and 
agreeable  as  possible,  have  not  only  taken 
care  to  furnish  her  with  the  best  Beds,  Bed- 
ding, Liquors,  Provisions,  &c.,  but  they  have 
been  at  very  great  expense  and  trouble  in 
procuring  materials,  and  building  her  on  the 
best  construction  for  sailing,  and  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  ladies  and  gentlemen  travel- 
ling on  business  or  for  pleasure. 

"  Merchants  and  others  residing  in  the 
northern,  eastern,  or  western  counties,  will 
find  a  great  convenience  in  being  able  to  cal- 
culate (at  home)  the  precise  time  they  can 
sail  from  Hudson  and  New  York,  without  be- 
ing under  the  necessity  of  taking  their  beds 
and  bedding,  and  those  in  New  York  may 
so  calculate  their  business  as  to  be  certain 
of  comfortable  accommodations  up  the  riv- 
er." 

This  was  evidently  no  common  luxury  that 
Capt.  Bunker  proffered  to  an  admiring  pub- 
lic. They  were  no  longer  required  to  "take 
up  their  beds  and  walk."  Ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen travelling  for  pleasure  could  now  be 
supplied  with  bedding,  as  well  as  other  lux- 
uries, on  board  a  hundred  ton  sloop,  and. 
depend  upon  the  time  of  her  leaving.  The 
wary  Elias  did  not  commit  himself  to  the 
time  of  her  arrival,  however.  Long  experi- 
ence had  made  him  cautious  on  that  point. 
However,  to  be  certain  of  leaving  was  some- 
thing, since  the  taking  of  a  passage  had 
been  only  a  preliminary  step  to  a  voyage. 
The  completing  of  the  freight,  the  waiting 
for  a  wind,  and  the  notification  by  means  of 
a  black  man  to  be  on  board  at  an  appointed 
hour,  were  now  to  be  dispensed  with.  This 
was  a  great  blessing,  a  good  way  in  advance 
of  the  navigation  150  years  previous,  when 
permission  was  granted  to  a  sloop  to  go  from 
New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  to  Fort  Or- 
ange (Albany),  provided  she  did  not  carry 


COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 


179 


more  than  six  passengers.  This  was  the 
mode  of  reaching  most  of  the  large  cities. 
From  any  point  of  the  eastern  coast  the  best 
mode  of  reaching  Boston  was  by  the  lumber 
or  other  coasters.  In  these  the  passengers, 
male  and  female,  were  stowed  away  in  a  few 
berths  in  the  cabin,  or  sprawled  around  upon 
the  uncarpeted  floor.  Sometimes  these  ves- 
sels, when  the  freight  earnings  were  eked  out 
by  a  fair  number  of  passengers,  as  from  Ban- 
gor,  Portland,  or  other  cities,  were  raised  to 
the  dignity  of  a  "packet,"  when  a  few  ex- 
tra berths  were  decorated  with  a  red  bomba- 
zette  frill  of  rather  a  scanty  style.  In  the 
rainy  seasons,  spring  and  fall,  these  were  al- 
most the  only  modes  of  travelling.  It  may 
be  suppossd  that  passengers  were  not  very 
abundant.  The  vessels,  however,  improved 
in  size  and  accommodation,  and  the  number 
of  passengers  still,  even  in  these  railroad 
days,  conveyed  by  them  is,  perhaps,  as  large 
as  ever.  The  speed  of  these  vessels  was  not 
great,  and  the  uncertainty  of  arrival  such  as 
now  would  by  no  means  suit  ideas  of  busi- 
ness. In  those  seasons  of  the  year  when  the 
roads  were  generally  good,  the  stages  would 
make  four  miles  per  hour  and  arrive  in  fair 
time.  Such  arrangements  did  not  permit 
frequent  visits  for  the  purchase  of  goods, 
and  most  business  was  done  fall  and  spring, 
when  the  goods  followed  the  water-courses 
as  far  as  possible,  and  then  paid  from  15  to 
30  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  according  to  the 
difficulties  of  the  route.  Even  the  mail 
charge  was  from  6|  to  25  cents  per  single  let- 
ter, or  a  letter  on  one  piece  of  paper,  being 
18|  cents  for  any  distance  between  150  and 
400  miles — envelopes,  of  course,  were  not 
used.  Those  charges  were  continued  down 
to  1845,  when  the  reduction  took  place. 

The  tonnage  employed  in  the  coasting 
trade  had  increased  from  68,607  in  1789,  to 
420,362  in  1812.  Inasmuch  as  but  little 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  speed  and 
build  of  the  vessels,  the  increase  indicates 
the  progress  of  business.  In  1807  the  en- 
terprising sloop  owners  who,  like  Captain 
Bunker,  had  conceived  the  idea  of  furnish- 
ed berths  for  the  accommodation  of  the  pub- 
lic, were  struck  aghast  at  the  success  of  Ful- 
ton's "  Clermont" — named  after  the  country 
seat  of  Chancellor  Livingston — steaming  up 
the  river  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour  un- 
der all  circumstances.  The  conservative  inter- 
ests were  loud  in  demonstrating  the  utter  ruin 
that  was  to  overtake  river  craft,  the  occupa- 
tion of  boatmen,  and,  consequently,  the  na- 


vy, "the  country's  right  arm  of  defence," 
by  means  of  this  great  innovator.  Never- 
theless, the  spark  of  genius  had  kindled  the 
flame  of  invention,  and  the  public  were  be- 
coming absorbed  in  it.  Each  new  steamer  ex- 
ceeded the  previous  ones  in  build  and  style, 
and  the  machinery  underwent  as  rapid  im- 
provement. As  usual,  however,  the  public 
were  slow  to  be  convinced.  It  was  admit- 
ted, when  it  could  no  longer  be  denied,  that 
steam  would  answer  for  the  river,  but  it  was 
held  to  be  idle  to  attempt  the  Sound  naviga- 
tion in  those  new-fangled  concerns.  This 
problem  was  decided  in  the  Fulton  by  Capt. 
Bunker,  possibly  our  enterprising  friend  of 
the  sloop.  The  "Hell-gate"  passage  was, 
in  those  days,  an  object  of  terror.  An  Eng- 
lish frigate  had  been  lost  there  in  the  old 
war,  and  there  were  not  a  few  who  still  held 
the  idea  that  "the  devil  onjy  could  beat 
those  English  who  had  beat  the  Dutch." 
The  East  River  rushing  up  the  Sound  at  par- 
ticular times  of  tide  pours  a  tremendous  flood 
between  Ward's  and  Long  Islands.  The 
passage  narrows  to  a  few  yards,  and  the  tide 
rushes  past  the  "hog's  back"  and  the  "grid- 
iron," turns  at  right  angles,  and  forms  a 
foaming  whirlpool  around  the  "  pot-rock," 
which,  even  with  the  surface  of  the  water, 
is  fatal  to  any  vessel  that  touches  it. 
Through  that  "gate  of  Hell"  the  steamer 
was  to  pass,  and  the  operation  was  described 
by  a  passenger  as  follows : — 

"  I  remember  the  long-agitated  question, 
whether  steamboats  could  be  made  capable 
of  sea  navigation,  or  so  constructed  as  to  trav- 
erse our  sounds,  bays,  and  coasts  in  safety. 
This  question  was  put  to  rest  by  the  enter- 
prise and  skill  of  Capt.  Bunker.  In  the  Fulton, 
constructed,  I  am  told,  with  a  view  to  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  he  undertook  the  navigation  of 
Long  Island  Sound,  an  arm  of  the  sea  in 
which  the  most  severe  tempests  are  often 
encountered.  During  a  season  of  no  extra- 
ordinary moderation,  including  the  two  equi- 
noctial gales,  Capt.  B.  lost  but  a  single  trip. 
Another  doubt  remained  to  be  removed.  It 
was  supposed  impossible  to  pass  the  celebrat- 
ed passage  of  Hell-gate  against  the  tide,  at 
the  strength  of  the  current.  This  was  re- 
served for  Capt.  Bunker  to  remove,  and  I 
happened  to  be  on  board  at  the  time  of  the 
novel  and  interesting  experiment,  returning 
southward  from  New  Hampshire.  A  num- 
ber of  respectable  passengers  witnessed  the 
performance.  It  was  in  the  boat  Connecti- 
cut, built  with  all  the  strength  to  be  obtained 


180 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION". 


and  careful  workmanship.  The  machinist 
(McQueen)  was  accompanying  his  engine  to 
prove  its  powers,  with  careful  and  ingenious 
assistants,  and  some  of  the  owners  were  on 
board  also.  The  first  attempt  to  pass  the 
point  of  greatest  pressure  of  the  contracted 
stream  was  unsuccessful,  and  the  boat  was 
compelled  to  retreat  into  an  eddy  and  in- 
crease her  steam.  With  renovated  power 
the  effort  was  repeated,  every  man  fixed  im- 
movable at  his  post,  the  passengers  properly 
stationed  in  different  parts  of  the  boat,  the 
engineers  employing  their  utmost  diligence 
to  force  the  passage.  They  were  again  de- 
feated by  the  supposed  resistless  stream,  and 
again  retreated,  racked,  strained,  and  shiver- 
ing, from  the  contest.  After  a  short  pause 
and  fresh  preparation,  it  was  resolved  by  the 
parties  concerned  to  make  a  third  endeavor, 
and  test  the  strength  of  the  machinery  by 
the  greatest  trial  it  could  ever  be  expected 
to  bear.  After  a  severe  struggle,  in  which 
a  weaker  vessel  would  have  been  disjointed 
and  torn  to  pieces,  the  headstrong  •  current 
yielded  to  the  giant  power  of  steam,  and  the 
triumph  of  art  over  nature  was  effected.  A 
few  moments  of  greater  breathless  anxiety 
I  scarcely  ever  witnessed.  Mechanical  sci- 
ence achieved  a  victory  over  elementary 
force,  and  overcame  an  obstacle  heretofore 
deemed  in  this  manner  altogether  insur- 
mountable. The  courage  and  perseverance 
of  Capt.  B.  were  so  conspicuous  on  this 
occasion,  that  I  can  never  forget  the  impres- 
sion made  on  all  present.  We  have  since 
found  it  as  easy  to  traverse  our  sea-board, 
navigate  the  Mississippi,  and  cross  the  At- 
lantic, as  it  was  to  find  America  after  Colum- 
bus had  broken  the  egg." 

To  those  who  now  so  frequently  make 
that  dire  passage  without  knowing  it,  this 
animated  description  must  afford  surprise  as 
well  as  amusement.  It  is  suggestive,  not  so 
much  of  the  temerity  of  the  "  bold  naviga- 
tors" of  that  day,  as  of  the  feeble  nature 
of  the  boats  then  built.  The  passage,  to  be 
sure,  has  now  been  deprived  of  some  of  its 
"  horrors"  by  the  removal  of  the  pot-rock, 
which  has  been  broken  by  gunpowder 
blasts  to  a  depth  which  leaves  it  no  longer 
dangerous.  The  noble  steamers  of  the  pres- 
'ent  day  pass  through  at  all  times  of  tide, 
without  apparently  feeling  the  current,  in- 
stead of  butting  at  it  three  times  "  strained 
and  shivering."  The  steamboat,  after  per- 
forming this  feat,  passed  up  the  Connecticut 
*iver  for  the  first  time  to  Middletown.  The 


North  River  boats  continued  to  improve, 
and  the  time  of  the  Clermont — 36  hours  to 
Albany — was,  in  1820,  reduced  by  the  Par- 
agon to  20  hours.  In  1823,  however,  the 
timef  from  New  York  to  Providence,  200 
miles,  was  20  hours,  and  the  stage  to  Boston 
completed  the  route,  40  miles,  in  6  hours 
more,  making  26  hours.  At  that  date  steam- 
ers were  multiplying  on  all  the  Atlantic  rivers 
and  bays,  and  on  the  western  rivers,  as  well  as 
on  the  lakes.  In  1819  the  first  steamer  crossed 
the  Atlantic  from  Savannah,  Georgia,  to  Eng- 
land. In  1 825  the  Chief  Justice  Marshall  had 
reduced  the  time  to  Albany  to  14  hours  30 
minutes.  The  progress  in  speed  may  be  seen 
at  a  glance  in  the  following  figures : — 

1811,  Clermont's  time  to  Albany,  4  ms.  per  h.,  36  hs. 
1820,  Paragon,  "  "  27 

1825,  Chief  Justice  Marshall,   "  14.30 

1840,  Knickerbocker,  "  9.33 

1860,  average  time  18  miles  per  hour,  8 

With  the  opening  of  the  Erie  canal  in 
1825,  the  quantity  of  goods  going  and  com- 
ing much  increased  the  demand  for  trans- 
portation, and  barges  in  tow  of  steamers  be- 
gan a  new  era  in  that  buisness.  That  goods 
could  be  carried  west  on  the  canal,  and  so 
by  continuous  water-courses  on  the  lakes 
and  their  affluents,  induced  more  passengers 
by  the  same  route.  In  1841  the  improved 
method  of  propelling-  by  screw  was  introdu- 
ced by  the  patent  of  Capt.  Ericsson.  The  iron 
screw  steamer  R.  F.  Stockton,  of  72  tons, 
came  from  Liverpool  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Crane,  and  became  a  tug  on  the  Rari- 
tan  canal.  Those  steamers  now  gradually 
gained  ground  in  public  favor.  The  speed 
was  long  not  so  great  as  that  of  the  paddle 
wheels.  This  has  been  gradually  overcome 
by  improved  models  and  forms  of  screw, 
until  in  the  month  of  October,  1860,  two 
propellers  of  100  feet  length  were  launched 
for  the  North  River  trade,  and  made  time 
18  miles  per  hour,  being  the  fastest  boats 
for  their  length  afloat.  This  class  of  vessels 
may  ultimately  be  exclusively  used  in  the 
European  trade. 

The  settlers  who  had  crossed  the  moun- 
tains in  the  early  times  of  the  government 
had  located  mostly  on  the  great  streams, 
within  easy  reach  of  the  means  of  conveying 
the  surplus  to  points  of  sale.  They  were 
not  provided  with  vessels  of  a  very  expensive 
construction ;  and  flat  boats  were  the  chief 
means  of  descending  the  streams.  These 
vessels,  designed  only  to  go  down  stream, 
were  composed  of  such  material  as,  after 


COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 


181 


having  served  the  purpose  of  transporting 
produce,  could  be  broken  up  at  the  place  of 
destination,  and  sold  as  lumber.  These 
were  improved  into  keel  boats,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascending  the  streams,  and  in  either 
case  were  propelled  by  long  poles  in  the 
hands  of  the  boatmen.  These,  standing  on 
the  gunwale  at  the  extreme  bow  of  the 
boat,  thrust  the  pole  into  the  mud,  and 
setting  the  shoulder  against  the  top,  push- 
ed the  boat  forward  with  the  feet  in 
walking  toward  the  stern,  which  reached,  they 
drew  up  the  pole,  walked  back,  and  repeated 
the  movement.  In  this  laborious  mode  of 
travel,  all  the  merchandise  sent  from  the 
east,  via  New  Orleans,  reached  its  destina- 
tion. It  required  four  months  to  travel  thus 
from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis — a  distance  of 
1,500  miles,  and  the  cost  of  the  goods,  it  may 
well  be  supposed,  was  enhanced  by  the  proc- 
ess ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  produce 
sent  down  realized  but  little.  Thus,  between 
the  cheapness  of  the  produce  and  the  dear- 
ness  of  merchandise  received  in  exchange, 
the  settler  realized  but  little  for  his  labor. 
It  is  easy  to  conceive  how  great  a  blessing 
was  steam  on  those  waters,  to  enable  the 
weary  men  to  stem  the  ceaseless,  downward 
flow  of  the  mighty  currents.  In  1811  that 
blessing  made  its  appearance  at  Pittsburg  in 
the  shape  of  a  steamboat,  built  by  Fulton, 
and  which  had  a  considerable  success.  The 
general  progress  was,  however,  slow,  for  the 
reason,  among  others,  that,  as  in  all  such 
cases,  there  was  a  large  capital  invested  in 
river  craft,  which  would  depreciate  in  value 
in  face  of  the  new  power,  and  there  was  not 
much  capital  to  embark  all  at  once  in  steam. 
It  was  also  the  case  that  ChancellorLiving- 
ston,  the  partner  of  Fulton,  claimed  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  lower  Mississippi  trade,  and 
put  a  restraint  for  some  years  upon  steam  in 
that  region.  So  great  a  power  could  not,  how- 
ever, but  force  its  way.  With  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Enterprise,  in  1815,  St.  Louis  was 
reached  in  25  days  from  New  Orleans,  and 
public  enthusiasm  was  aroused.  There  were, 
however,  up  to  1817,  still  but  twelve  boats 
upon  the  western  waters,  of  an  aggregate  ton- 
nage of  2,335  tons.  The  time  to  Pittsburg  was 
54  days,  of  which  36  days  was  running  time. 
These  passages  caused  much  excitement,  and 
a  bold  merchant  predicted  that  the  rate  of 
freight  between  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis 
would  fall  to  $3,50  per  100  Ibs.,  but  he  was 
regarded  as  visionary,  or  what  they  would 
now  call  in  Wall-street  language  a  "  bear" 


in  freights.  His  sanguine  nature  would 
probably  have  been  surprised  could  the  veil 
of  time  have  been  so  lifted  as  to  permit  him 
to  see  35  years  ahead — the  boats  of  the  pres- 
ent day  making  money  at  40  cts.  per  100 
Ibs.,  and  carrying  it  in  three  days,  instead 
of  25.  The  Monongahela  and  Ohio  Steam- 
boat Company  claimed  patronage  because 
their  new  crack  boats  could  go  nine  miles 
an  hour !  But  they  were  in  advance  of 
the  times;  that  speed  was  thought  to  be 
dangerous,  even  if  possible.  Those  people 
are  now,  however,  not  quite  satisfied  unless 
the  speed  is  equal  to  25  miles  in  still  water. 
The  war  had  given  a  new  impulse  to  settle- 
ments west ;  the  more  so  that  steam  now 
so  much  facilitated  travel,  and  freights  multi- 
plied in  proportion.  Thus  reciprocally  the 
improved  means  of  travel  induced  more  lo- 
comotion, and  increased  traffic  more  de- 
mand for  vessels.  The  multiplying  boats 
and  more  rapid  passages  still  found  a  suffi- 
ciency of  business,  and  even  the  old  river 
craft  were  kept  in  requisition  for  tow  boats. 
Cincinnati  began  to  build  barges  of  100  tons 
to  go  to  New  Orleans  in  tow  of  steamers ; 
and  the  Etna  made  the  passage  down  in 
fifteen  days,  reflecting  great  glory  on  the  com- 
mercial enterprise  of  that  city,  and  its  citizens 
became  elated.  A  Cincinnati  writer  of  1 8 1 7 
estimates  the  territory  drained  commercially 
by  that  city  at  10,000  square  miles,  and  re- 
marks :  "  Supposing  this  settled  by  40,000 
families,  and  that  each  farm  would  give  two 
tons  annual  surplus  for  exportation,  there 
would  be  80,000  tons  to  send  to  New  Orleans, 
or  freight  for  800  boats  of  100  tons  each." 
The  writer  apologizes  for  the  extravagance  of 
this  estimate.  Commercial  enterprise  began 
to  seek  new  routes.  In  1823  three  keel  boats 
in  tow  passed  450  miles  up  the  Wabash 
river.  It  was  not  until  1826  that  the  first 
steamer  ran  up  the  Alleghany  river.  In  the 
same  year  the  ship  Illinois  reached  St. 
Louis  from  New  York,  via  New  Orleans, 
3,000  miles,  in  twenty -nine  days  and  a  half, 
and  the  first  steamer  ran  up  the  Susquehanna 
to  Tioga.  The  opening  of  the  Erie  canal,  in 
1825,  caused  a  great  change  in  travel.  Thus 
the  journey  from  New  York  to  Pittsburg  was 
accomplished  by  canal,  with  only  eight  days 
staging,  and  thence  down  the  river  to  New 
Orleans.  In  1824  the  passage  up  from  New 
Orleans  to.  New  York,  via  Pittsburg,  was 
made  in  24  days,  at  an  expense  of  $90. 
The  passage  from  Natchez  to  Philadelphia, 
2,000  miles,  was  equal  to  17  days.  In 


COASTERS — STEAMBOATS  — CANALS. 


183 


the  same  year  a  remarkable  voyage  was  pro- 
jected from  Charleston  to  Green  Bay.  It 
was  a  sloop  of  six  tons,  with  six  passengers, 
and  it  reached  Rochester  in  15  days  from 
Charleston.  The  passage  of  a  gentleman 
from  Detroit  to  Washington  and  back  in  1 6 
days  was  regarded  as  a  miracle. 

The  remarkable  progress  of  steam  upon 
the  Mississippi  may  be  estimated  most 
readily  by  a  table  of  the  passages  at  different 
periods,  as  follows  : — 

NEW    ORLEANS    TO    ST.    LOUIS — 1,300    MILES. 

Prior  to  steam 120 

1815,  Steamer  Enterprise 25 

1823,       "         average  passages..  12 
1826,       "         General  Brown...     9     '    12  hours. 
1828,       "                      "             ...     9     '      4      " 
1860,       "         running  time 3 

The  time  between  New  Orleans  and  St. 
Louis  was  thus  diminished  under  the  various 
improvements  suggested  by  experience  in 
the  form  and  mode  of  running  steamers.  A 
boat  of  350  tons  when  fitted  out  will 
now  cost  some  $50,000,  and  will  carry  500 
tons  down  stream,  or  1,500  bales  of  cotton 
on  deck.  Twenty  years  ago  the  freight  of 
cotton  down  from  Memphis  was  $2  per  bale, 
and  below  Natchez  $1  per  bale.  The  charge 
for  freight  up  from  New  Orleans  to  Natchez 
was  75  cts.  per  100  Ibs.  As  the  business 
increased,  larger  boats  were  built.  Of  these 
the  Eclipse  was  the  type.  She  car- 
ried 1,200  tons,  but  was  too  large  to  pay; 
and  boats  are  now  constructed  of  a  less 
dimension.  The  Mississippi  boats  are  large 
flat -bottomed  boats,  drawing  from  15  to  50 
inches  of  water.  The  speed  depends  upon 
the  circumstances  of  the  channel.  That  of 
the  Memphis,  recently  built  for  the  St. 
Louis  and  Memphis  trade,  is  18  miles  in 
still  water  per  hour.  With  light  draught  and 
great  pressure,  a  speed  equal  to  24  miles  in 
still  water  has  been  attained.  The  Al- 
to ona  ran  between  Alton  and  St.  Louis,  25 
miles,  in  one  hour  and  forty-five  minutes, 
and  in  one  hour  down;  average  down  and 
up,  one  hour  and  twenty-five  minutes. 
Eighteen  miles  is  said  to  be  the  time  of  the 
western  boals.  Those  rivers  flow  with  gen- 
tle currents  in  mostly  shallow  water;  and 
there  have  been  various  changes  in  the 
fashion  of  the  boats.  The  stern-wheel  boat, 
we  believe,  is  peculiar  to  those  rivers.  Instead 
of  having  two  wheels  paddling,  one  on  each 
side,  one  wheel,  20  feet  in  diameter,  is  placed 
directly  at  the  stern,  athwart  ships,  and  by 
its  revolutions  pushes  the  boat  ahead.  These 
boats  are  not  remarkable  for  their  speed,  but 


answer  in  narrow  and  shallow  streams.  The 
regular  steamers  have  their  main  decks 
within  four  or  five  feet  of  the  water,  and  the 
guards  overhanging  the  bow  give  them  the 
appearance  of  a  New  York  ferry-boat.  The 
paddle  wheels  are  generally  much  further  aft 
than  in  the  eastern  steamers.  The  after 
part  of  the  main  deck  is  devoted  to  freight. 
Above  the  main  deck  from  10  to  18  feet  is 
the  saloon  deck,  which  extends  nearly  over 
the  whole  of  the  main  deck.  The  saloon  is 
surrounded  with  state-rooms,  which  open 
into  it,  as  well  as  on  to  a  promenade  which 
goes  entirely  round  the  outside  of  the  boat. 
The  saloon  is  from  150  to  250  feet  long. 
Above  this  deck  is  a  promenade  deck,  upon 
which  is  a  long  tier  of  state-rooms,  and  this, 
in  its  turn,  is  surmounted  by  another  prome- 
nade deck,  which  has  the  pilot-house  at  its 
front,  and  which  is  usually  50  feet  from  the 
water.  But  formerly,  when  there  was  no 
restraint  upon  reckless  steam  pressure,  or 
the  explosive  qualities  of  the  boiler,  its 
height,  as  well  as  that  of  the  decks,  was 
very  uncertain.  The  "crack  boats"  are 
now  built  from  300  to  400  feet,  with  36  to 
40  feet  beam,  eight  feet  hold,  and  draught  of 
water,  light  two  feet,  and  loaded  four  feet. 
These  steamers  are  now  free  from  those 
reckless  races  which  formerly  so  endangered 
life,  when  the  safety-valve  was  fastened 
down,  the  furnace  stuffed  with  tar  and  pitch, 
and  the  captain,  rifle  in  hand,  ready  to 
shoot  down  the  pilot  of  the  opposing  boat 
at  the  critical  moment  when  the  least  devia- 
tion in  steering  would  lose  him  the  race. 
Those  barbarous  times  have  passed  with  the 
frontier  manners  of  the  passengers.  Their 
sporting,  drinking,  gambling,  fighting,  have 
given  place  to  business,  temperance,  pru- 
dence, and  refinement,  while  wealth  rolls  up 
in  the  cjties  as  a  result  of  the  speedy  and 
cheapened  transportation  which  the  steam- 
ers have  effected. 

The  increase  of  steam  tonnage  on  those 
waters,  has  been  as  follows  : — 


1842. 

New  Orleans 28,153 

St.  Louis 14,725 

Cincinnati 12,025 

Pittsburg 10,107 

Louisville 4,618 

Nashville 3,810 

Wheeling 2,595 

Vicksburg 

Memphis 

Galena. . 


1851. 

I860. 

34,736 

70.072 

31,834 

55,515 

24,709 

23,136 

16,943 

42,474 

15,181 

29,037 

3,578 

5,268 

7,191 

11,545 

938 

450 

6,143 

5,849 

Total  tons 76,033       135,560       249,039 


184 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  when  the 
speed  of  these  vessels  has  increased  in  the 
manner  indicated,  their  efficiency  for  traffic 
has  progressed  in  the  same  ratio.  In  the 
25  days  that  were  formerly  required  to  go 
from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis,  a  steamer 
of  the  present  day  will  make  eight  passages, 
and  will  carry  more  freight.  Hence,  the 
number  of  tons  does  not  indicate  the  growth 
of  the  trade.  If  the  number  of  tons  is  three 
times  greater,  the  business  is  30  times 
larger.  The  effect  of  the  great  reduction  in 
the  freight  on  goods  may  be  illustrated  by 
a  single  example.  Thus,  in  1815  cotton 
cloth  was  30  cts.  per  yard,  and  100  yards 
weighed  25  Ihs.,  which  would  consequently 
be  worth  $30.  The  transportation  of  this 
at  that  time  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis 
would  cost  $5,  or  1 7  per  cent,  of  the  cost.  The 
same  quantity  of  cloth  is  now  worth  $9.00, 
and  the  transportation  from  New  Orleans  to 
St.  Louis  40  cts.,  or  4£  per  cent,  of  the 
cost  These  figures  speak  of  the  greater 
money  value  realized  for  products,  and  the 
increased  quantities  of  merchandise  pro- 
cured for  that  money  value. 

The  war  of  1812,  by  interrupting  trade  on 
the  Atlantic,  had  induced  a  large  migration 
to  the  west,  when  steam  was  opportunely 
developed  to  facilitate  trade  and  traffic  at 
the  same  time.  The  return  of  peace  found 
a  large  population  west  of  the  mountains  in 
the  full  tide  of  prosperity,  and  in  the  Atlan- 
tic states  great  excitement  in  regard  to 
steam,  with  multiplying  manufactures,  which 
sought  a  market  in  the  growing  west.  Under 
such  circumstances  the  old  canal  projects  for 
opening  up  the  communication  were  revived 
in  full  force,  the  more  so  that  the  war  had 
nearly  destroyed  the  usual  water  communica- 
tion. 

Instead  of  transporting  merchandise  in 
sloops  and  schooners  along  the  coast,  now 
no  longer  safe  from  the  enemy,  recourse  was 
had  to  wagons  over  roads  not  the  best  in 
the  world.  This  was  necessarily  very  slow 
and  costly.  The  traffic  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  was  carried 
on  in  a  Conestoga  wagon,  drawn  by  four 
horses,  and  that  which  covered  the  distance 
of  90  miles  in  three  days  was  known  as 
"the  flying  machine,"  and  the  value  of 
goods  at  either  end  of  the  round  showed 
great  fluctuations,  enhanced  by  the  expense. 
This  extra  expense  for  the  whole  coast  alone, 
it  was  asserted,  would  have  paid  the  whole 
cost  of  a  system  of  internal  navigation  from 


Maine  to  Georgia.  It  was  then  that  the 
enterprises  to  which  the  great  minds  of  the 
Revolution  had  given  birth  at  the  peace  of 
1783  began  to  be  realized,  and  two  objects 
were  sought,  viz. :  a  safe  inland  water  com- 
munication along  the  whole  Atlantic  border, 
to  operate  in  case  of  war,  and  another 
was  to  connect  the  waters  of  the  west  with 
the  east,  and  the  public  began  to  regard 
with  more  favor  the  project  of  uniting  the 
lakes  to  the  Hudson  river.  Mr.  Morris,  who 
had  suggested  it  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, wrote  an  able  report  in  its  favor  in 
1812,  when  the  war  gave  new  interest  to  it. 
The  undertaking  was  formidable,  and  New 
York  applied  to  the  federal  government 
and  other  states  for  aid,  but  her  application 
was  met  with  jeers  and  ridicule.  The  result 
was  the  determination  of  the  state  to  under- 
take it  alone,  when  the  return  of  peace 
allowed  of  more  facility  for  its  execution ; 
accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1817,  the 
Erie  canal  was  commenced  with  great  cere- 
mony, Governor  De  Witt  Clinton  turning 
the  first  earth,  and  it  was  completed  Octo- 
ber, 1825.  The  event  was  celebrated  with 
the  greatest  pomp  along  the  whole  line,  and 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  canal  is  363 
miles  long,  40  feet  wide  at  top,  4  feet  deep, 
and  the  capacity  of  boats,  80  tons.  The 
construction  cost  $7,143,789,  or  $19,679 
per  mile.  This  immense  work  gave  the  long- 
wished-for  communication  between  the  great 
lakes  and  the  tide  waters  of  the  Atlantic.  In 
the  same  year,  viz.,  October,  1817,  a  canal 
connecting  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain 
with  the  Erie  canal  some  miles  from  Albany 
was  commenced.  This  Erie  and  Lake  Cham- 
plain  or  Northern  canal  is  63  miles  long,  and 
was  completed  at  the  close  of  1823,  at  a  cost 
of  $1,257,604,  or  $19,962  per  mile.  The  Erie 
canal  proved  to  be  the  most  successful  work 
of  the  kind  in  the  world,  and  within  10 
years  discharged  in  full  the  debt  created  for 
its  construction.  The  great  success  of  the 
work  not  only  gave  an  impulse  to  canal 
building  in  other  states,  but  induced  the 
state  of  New  York  to  embark  in  new  under- 
takings of  the  same  nature,  which  have  not 
proved  so  successful.  These  were  what  are 
called  the  lateral  canals,  draining  the  coun- 
try on  either  side,  into  the  grand  canal. 
The  Oswego  canal  runs  38  miles  from  Lake 
Ontario  to  the  Erie  canal,  at  Syracuse.  It 
cost  $55,437,  and  was  finished  in  1838. 
The  Cayuga  and  Seneca  lake  runs  23  miles 
from  those  lakes  to  the  Erie  canal  at  Mon- 


COASTKRS — STEAMBOATS CANALS. 


185 


tezuma,  and  was  finished  in  1829,  at  a  cost 
of  $237,000.  The  Chemung  canal,  connect- 
ing the  Chemung  river  with  Seneca  lake, 
39  miles,  was  finished  in  1838,  at  a  cost  of 
$316,000.  The  Crooked  Lake  canal,  8  miles, 
was  finished  in  1836,  for  $120,000.  The 
Chenango  connects  the  Susquehanna  at 
Binghamton  with  the  Erie  canal  at  Utica, 
96  miles,  and  was  finished  in  1837,  at  a 
cost  of  $2,417,000.  These  canals  never 
paid  their  expenses,  and  became  a  burden 
upon  the  revenues  of  the  Erie.  There  are 
also  in  New  York,  the  Genesee  Valley  canal, 
108  miles  ;  Black  River  and  feeder,  87  miles ; 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson,  83  miles;  and 
the  Oneida,  8  miles. 

The  great  success  of  the  Erie,  as  we  have 
said,  roused  the  emulation  of  other  states, 
and  during  the  five  years  succeeding  the 
opening  of  the  Erie  the  air  was  filled  with 
canal  projects,  only  to  name  which  would 
occupy  much  space.  We  may  mention  some 
of  the  most  extraordinary,  however  :  a  canal 
from  Boston  to.  Narragansett  bay;  Long 
Island  to  Canada,  via  the  Connecticut  river ; 
Boston  to  the  Connecticut  river ;  a  canal 
over  Cape  Cod  ;  Providence  to  Worcester ; 
a  ship  canal  across  Central  America.  These 
projects  only  indicate  the  extraordinary  ac- 
tivity that  the  Erie  success  had  imparted  to 
the  public  mind.  Those  which  were  evidently 
the  most  needed  for  present  and  future  com- 
merce, were  immediately  undertaken.  The 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio,  to  connect  the  waters 
that  the  name  designates ;  the  Ohio  canal,  to 
connect  Lake  Erie  with  the  Ohjo  river ;  the 
Farmington  canal,  in  Connecticut,  afterward 
used  for  a  railroad  site ;  the  Chesapeake  and 
Delaware,  to  connect  those  waters,  were  all 
ready,  and  broke  ground  July  4,  1825, 
three  months  before  the  Erie  was  finally 
completed.  These  works,  with  many  others, 
which  we  shall  take  up  in  their  order,  were 
pushed  to  completion,  under  various  diffi- 
culties, inasmuch  as  that  they  required  a 
large  amount  of  money,  but  they  had  an 
immense  influence  upon  traffic,  and  called 
into  requisition  an  amount  of  engineering  skill 
which  had  never  before  been  demanded  in 
the  country,  and  various  success  has  attend- 
ed the  construction.  The  object  of  a  canal 
is,  of  course,  to  float  boats  that  contain 
merchandise,  between  two  points,  in  order 
to  reduce  the  expense  of  the  transportation. 
The  canal  is  therefore  constructed  with  some 
regard  to  the  amount  of  business  that  will 
be  required  of  it.  The  channel  must  be 


excavated  on  the  level  soil,  carried  over  gaps 
and  rivers  by  embankments  that  will  hold 
the  water,  and  it  must  be  fed  by  abundant 
streams. 

The  channel  is  excavated  with  the  two  sides 
sloping  at  the  same  angle,  which  varies  with 
the  nature  of  the  soil.  The  base  of  the 
slope  is  commonly  to  the  height  as  5  to  4. 
The  bottom  of  the  canal  is  generally  the 
breadth  of  two  boats  upon  the  deck,  in 
order  that  they  may  pass.  The  depth  of 
water  in  the  canal  should  be  at  least  one  foot 
more  than  the  draught  of  the  boats.  The  tow- 
path  is  about  two  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
water,  and  about  ten  feet  wide.  When  the 
canal  runs  through  a  sandy  soil,  or  one  that 
does  not  easily  retain  water,  the  bottom  is 
"puddled."  This  process  is  to  mix  clay 
well  with  gravel  and  put  it  on  in  successive 
layers  of  two  or  three  inches  thick.  When 
a  new  layer  is  put  on,  the  old  one  is  roughed 
up  to  make  both  adhere  well.  When  re- 
pairs are  needed,  they  are  generally  done  at 
the  time  the  water  is  let  out  for  the  winter. 
The  bed  of  the  canal  is  so  laid  as  to  give  a 
gentle  current  to  the  water.  The  levels  are 
the  distances  between  the  locks,  and  each 
level,  proceeding  downward,  has-  a  less 
elevation  than  the  preceding  one.  In  a 
hilly  country  these  locks  are  frequent,  and  in 
some  cases  are  continued  for  a  distance,  like 
steps  up  and  down  a  declivity.  Thus  the 
Erie  canal,  on  leaving  Lake  Erie  at  Lock- 
port,  descends  60  feet  to  the  Genesee  river. 
To  perform  this,  ten  double  locks  built  in 
masonry  are  required,  but  the  canal  has 
also  one  level  of  63  miles  without  a  lock. 
The  lock  is  a  chamber  built  of  timber  or 
masonry,  as  large  as  possible  for  the  size  of 
the  canal.  The  boats  must  not  exceed 
what  can  be  admitted  to  the  locks.  The 
top  of  the  lock  is  above  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  its  bottom  is  level  with  that  of 
the  next  lower  level.  Each  end  of  the 
chamber  is  closed  by  heavy  swinging  doors, 
which  open  in  the  middle  against  the  direc- 
tion of  the  current.  The  doors  being  a  little 
broader  than  the  lock,  they  meet  in  the  mid- 
dle at  an  angle,  and  the  weight  of  the  water 
presses  them  together.  When  a  boat  going 
up  the  canal  comes  to  a  lock,  it  passes  be- 
tween the  open  gates,  which  close  behind 
it.  The  water  is  then  let  in  from  the  upper 
gates,  until  the  lock  being  full,  the  boat 
floats  to  the  upper  level,  generally  about  10 
feet  rise,  but  sometimes  1 8  feet.  It  passes 
out,  and  another  boat  being  ready  to  go 


186 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


down  takes    its    place,    when,    the    upper 
gates  being  closed,  the  water  is  let  off  below 
and  the  boat  lowers  with  it  to  the  lower 
level.      A  lock  full  of  water  is  thus   dis- 
charged.    It  follows  that  a  large  supply  of 
water  must   be  had   to  replace  what  thus 
passes  off,  in  addition  to  leakage  and  evap- 
oration.     The   engineer    of  the  Erie  canal 
calculated   the    loss   by   leakage   was    100 
cubic  feet  per  minute.     For  supply,  reser- 
voirs are  often  constructed.     Canal  branches, 
called  feeders,  are  made  to  bring  water  from 
distant  sources.     Steam  power  is  also  used 
to  raise  water  to  the  required  level.     This  is 
the   case   with   the   Illinois   and    Michigan 
canal ;  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  being 
pumped  up  to  the  summit  level.     In  some 
cases    inclined   planes    are    substituted    for 
locks.     In  these  cases  the  boats  run  upon 
trucks,  which   are  then,  by  the   power  of 
steam,  dragged  up  the  plane  to  the  higher 
level.     In  the  Morris  canal,  of  New  Jersey, 
these  have  a  slope  of  one  in  21.     These  are 
the  general  features  of  all  the  canals,  bat  the 
influence  they  have  upon  transportation  de- 
pends, of  course,  in  some  degree,  upon  the 
localities  and  the  capacities  of  the   work. 
Boats  are  commonly  towed  upon  a  canal  by 
horses.     A  single  horse   can  draw  upon  a 
good  road  a  ton  at   a   speed    of   2£    or  3 
miles  per  hour,  and  can  draw  as  easily  70 
tons  upon  a  canal  at  the  same  speed.     The 
difference  in  cost  is  immense.     Instead  of 
24  cents  a  ton  for  one  mile  land  carriage, 
the  Erie  canal  charges  6  mills  per  ton  per 
mile,   or   one-fortieth  part  of  the  expense. 
The  freights  charged  are  distinct  from  the 
state  tolls.     It  is   obvious   that  where  the 
boats  are  of  greater  capacity,  allowing  of 
larger  quantity  to  be  passed  down  at  the 
same   passage,    the    cost    of  transportation 
is   much   diminished.     Thus  the  Delaware 
and   Hudson  canal  had  a  capacity  for  50 
ton  boats,  and   coal  was  carried  108  miles 
for  $1.     The    enlargement  of  the  canal  so 
as  to  admit  boats  of  100  tons  reduced  the 
cost  65  cents,  but  some  of  the  boats  carry 
148  tons  at  proportionate  rates.     When  the 
routes  of  the  canals  of  other  states  threat- 
ened to  affect  the  business  of  the  New  York 
canal,  the  reduction  of  the  cost  by  means 
of  enlargement  was  the  means  resorted  to 
to  retain  the  trade,  and  the  enlargement  has 
been   prosecuted    at  great   expense.       Th 
principle  of  the  enlargement  was  based  upon 
the   fact    that   as   the    canal  is  abundantly 
supplied  with  water,  the   only  limit  to  its 


capacity  would  be  the  time  required  to  pass 
>oats  at  the  locks.     It  was  calculated  that 
6,000  boats  can  be  locked  each  way  in  a 
season.     The    old   canal   boats  were    about 
70  tons,  hence,  the  utmost  capacity  of  the 
anal  would  be  3,640,000  tons;  but  by  the 
mlargement  the  boats  were  to   be  of  224 
;ons  burden,  hence   the  tonnage  would  be 
11,648,000   tons,    if  the   quantity   moving 
ach   way   was   the   same,   but    the   down 
Teight  is  as  four  to  one  of  the  up,  which 
reduces   the    capacity   to    7,230,000    tons. 
Before  the  canal  was  built,  the  expense  of 
transportation   from   Buffalo  to  New  York 
was  $100  per  ton  !  and  the  time  20  days. 
A  ton  of  wheat  in  New  York  was  then  worth 
about  $33,  hence  the  transportation  was  three 
times  the  value  of  the  wheat,  six  times  the 
value  of  corn,  and   twelve  times  the  value 
of  oats.     As  a  consequence,  the  wheat  of 
western  New  York  at  that  time  went  down 
the  Susquehanna  to  Baltimore  as  the  cheap- 
est and  best  market,  as  the  lumber  of  the 
head  waters  of  that  river  now  goes.     When 
the  canal  was  opened,  the  freight  down  was 
about  $14  per  ton,  more  or  less,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  freight.     This  has 
gradually  been  reduced,  and  in  1850,  when 
the  railroads  for  the  first  time  were  allowed 
to  carry  freight,  it  was  $3  to  $7  from  Buffalo 
to  New  York.     By  the  enlargement  it  is  sup- 
posed the  rates  will  be  reduced   to    $1.82 
between   Albany  and   Buffalo.     Since   the 
permission   of    railroads    to    carry  freight, 
however,  the  business  of  canals  is  more  con- 
fined  to  those  heavy  freights  furnished  by 
the  raw  produce  of  the  country,  lumber  par- 
ticularly.    Those   coarse   and  bulky  articles 
that  are  of  low  money  value  as  compared 
with  their  weight  will  continue  to  move  up- 
on canals,  but  the  lighter  and  more  costly, 
as  well  as  those  pressed  for  time,  will  be 
carried   exclusively   by   rails.     These  latter 
have  some  disadvantages,  however,  as  in  the 
case    of  flour,    the  motion    of  the   railroad 
causing  it  to  waste,  an  objection  not  urged 
against  canal  travel. 

The  total  length  of  the  five  great  lakes  is 
1,555  miles,  and  the  area  90,000  square 
miles,  and  they  are  estimated  to  drain  an  area 
of  335,515  square  miles.  That  vast  tract  of 
waters  was  a  waste  as  far  as  transportation 
went  until  the  year  1797,  when  the  first 
American  schooner  was  launched.  The 
craft  increased  to  some  extent  for  the  small 
commerce  that  engaged  the  settlers  when 
there  was  no  outlet  either  to  the  Atlantic 


COASTERS — STEAMBOATS CANALS. 


187 


or  to  the  south.  In  1816,  however,  a 
steamer  was  built  on  Lalce  Ontario,  and  in 
1819  the  Walk-in-the- Water,  340  tons,  was 
launched  at  Buffalo.  The  most  of  the  trade, 
however,  consisted  in  the  operations  of  the 
Indian  traders,  carrying  westward  supplies 
and  trinkets  for  the  trade,  and  returning 
with  furs  and  peltries.  On  the  opening  of  the 
Erie  canal,  in  1825,  a  new  state  of  things 
presented  itself.  Western  New  York  threw 
off  its  frontier  aspect,  and  put  on  an  air  of 
civilization,  since  it  became  a  receiver  of 
western  produce  and  exporter  of  goods.  The 
steam  tonnage  multiplied  to  transport  the 
growing  produce  of  the  west.  In  1822  the 
Superior  was  launched,  another  steamer  in 
1824,  two  in  1825,  and  three  in  1826.  One 
of  these  made  the  first  voyage  upon  Lake 
Michigan,  in  1826,  on  a  pleasure  excursion. 
It  was  not  until  1832  that  business  called 
them  thither,  and  then  one  reached  Chicago, 
in  the  employ  of  the  government,  to  carry 
supplies  for  the  Black  Hawk  war.  From 
that  time,  tonnage  has  increased  as  follows  :• 


1841. 

Buffalo  Creek 6,773 

Presque  Isle 2,813 

Cuyahoga 1,855 

Snndusky 

Miami 887 

Detroit 2,053 

Mackinaw 

Chicago 

Milwaukee . . 


1850.  1860. 

25,990         42,640 

5,691  1,471 

6,418         22,597 

360 

1,745 

16,469         30,381 

1,746  617 

652  8,151 

2,026 


14,381         58,711       108,243 

The  11  boats  running  in  1833,  carried  to 
and  from  Buffalo  61,485  passengers,  and 
the  fares  with  the  freight  amounted  to  $229,- 
212.  Those  were  the  years  of  the  great 
land  speculations,  and  crowds  of  passenger: 
went  west  on  that  errand.  Three  trips  were 
made  a  year  to  the  upper  lakes.  The 
trips  to  Chicago  from  Buffalo  occupied  25 
days  to  go  and  return.  In  1841  the  time 
required  for  a  first-class  steamer  was  10 
days  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit  and  back. 
This  was  reduced  in  1851  to  3  days, 
and  5  for  propellers.  In  1834  the  lake 
commerce  was  controlled  by  an  association, 
owning  18  boats.  This  association  was  kepi 
up  to  1841,  when  the  number  of  boats  hac 
increased  to  48.  The  opening  of  the  Ohio 
canals  had  poured  upon  the  lakes  a  large 
amount  of  produce.  The  500  miles  of  cana 
then  completed,  opened  up  the  grain  coun- 
try to  the  lakes.  In  1835,  Ohio  exported 
by  the  lakes  543,815  bushels  of  wheat; 


n  1840,  3,800,000  bushels;  and  in  1851, 
12,193,202  bushels,  which  paid  $500,000 
reight  and  charges.  The  railroads  have 
since  interfered  to  some  extent,  but  the 
wheat  received  across  the  lakes  has  this  last 
year  been  as  follows : — 

From  Ohio 2,856,216  bushels. 

Indiana 3,219,225 

Michigan 2,117,970 

Illinois 12,195,195 

"Wisconsin 5,447,766 

New  York 130,667 


Total .25,967,039         " 

The  successive  opening  of  the  Ohio  canals 
in  1833,  the  Illinois  canal  in  1848,  and  the 
Indiana  canal  in  1851,  all  added  constantly 
to  the  amount  of  produce  to  be  transported, 
and  since  the  last-mentioned  date  the  rail- 
roads have  opened  new  regions  of  country, 
and  increased  the  lake  trade.  It  is  to  be  born« 
in  mind  that  the  size  of  the  vessels,  their 
great  speed  when  under  way,  and  the  great- 
er dispatch  in  loading  and  unloading  by 
steam,  not  only  for  motion,  but  for  labor  at 
the  dock,  enable  the  same  quantity  of  ton- 
nage to  do  ten  times  the  business  that  it 
formerly  could  do.  In  1859  the  lake 
steamers  averaged  437  tons.  In  the  present 
year  the  average  is  680  for  steamers  and  470 
for  propellers.  A  change  is  now  going  on  in 
the  power,  by  reason  of  the  improvements  in 
propellers.  In  1843  the  first  lake  propeller, 
the  Hercules,  was  launched  at  Cleveland, 
275  tons,  the  screw  of  Ericsson's  patent. 
She  was  said  to  have  made  great  economy 
in  wood  for  fuel.  In  1851  the  propellers 
had  increased  to  52,  with  a  tonnage  amountr 
ing  to  15,729.  In  1860  there  were  118, 
tonnage  55,657.  These  boats  had  far  less 
speed  than  the  paddles,  but  they  have  not 
ceased  to  gain  in  public  opinion,  not  only 
upon  the  lakes,  but  in  the  Atlantic  bays  and 
rivers,  until  recent  improvements  have  brought 
them  to  rival  the  paddle  wheels  in  speed. 
These  vessels  will  in  all  probability  monop- 
olize tlje  European,  as  well  as  the  internal 
trade. 

Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Erie  canal, 
in  1825,  the  commerce  of  the  lakes  was  nec- 
essarily local,  since  there  were  no  markets 
east  or  west.  The  produce  raised  in  the  coun- 
try bordering  the  lakes  descended  the  streams 
that  ran  into  them,  and  found  interchange 
with  other  lake  ports.  The  opening  of  the 
canal  immediately  gave  an  eastern  current  to 
produce  of  all  descriptions,  and  much  had  ac- 


188 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


cumulated  in  anticipation  of  the  event,  and 
goods  returned  in  great  quantities.  In  the 
month  of  May,  1825,  83*7  boats,  carrying 
4,122  tons  of  goods,  left  Albany  for  Buffalo, 
paying  $22,000  tolls. 

The  lumber  from  western  New  York  and 
the  lake  borders  being  now  marketable 
where  before  it  was  valueless,  a  motive  for 
clearing  land  was  imparted,  and  the  new  canal 
received  on  its  bosom  from  all  sections  of  the 
lake  shore  the  lumber  brought  by  multiply- 
ing vessels.  The  lumber  that  found  tide 
water  before  had  been  that  which  in  south- 
ern New  York  and  in  Pennsylvania  skirted 
the  natural  water-courses,  and  being  cut  and 
hauled,  was  rafted  down  to  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore.  The  New  England  streams  de- 
livered the  lumber  in  the  same  manner. 
The  opening  of  the  canal  brought  into  com- 
petition the  vast  and  hitherto  untouched 
resources  of  the  west,  and  the  same  remark 
applies  to  all  farm  produce.  The  farmers 
of  New  England  were  undersold  at  their  own 
doors,  by  produce  from  western  New  York. 
The  potatoes  that  had  been  quick  of  sale  at 
7  5  cents,  were  supplanted  by  the  best  "  che- 
nangos"  at  37<J  cents,  and  the  competition 
was  felt  in  corn,  flour,  and  most  articles. 
The  effect  of  this  was  to  turn  the  attention 
of  that  hard-working  and  thrifty  race  of 
men,  the  farmers  of  New  England,  to  the 
western  country,  where  the  soil  was  so  much 
more  profitable.  At  that  date  commenced 
the  interchange  of  inhabitants,  which  has 
drawn  off  so  many  New  England  farmers, 
replacing  them  with  manufacturers  from 
abroad.  In  order  to  show  the  extent  of  this 
operation,  we  take  from  the  census  of  1850 
the  figures  showing  the  nativities  of  the 
whole  people  of  the  United  States.  Thus 
there  were  in  the  whole  Union  8,370,089 
persons  who  were  born  in  the  New  Eng- 
land and  middle  states.  Of  these,  6,941,- 
510  lived  in  the  states  where  they  were 
born.  The  remainder,  1,428,579,  were  liv- 
ing mostly  west,  but  in  their  place  there 
were  living  in  the  New  England  and  middle 
states  1,292,241  persons  who  were  born  in 
foreign  countries.  These  latter  worked  in 
the  mills  and  manufactories,  while  1,428,579 
northern  persons  who  had  migrated  west 
were  agriculturists  attracted  thither  by  the 
fertile  lands  made  available  by  the  means  of 
transportation.  The  lakes  were  now  con- 
nected with  tide  water,  but  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  western  rivers  with  a  southern  course 
had  no  northern  connection.  The  state  of 


Ohio  determined  to  make  the  connection, 
by  means  of  a  canal  from  Portsmouth,  on 
the  Ohio,  to  Cleveland,  on  Lake  Erie.  On 
the  4th  July,  1825,  the  first  spade  was 
put  into  the  ground,  and  in  1833  the  first 
boat  passed  through  from  lake  to  river,  307 
miles.  The  whole  interior  of  Ohio  was  thus 
opened  to  either  the  northern  or  the  south- 
ern market ;  and  the  state  authorized  turn- 
pikes and  other  roads  to  feed  the  canal,  on 
the  borders  of  which  trade  grew  rapidly. 
There  are  several  branches  of  the  Ohio  canal ; 
one,  the  Hocking,  goes  to  Athens,  and  an- 
other to  Columbus.  The  highest  level  of 
the  Ohio  canal  is  305  feet  above  the  lake, 
and  499  feet  above  the  Ohio  river.  Another 
canal,  the  Miami,  was  also  commenced  in 
1825  to  connect  Cincinnati  with  Lake  Erie. 
In  1829  it  had  been  opened  to  Dayton,  85 
miles,  but  it  was  not  completed  until  1843, 
when  it  connected,  130"  miles,  with  the 
Wabash  canal,  which  joins  Lake  Erie  at 
Toledo,  making  215  miles  from  Cincinnati 
to  Lake  Erie.  All  the  Ohio  canals  are  as 
follows : — 

Cost 

$4,695,202  69 

1,020,000  00 

3,667,440  82 

1,628,028  29 

975,481  01 

3,009,923  29 

607,268  99 


Length. 
Miles. 

Ohio  canal 340 

Miami 85 

"      extension 130 

Muskingum 92 

Hocking 56 

Wabash  and  Erie 91 

Walhonding 25 


Total 819      $15,603,345  09 

Thus  Ohio  was  crossed  by  canals,  that  gave 
the  greatest  development  to  her  resources, 
and  a  new  route  was  opened  for  all  the 
western  waters  to  the  Atlantic  ;  an  interior 
transit  from  the  Atlantic  cities  to  all  those 
of  the  east  was  in  operation ;  and  New 
Orleans  might  now  be  reached  from  New 
York  and  New  England,  by  an  internal 
route,  with  comparative  ease  and  safety. 

The  state  of  Pennsylvania  next  under- 
took the  great  work  of  forming  a  connec- 
tion between  the  Delaware  and  the  Ohio. 
The  project  which  had  been  formed  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century  was  now  resumed  ; 
and  in  1826  a  law  was  passed  to  construct 
the  work  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and, 
July  4th,  1826,  the  first  earth  was  turned  at 
Harrisburg,  and  in  1834  it  was  opened  for 
use.  The  line  consisted  of  a  railroad,  82 
miles,  from  Philadelphia  to  Columbia,  cost 
$3,330,127  ;  a  canal  from  Columbia,  172 
miles,  to  Hollidaysburg,  cost  $4,594,146; 


COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 


189 


a  portage  railroad  across  the  mountain 
from  Hollidaysburg  to  Johnstown,  36  miles, 
cost  $1,634,357;  and  a  canal  from  Johns- 
town to  Pittsburg,  105  miles,  cost  $2,823,- 
192 — making  395  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $12,- 
381,822.  Thus  the  Ohio  at  Pittsburg  was  now 
connected  with  Philadelphia,  by  a  route  much 
less  than  from  Buffalo  to  New  York.  There 
were  seven  branch  canals  made  to  feed  this. 
The  aggregate  length  was  314  miles,  and 
the  cost  86,471,994.  Every  part  of  the 
state  was  now  more  or  less  in  communica- 
tion with  the  great  outlets  east  and  west. 
There  were,  besides,  three  private  canals, 
viz.:  the  Schuylkill,  108  miles;  the  Lehigh, 
85  miles ;  and  the  Union,  82  miles,  which 
connected  the  great  coal  fields  with  tide 
water. 

We  have  shown  that  Washington  pre- 
sided, at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  at  a 
meeting  for  the  improvement  of  the  Poto- 
mac. The  ideas  then  suggested  ripened 
into  a  project  for  a  canal.  The  cession  of  a 
portion  of  Maryland  and  of  Virginia  to  fofm 
the  District  of  Columbia  as  a  seat  of  gov- 
ernment led  to  the  national  desire  to  connect 
it  with  the  west.  This  was  done,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  the  National  or  Cumberland 
road  to  Wheeling.  But  in  1 820  the  canal 
from  Georgetown  to  Pittsburg  was  projected, 
Congress  voting  $1,000,000.  Washington 
City  issued  bonds  for  a  like  sum.  George- 
town and  Alexandria  each  subscribed 
$250,000,  Maryland  $500,000,  and  Virginia 
$250,000,  and  6,084  shares  of  $100  each 
were  taken  by  individuals,  making  altogether 
$3,854,400.  As  the  work  was  to  run  through 
four  territories,  it  required  a  charter  from  Con- 
gress, Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania, 
and  July  4th  (Fourth  of  July  is  a  great 
day  for  canals),  1828,  John  Q.  Adams  and 
Charles  Carroll  turned  the  first  earth. 
In  1834,  104  miles  had  been  completed. 
The  work  was  finally  carried  191  miles 
to  Cumberland  in  1840,  at  an  expense  of 
some  $1 6,000,000.  It  will  not  probably  be 
carried  further,  never  having  answered  ex- 
pectations, although  of  late  it  has  had  busi- 
ness from  the  Cumberland  coal  regions. 

Thus  of  the  three  great  projects  for  con- 
necting the  eastern  and  western  waters,  only 
two  were  carried  out.  But,  following  the 
example  of  Ohio,  both  Indiana  and  Illinois 
determined  to  make  a  connection  across 
their  respective  states,  between  the  rivers  on 
the  south  and  the  lakes  on  the  north.  But 
they  were  some  years  later  than  Ohio,  since 
VOL.  II.  12 


they  were,  younger  and  weaker  states.  In 
1836,  under  the  spur  of  the  speculative 
fever,  Indiana  enacted  a  bill  authorizing 
a  system  of  internal  improvements.  This 
embraced  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  to  run 
from  Evansville  on  the  Ohio  to  the  Ohio 
state  line,  where  it  was  to  follow  down  the 
valley  of  the  Maumee,  taking  up  the  Miami 
canal  in  its  course,  and  entering  the  Eric 
Lake  at  Toledo.  Second,  the  White  Water 
canal,  to  connect  the  National  or  Cumberland 
road  at  Cambridge,  with  Lawrenceburg  on 
the  Ohio,  76  miles.  Third,  the  White 
River  canal,  to  connect  Indianapolis  with 
Evansville  on  the  Ohio,  190  miles,  and  to 
prolong  it  from  Indianapolis  to  Peru  on  the 
Wabash  canal.  There  were  also  to  be  some 
Macadam  roads  and  turnpikes.  These  works 
were  to  cost  $10,000,000.  The  Wabash  canal 
was  begun  in  1835,  and  in  1840,  90  miles 
were  finished.  The  great  revulsion  then 
brought  all  to  a  stand,  and  some  ten  years 
elapsed  before  the  work  was  completed 
through  the  aid  of  a  loan  obtained  on  pledge 
of  lands  granted  by  Congress  in  aid  of  this 
work. 

The  state  of  Illinois  undertook  a  far  more 
extensive  system  of  public  improvements. 
As  early  as  1810  a  project  was  put  forward, 
under  the  excitement  of  Fulton's  great  suc- 
cess, to  connect  New  Orleans  with  Buffalo 
in  32  days  by  steam,  by  way  of  Chicago. 
The  waters  of  the  Illinois  and  the  lakes 
were  in  high  floods  nearly  blended.  In  1823 
a  board  of  commissioners  was  appointed  to 
report  on  the  route  and  the  cost.  A  grant 
of  land  was  obtained  from  Congress  in  1829 
in  aid.  This  was  every  alternate  section  of 
land,  10  miles  on  each  side  of  the  canal,  in 
its  whole  length.  Not  until  1835  was  an 
act  passed  to  authorize  the  canal,  in  common 
with  many  other  works,  railroads  or  others, 
in  a  general  system  of  internal  improvements, 
which  were  to  cost  $12,000,000,  and  there 
had  been  sold  of  the  lands  granted  by  Con- 
gress $1,395,911. 

The  canal  was  to  connect  Chicago,  at  the 
foot  of  Lake  Michigan,  with  the  Illinois  river, 
102  miles.  It  was  prosecuted  with  more  or 
less  vigor  until  the  finances  and  credit  of  the 
state  were  ruined  by  the  revulsion  of  1837-9. 
The  work  then  lay  unfinished  until  in  1843, 
by  means  of  a  pledge  of  the  unsold  lands  of 
the  canal,  a  sum  of  $1,600,000  was  borrowed, 
and  the  work  completed  in  1852.  The  sales 
of  the  land  sufficed  to  pay  off  the  new  loan 
and  some  of  the  arrears. 


190 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


We  have  thus  sketched  the  great  main 
canal  avenues  that  connect  important  sec- 


tions,  and    may   enumerate    them    as  fol- 


lows : 


-•  •»>  Miles. 

Erie  canal Hudson  river  to  lakes 363 

Pennsylvania  canal.. Delaware  and  Ohio 395 

Ohio  "    ..Ohio  river  and  Lake  Erie 307 

Miami  "    ..         "  "       178 

Indiana  "    ..        "  "  "       379 

Illinois  "    ..Lake  Michigan  with  Illinois  river. .  .102 


Expenditure. 

$7.143,789 

13,381,822 

4,695,824 

3,750,000 

7,101,000 

8,654,337 


40 
40 
40 
40 
60 
60 


No.  of 

Locks. 

•      84 

200 

152 

102 

102 

2 


Total 1,V24      $43,726,772 


The  financial  results  of  the  New  York 
canals  may  be  thus  stated  in  the  aggregate 
of  receipts  and  revenues  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  works  to  Sept.  30,  1859  : — 


Receipts. 

Gross  tolls $70,565,73T 

Loans 55,842,462 

Other  items 20,469,924 


Expenditures. 

Construction $55,106.814 

Repairs 16,932,080 

Loans  and  Interest  57,028,943 
Other  items 17,790,286 


Total $146,858,123 


Total $146,858,123 


These  great  state  works  have  completed 
the  connection  between  the  Atlantic,  the 
lakes,  and  the  western  rivers,  and,  by  so 
doing,  have  promoted  the  circulation  of  the 
produce  of  all  sections  in  active  competition. 
The  resources  of  every  section  have  been 
drawn  out  in  such  a  manner  that  the  whole 
people  have  had  the  advantages  of  all.  In 
the  course  of  the  development  a  vast  capital 
was  added  to  the  national  wealth,  and  a  great 
value  bestowed  upon  land  not  before  very 
marketable.  While  this  has  been  done  by 
state  means,  a  great  number  of  other  canals 
have  been  erected  as  well  by  public  means 
as  private  enterprise.  The  most  important 
of  these  was  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  canal, 
connecting  those  two  rivers.  The  work  was 
completed  in  1827,  shortening  the  distance 
16  miles  between  Philadelphia  and  New 
York,  and  packet  propellers  run  regularly 
through  it  between  the  two  cities.  It  is  also 
the  main  source  of  supply  of  coal  for  New 
York.  The  state  of  Virginia  early  embarked 


in  improvements,  particularly  in  the  James 
river,  which  is  navigable  to  Richmond  for 
vessels  of  120  tons,  the  tide  reaching  there; 
above  Richmond  a  series  of  short  canals  in- 
tended to  connect  the  river  with  the  Kan- 
awha,  where  it  is  navigable  70  miles  from  its 
mouth  on  the  Ohio.  This  project  was  un- 
dertaken by  the  James  River  and  Kanawha 
Company,  and  was  completed  in  /the  form 
of  a  canal,  147  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $5,020,050. 
There  are  many  other  works  of  public  utility 
in  Virginia,  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
public  works,  chartered  in  1816.  There  are 
a  number  of  other  canals  in  several  states,  as 
the  Blackstone,  of  Massachusetts ;  the  Ogee- 
chee,  of  South  Carolina,  connecting  Charles- 
ton with  the  Santee,  cost  $650,667,  and 
many  other  improvements  in  a  number  of 
states.  The  Morris  and  Essex  canal,  of  New 
Jersey,  101  miles,  was  completed  in  1831. 
It  had  banking  powers  connected  with  it, 
and  of  all  the  public  works  in  the  country 
was  the  basis  of  the  most  stupendous  stock 
speculation.  Its  liabilities  were  at  one  time 
near  $10,000,000,  and  it  was  sold  out  in 
1845  for  a  sum  less  than  $3,000,000;  its 
business  is  at  present  prosperous.  It  is  one 
of  the  works  that  were  erected  to  develop 
the  great  coal  business  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
discovery  of  that  important  mineral  takes 
date  about  the  year  1820,  and  the  canals  that 
were  built  to  bring  the  coal  down  may  be 
enumerated  as  follows  : — 


Schuylkill  navigation Pennsylvania. 

Lehigh  canaL 

Pusquehanna 

North  Branch 

"          '•      upper 

Union 

]  >elaware  and  Hudson New  York. 

Morris  canal New  Jersey. 


Length. 

Miles. 

,..108 

...85 

..41 

..73 

..94 

..82 

..108 

...102 


Total  canals .  .693 


Cost.           Width.    Locks. 

$2,500,196 

36 

120 

4,455,099 

60 

81 

897,160 

40 

12 

1,590,379 

40 

8 

4,500,000 

40 

5,000,000 

36 

90 

9,100,000 

75 

18 

3,612,000 

32 

29 

nlanfts. 

22 

$31,654,834 


The  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money   struction  promoted  a  local  demand  for  prod- 
along  the  routes  of  these  works  for  their  con-   uce,  and    aided    in  the   settlement   of  the 


RAILROADS — LAND    GRANTS — EXTENT    AND    COST. 


191 


country  through  which  they  ran,  and  from 
the  improvement  of  which  their  future 
freightings  were  to  be  derived,  and  there 
is  little  matter  of  surprise  that  the  first 
years  of  their  operation  should  be  of  large 
promise.  The  cost  of  transporting  a  ton  of 
merchandise  from  Buffalo  to  Albany,  which 
had  been  $100,  and  the  time  twenty  days, 
was  at  once  reduced  to  $20,  and  the  time  to 
eight  days.  While  yet  they  were  being  con- 
structed, however,  a  new  agent  of  transpor- 
tation had  risen,  which  was  to  overshadow 
their  importance,  and  reduce  them  to  a 
second  rank.  The  rejoicing  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Erie  had  hardly  died  away,  be- 
fore the  locomotive  began  to  throw  its 
shadow  on  the  future.  The  "  astonishing 
speed"  of  steamboats  and  stages  was  about 
to  dwindle  into  an  intolerable  tedium.  The 
capacities  of  railroads  had  begun  to  be  dis- 
cussed, and  the  discussion  rapidly  elicited 
action,  which  did  not  cease  to  extend  itself, 
until  the  whole  country  has  become  covered 
with  rails.  When  railroads  began  to  be  con- 
structed, however,  both  vehicles,  sailing 
vessels,  and  steamers  had  made^  considerable 
progress  in  speed,  and  the  connections  of 
travel  had  come  to  be  made  with  more 
regard  to  dispatch.  It  is  amusing  to  look 
back  at  some  of  the  accounts  of  the  wonders 
of  the  canals  after  the  opening.  Thus,  in 
1823  it  is  stated — 

"  CANALS  !  A  sloop,  called  the  Gleaner,  has 
arrived  at  New  York  from  St.  Albans,  in  the 
state  of  Vermont,  with  a  cargo  consisting  of 
1,200  bushels  of  wheat  and  other  articles.  She 
will  carry  sixty  tons  of  merchandise,  and  does 
not  appear  te  have  had  any  difficulty  in 
passing  through  the  northern  canal.  It  is 
supposed  that  she  will  safely  navigate  the 
Hudson,  and  she  is  designed  as  a  regular 
packet  between  St.  Albans  and  the  city  of 
New  York.  Look  at  the  map!  An  uninter- 
rupted sloop  navigation  from  one  place  to 
the  other ! 

"  When  the  Green  Mountain  vessel  arrived 
at  New  York,  the  veteran  artillery  were  order- 
ed out,  and  she  was  saluted  from  the  battery." 

In  1824.  "  INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENT.  It 
is  stated  in  one  of  the  New  York  papers 
that  a  barrel  of  flour  can  be  transported  from 
Albany  to  New  York,  a  distance  of  150 
miles,  for  12|  cents,  and  that  one  individual 
offers  to  do  it  for  seven  cents." 

In  1825.  "MARCH  OF  INTELLECT  WITH 
POWER. — It  is  no  fairy  tale,  that  flour,  man- 
ufactured on  Lake  Erie,  has  been  profitably 


1  sold  in  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  for  $5.50 
per  barrel.  This  flour  was  transported  from 
the  lake  to  Albany,  through  the  Grand 
canal ;  thence  down  the  North  River  to  New 
York ;  and  thence,  by  sea,  to  Newbern.  The 
cost  of  transportation  from  the  lakes  to  New- 
j  bern  was  less  than  $1.50  per  barrel,  while 
I  that  between  Raleigh  and  Newbern  (not  more 
than  120  miles)  is  generally  two  dollars." 
In  1826.  "The  following,  from  the  Pitts- 
bury  Gazette,  shows  the  importance  of  canals. 
Mr.  Foster  has  published  in  the  Greensburgh 
Gazette  a  statement  furnished  him  by  a 
merchant  of  Meadville,  showing  the  amount 
which  the  merchant  paid  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  his  goods  this  fall  from  Philadelphia, 
by  way  of  New  York,  the  canal,  and  Erie, 
to  the  town  of  Meadville.  The  whole  cost 
per  hundred  pounds  was  $1.2041  We  are 
now  paying  three  dollars  per  hundred  for 
carriage  in  wagons  from  Philadelphia  to  this 
city!" 

These  extracts  afford — in  contrasting  not 
only  the  routes,  but  the  prices,  with  those 
before  their  use  and  those  which  now  exist — 
much  room  for  reflection.  It  may  be  re- 
marked that  the  Caroline,  burnt  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  sympathizers  in  1839,  at  Schlos- 
ser,  and  sent  over  the  falls  of  Niagara,  was 
built  in  South  Carolina,  and  had  passed  up 
the  canals  to  her  destination. 


CHAPTER  III. 

RAILROADS— LAND   GRANTS— EXTENT 
AND  COST. 

THE  excitement  in  relation  to  canals  and 
steamboats  was  yet  at  its  zenith,  when  the 
air  began  to  be  filled  with  rumors  of  the 
new  application  of  steam  to  land  carriages 
and  to  railroads.  There  were  many  inven- 
tions and  patents  at  home  and  abroad  in  re- 
lation to  carriages  propelled  upon  common 
roads  by  steam,  but  these  seem  never  to  have 
attained  much  success,  although  attempts  to 
perfect  them  are  still  made  with  great  perse- 
verance. On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  rail- 
roads from  small  beginnings  has  reached  a 
magnitude  which  overshadows  the  wildest 
imaginings  of  the  most  sanguine.  In  1825 
descriptions  came  across  the  water  of  the 
great  success  of  the  Darlington  railroad, 
which  was  opened  to  supply  London  with 
coal,  and  which  had  passenger  cars  moved 
by  steam  at  the  rate  of  seven  miles  per  hour. 


192 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


The  most  animated  controversy  sprang  up  in 
relation  to  the  possibility  of  such  roads  in 
England,  and  was  shared  in  to  some  extent 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  With  the  nat- 
ional energy  of  character,  the  idea  had  no 
sooner  become  disseminated  than  it  was 
acted  upon.  The  construction  of  railroads 
in  America  is  usually  ascribed  to  the  emu- 
lation excited  by  the  success  of  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  railway.  This  appears  not 
to  have  been  the  case,  however,  since  some 
of  the  most  important  works  in  this  country 
were  projected  and  commenced  before  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  road  was  built. 
The  act  of  Parliament  for  the  construction 
of  that  road  was  passed  in  1826,  and  the  road 
itself  was  finished  and  opened  in  September, 

1830,  31  miles  long;  but  the  Massachusetts 
Quincy  road,  three  miles  from  Quincy  to  Ne- 
ponset,  was   opened  in  1827,   and  a  great 
celebration  was  held  in  consequence.     The 
celebrated  Mauch  Chunk  railroad  of  Penn- 
sylvania was  begun  in  1826,  and  finished  in 
the  following  year.    On  that  road  the  horses 
which  draw  up  the  empty  coal  wagons  are 
sent  down  on  the  cars  which  descend  by 
their   own.  gravity.     This   contrivance  was 
borrowed  by  the  Mauch  Chunk  road  from 
the   Darlington  road,  similarly  situated,  in 
England.      It  is  to  be  remarked  that  both 
the  Quincy  and  the  Mauch  Chunk  roads  were 
horse  roads  ;  the  locomotive  was  not  at  first 
introduced.     In  1828,  twelve  miles   of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  were  completed, 
two  years  before  the  Manchester  road  was 
opened.     In  the  same  year,  1828,  the  South 
Carolina  road,  from  Charleston  to  Hamburg, 
was  surveyed,  and  in  Massachusetts  the  city 
of  Boston  voted  the  construction  of  a  road 
from  that  city  to  the  Hudson  at  Albany. 
The   first  portion   of  that   road,   however, 
Boston  to   Worcester,  44   miles,  was   not 
opened  until  1835.     The  second  road  finish- 
ed in  the  United  States  was  the  Richmond, 
Va.,  road,  thirteen  miles  to  Chesterfield,  in 

1831,  and  in  the  same  year  that  running 
from  New  Orleans,  five  miles  to  Lake  Pont- 
chartrain,  was  opened.       Thus  roads  were 
well  adopted  in  public  opinion  here  before 
the  great  success  of  the  Manchester  road 
was  known,  but  which  gave  an  undoubted 
impulse  to  the  fever.  During  the  excitement 
in   relation  to    "rail"   roads,  a  writer  in  a 
Providence  paper  thus  satirized  the  condition 
of  the  Connecticut  roads.     He  claimed  the 
invention  of  the  cheapest  "  rail"  roads,  and 
proved  it  thus :    "  Only  one  English  engine 


alone  costs  $2,000,  which  sum  the  whole  of 
our  apparatus  does  not  much  exceed,  as 
figures  will  prove ;  for  700  good  chestnut 
rails  at  $3,  amounts  to  only  $21,  and  it 
ought  to  be  remembered  that  this  is  all  the 
expense  we  are  at,  and  the  inference  is  con- 
clusive in  our  favor.  We  place  our  rails 
fifty  to  the  mile  by  the  side  of  the  road,  to 
pry  out  the  wheels  when  they  get  stuck,  and 
hoist  behind  when  wanted."  The  public 
were,  however,  no  longer  to  be  satisfied 
with  this  kind  of  "rail"  road.  They  em- 
barked in  the  new  enterprise  with  such 
vigor,  that  in  1836  two  hundred  companies 
had  been  organized,  and  l,003i  miles  were 
opened  in  eleven  states.  These  were  highly 
speculative  years,  however,  and  the  revulsion 
brought  matters  to  a  stand. 

It  was  at  once  apparent  to  the  commercial 
mind  that  if  railroads  Avould  perform  what 
was  promised  for  them,  geographical  position 
was  no  longer  important  to  a  city.  In  other 
words,  that  railroads  would  bring  Boston 
into  as  intimate  connection  with  every  part 
of  the  interior  as  New  York  could  be.  The 
large  water  communication  that  enabled  New 
York  by  means  of  steamboats  to  concentrate 
trade  from  all  quarters,  could  not  now  com- 
pete with  the  rails  that  would  confer  as 
great  advantages  upon  Boston.  Indeed,  Bos- 
ton had  now  availed  herself  of  steam  power. 
Up  to  1828  she  owned  no  steamers.  The 
Benjamin  Franklin,  built  in  that  year,  was 
the  first,  and  her  steam  tonnage  is  now 
but  9,998  tons.  When  she  bought  her  first 
steamboat,  however,  she  was  laying  out  those 
railroad  connections  that  she  has  since  push- 
ed so  vigorously,  and  they  have  paid  an 
enormous  interest,  if  not  directly  to  the. 
builders,  at  least  to  the  general  interests  of 
the  city. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  national 
government  expended,  as  we  have  seen, 
largely  in  the  construction  of  highways,  the 
clearing  out  of  rivers,  and  the  improvement 
of  harbors.  The  people  have  by  individual 
taxes  mostly  constructed  the  earth  roads  of 
this  country.  The  canals  have,  however, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  been  state  Avorks, 
built  by  the  proceeds  of  state  loans,  with  the 
aid  of  lands  donated  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment. These  lands  were  made  marketable 
and  valuable  by  the  action  of  the  canals  in 
aid  of  which  they  were  granted.  The  rail- 
roads of  the  country  have  been,  as  a  whole, 
built  on  a  different  plan,  viz.,  by  corporations, 
or  chartered  companies  of  individuals.  These 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


193 


associations  have  not,  however,  themselves 
subscribed  the  whole  of  the  money,  probably 
Dot  more  than  half,  but  they  have  found  it  to 
their  interest  to  borrow  the  money  on  mort- 
gage of  the  works.  The  great  object  of  the 
companies  has  not  been  so  much  to  derive  a 
direct  profit  from  the  investment,  as  to  cause 
the  construction  of  a  highway,  which  should 
by  its  operation  increase  business,  enhance 
the  value  of  property,  and  swell  the  floating 
capital  of  the  country  by  making  available  con- 
siderable productions  of  industry,  which  before 
were  not  marketable,  since  the  influence  of  a 
railroad  in  a  new  district  is  perhaps,  if  not 
to  create,  at  least  to  bring  into  the  general 
stock  more  capital  than  is  absorbed  in  its 
construction.  • 

Thus  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  a  thou- 
sand millions  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in  the 
construction  of  roads,  and  yet  capital  is  pro- 
portionally more  abundant  now  than  before 
this  vast  expenditure,  and  land  has,  in  railroad 
localities,  increased  by  a  money  value  greater 
than  the  cost  of  the  roads  !  We  have  seen 
that  before  the  operation  of  canals,  land 
transportation  was,  and  is  now  remote  from 
these  works,  one  cent  per  mile  per  hundred. 
If  a  barrel  of  flour  is  then  worth  in  market 
five  dollars,  a  transportation  of  300  miles 
would  cost  more  than  its  whole  value ;  but 
by  rail  it  may  be  carried  from  Cincinnati  to 
New  York  for  one  dollar.  Thus  railroads 
give  circulation  to  all  the  surplus  capital  that 
is  created  by  labor  within  their  circle.  It  is 
on  this  principle  that  may  be  explained  the 
immense  prosperity  that  has  been  seen  to  at- 
tend the  enormous  expenditure  for  railroads, 
particularly  during  the  last  ten  years. 

The  construction  of  the  Massachusetts 
Western  railway,  from  Boston  to  the  Hudson 
river,  was  one  of  the  most  important  and  fi- 
nancially successful  of  all  the  railroads  of  the 
country.  New  York  had  constructed  her 
great  canal,  as  it  were  making  Albany  basin 
a  part  of  Lake  Erie.  Boston  now  grasped 
the  idea  of  a  railroad  that  should  make  Al- 
bany basin  with  its  affluents  a  part  of  Boston 
harbor.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
that  when  that  road  was  undertaken,  railroad 
building  was  a  new  art ;  the  mode  of  laying 
the  track,  the  form,  and  even  the  model 
of  rails  were  problems.  The  form  of  wheels 
to  run  on  the  rails,  the  mode  of  setting  the 
car  on  the  wheels,  were  all  unknown  com- 
pared with  the  knowledge  on  the  subject 
which  the  construction  of  30,000  miles  of 
roads  in  this  country  has  since  accumulated. 


The  state  of  knowledge  at  that  time  may  be 
seen  in  the  following  extract  from  "  Wood 
on  Railroads"  in  1825  : — 

"  Nothing  can  do  more  harm  to  the  adop- 
tion of  railroads  than  the  promulgation  of 
such  nonsense  as  that  we  shall  see  locomotive 
engines  travelling  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles 
per  hour." 

Such  was  engineering  knowledge  at  the 
time  Boston  voted  to  build  a  connection  200 
miles  to  Albany.  Since  that  day  much  has 
been  learned  in  relation  to  the  characteristics 
of  roads. 

The  great  advantage  of  railroads  is  that  they 
practically  diminish  distances  between  places 
in  proportion  to  the  speed  attained.  The 
rapidity  of  motion  and  power  of  traction  de- 
pend upon  the  diminution  of  friction.  This 
was  sought  in  common  roads,  Macadam  roads, 
and  canals,  but  has  approached  perfection  in 
railroads.  The  essential  attributes  are  two 
smooth  surfaces  for  wheels  to  run  on. 
These  being  made  of  iron,  are  made  as  narrow 
as  possible  to  lessen  the  «ost ;  and  to  keep 
the  wheels  upon  the  rails,  flanges  are  placed 
upon  the  inner  rim  of  the  wheel.  The  form 
of  the  iron  rails  has  undergone  many  changes, 
as  experience  suggested  improvements. 
The  mode  of  laying  these  has  also  varied. 
The  building  of  a  railroad  includes  "  the  road 
bed,"  somewhat  like  a  common  road,  and 
the  superstructure,  which  embraces  rails,  sup- 
ports, ties,  etc.  The  main  operations  in  the 
construction  of  the  road  bed  consist  in  the 
"  excavations,  tunnels,  embankments,  ballast- 
ing, bridges,  and  viaducts." 

These  operations  are  required  to  give  the 
necessary  levelness  and  straightness  to  roads, 
both  of  which  are  requisite,  not  only  as  ele- 
ments of  speed,  but  of  economy.  The 
straightest  road  is  the  shortest;  but  when 
the  road  is  done,  the  expense  of  keeping  up 
the  earth-work  is  nearly  nothing,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  annual  expense  required 
to  keep  up  the  perishable  superstructure  is 
very  great  and  proportionate  to  the  length 
of  the  road.  Hence  true  economy  requires 
a  greater  outlay  to  make  the  road  straight, 
in  order  to  avoid  permanent  cause  of  ex- 
pense. Common  roads  may  be  lengthened 
to  advantage,  in  order  to  avoid  an  ascent. 
In  railroads  this  is  avoided  by  tunnels 
through  the  obstacle  when  it  is  too  high  to 
excavate  at  what  it  would  cost  to  tunneL 
This  is  not,  however,  the  only  reason  for 
straightening,  since  the  frequency  of  curves 
greatly  increases  the  danger  of  railroads. 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS— EXTENT    AND    COST. 


195 


AHien  a  car  in  motion  enters  upon  a  curve, 
it  has  a  tendency  to  continue  its  straight 
course,  and  this  is  overcome  by  the  resist- 
ance of  the  flanges  of  the  wheel  against  the 
rail,  and  by  the  firmness  of  the  outer  rail. 
This  resistance  is  always  felt  in  the  rocking 
motion  of  the  cars,  and  is  increased  by  the 
shortness  of  the  curve.  A  pair  of  wheels  is 
fastened  to  an  axle  and  turns  with  it,  the 
outer  wheel  moving  on  a  curve  much  faster 
than  the  inner  one,  which  would  slide,  under 
such  circumstances,  if  both  were  of  the  same 
diameter,  sufficiently  to  make  up  the  differ- 
ence. This  is  obviated  by  making  the 
wheels  conical,  or  of  a  larger  diameter  next 
to  the  flange  than  on  the  outside.  The  ef- 
fect of  this  is  that  the  wheels  having  some 
play  between  the  rails,  the  outer  wheel, 
forced  against  the  rail,  runs  on  a  larger  di- 
ameter than  the  inner  one,  thus  compensat- 
ing the  speed.  Further,  to  overcome  the 
centrifugal  force,  the  outer  rail  is  made 
higher  than  the  inner  one,  so  that  the  weight 
of  the  car  gives  it  a  tendency  to  slide  toward 
the  inner  one  in  opposition  to  the  centrif- 
ugal force.  The  excavations  in  loose  earth 
require  to  be  supported  at  the  sides  by  re- 
taining walls,  and  to  be  drained  by  ditches  and 
cross  drains.  In  making  a  tunnel  the  centre  of 
the  road  is  set  with  great  accuracy  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  by  an  instrument,  and  shafts 
are  sunk  at  proper  levels  along  this  line.  The 
excavations  are  then  made  by  "  drifts"  from 
shaft  to  shaft;  and  to  the  open  ends  of  the 
tunnel.  The  material  excavated  is  raised 
through  the  shafts,  which  serve  for  ventila- 
tion when  the  tunnel  is  finished.  The  em- 
bankments require  great  care  to  insure  their 
solidity.  When  the  materials  for  filling  are 
at  hand,  they  are  usually  made  at  their  full 
height  at  one  end,  and  then  temporary  rails 
permit  the  approach  of  wagons  to  be  emptied 
over  the  head  of  the  embankment.  The 
progress  of  the  work  depends  upon  the 
speed  with  which  these  succeed  each  other. 
When  the  track  passes  through  a  country 
like  a  wooded  swamp,  where  the  materials 
for  filling  are  not  at  hand,  resort  is  had  to 
trusses.  Piles  of  a  diameter  of  1 5  inches  are 
driven,  so  as  to  form  lines  of  the  width  of 
the  railroad ;  transverse  ties  are  fastened 
across  the  tops,  and,  with  proper  supports, 
longitudinal  timbers  are  laid  across  the  piles 
to  carry  the  rails.  The  tops  of  embank- 
ments and  the  bottoms  of  excavations  are 
made  about  two  feet  below  the  intended  or 
"  formation  level"  of  the  road,  and  have  there 


a  convex  surface  like  an  ordinary  road. 
This  space  of  two  feet  is  filled  up  with  por- 
ous material,  broken  stones,  gravel,  etc. 
This  is  called  "  ballast,"  and  through  it  the 
rains  pass  freely,  and  the  frosts  of  winter  do 
not  so  much  affect  it.  On  this  "  ballast"  the 
sleepers  are  laid.  Many  roads  are  not  prop- 
erly ballasted,  and  are,  therefore,  unsafe. 
Bridges  are  difficult  of  construction,  and  have 
sometimes  been  made  of  iron.  This  was  the 
case  with  the  Erie  railroad,  when  an  accident 
occurred,  because  the  iron,  resting  upon 
stone  piers,  contracted  by  the  cold  so  as  to 
drop  off  its  support. 

When  the  road  bed  is  complete,  the  su- 
perstructure is  put  on.  This  is  now  done  by 
cross  sleepers.  The  best  of  these  are  second- 
growth  chestnut,  7  feet  long,  and  8  by  12 
inches.  These  are  laid  upon  the  ballast. 
The  iron  rails  are  laid  upon  these,  but  in 
some  cases  longitudinal  timbers  are  first  laid 
down,  and  upon  these  the  iron  rails  are  laid. 
The  iron  rails  have  undergone  many  im- 
provements. At  first,  a  simple  flat  iron  rail 
was  spiked  down  to  these  timbers.  These 
rails  would  often  get  loose,  and  the  end  ris- 
ing form  a  "  snake  head,"  and  the  wheel 
catching  under,  throw  it  up  with  great  force 
and  danger  to  passengers.  These  roads  were 
ridiculed  as  "  hoops  tacked  to  a  lath."  Va- 
rious forms  and  weights  of  rail  were  adopted 
as  experience  directed ;  that  now  the  favorite 
is  called  the  T  rail ;  the  shape  is  like  that 
letter  inverted.  There  must  be  a  certain 
breadth  of  rail  for  the  wheel  to  run  on,  and 
depth  for  strength.  The  smallest  rails  will 
weigh  36  Ibs.  to  the  running  yard.  The 
Massachusetts  roads  use  60  Ibs.  to  the  yard  ; 
the  New  York  roads,  70  to  75  Ibs.  to  the 
yard.  The  rail  is  not  fastened  directly  to 
the  timber,  but  is  held  in  chairs,  which  are 
spiked  to  the  cross  sleepers.  The  chair  is 
of  cast  or  wrought  iron,  and  will  weigh  20 
to  30  Ibs.  They  are  made  in  one  piece,  so 
as  to  receive  the  ends  of  two  rails,  which  are 
fastened  by  wedges  of  iron  or  wood,  driven 
between  them  and  the  chair,  without  inter- 
fering with  the  longitudinal  expansion  and 
contraction  of  the  rails. 

The  proper  breadth  of  rails  apart,  or  the 
width  of  the  track,  has  been  matter  of  much 
discussion.  There  are  many  advocates  of 
the  "broad  gauge"  and  of  the  "narrow 
gauge."  The  latter  is  generally  4  ft.  8  in. 
and  the  former  6  ft.  The  Erie  railroad  is 
of  the  broad  gauge,  and  the  convenience  of 
the  cars  is  superior  to  that  of  the  narrow 


196 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


roads.  It  is  a  more  expensive  road  to  build, 
however.  Both  plans  have  their  advantages. 
The  majority  of  roads  are,  however,  built  on 
the  narrow  gauge.  When  gauges  on  long 
lines  are  uniform  it  facilitates  the  passage 
of  the  cars,  which  would  otherwise  be  inter- 
rupted. 

The  power  on  railroads  is  mostly  steam, 
but  horses,  stationary  engines,  and  atmos- 
pheric pressure  are  sometimes  used.  The 
first  really  successful  locomotive  was  built  in 
1814,  which  drew  30  tons  6  miles  per  hour  ; 
improvements  have  since  been  made  until  70 
miles  per  hour  is  attained.  A  Philadelphia 
engine  drew  158  cars,  2,020  feet  long,  with 
1,268  tons  coal,  84  miles  in  8  hours.  The 
engine  weighed  15f  tons.  The  power  of 
an  engine  depends  upon  the  quantity  of 
steam  it  can  generate  in  a  given  time.  Each 
revolution  of  the  wheels  corresponds  to  ? 
double  stroke  of  each  piston,  or  four  cylin- 
derfuls  of  steam.  The  utmost  heating  surface 
is  therefore  required,  and  this  is  obtained  by 
tubular  boilers.  Wheels,  7  feet  in  diameter, 
pass  over  22  feet  in  each  complete  revolu- 
tion. To  go  25  miles  per  hour,  therefore, 
they  must  revolve  five  times  in  a  second, 
and  each  piston  must  make  10  strokes  in  the 
same  time.  This  minute  division  of  time  is 
accurately  made  by  this  ponderous  machine. 
This  rapid  exhaustion  of  steam  causes  a 
greater  demand  for  fuel  in  proportion  to  the 
speed.  The  power  of  an  engine  to  draw 
loads  depends  upon  the  pressure  of  steam, 
which  is  usually  50  to  60  Ibs.  to  the  square 
inch ;  but  the  adhesion  of  the  engine  to  the 
rails  must  be  great,  otherwise  the  wheel 
would  slip  round.  For  this  reason  the 
wheels  were  first  made  with  cogs  to  hold  in 
the  rail,  but  it  was  found  that  the  weight  of 
the  engine  was  sufficient  on  level  roads. 
The  adhesion  of  iron  upon  iron  is  one-eighth 
of  the  weight,  but  in  wet  and  freezing  weath- 
er it  is  greatly  reduced,  and  it  lessens  with 
the  increase  of  the  slope  of  the  road,  or 
ascending  grade.  Thus,  if  an  engine  will 
draw  389  tons  on  a  level,  it  will  draw  but 
one-fourth  of  the  amount  up  a  grade  50  ft. 
to  the  mile.  The  average  cost  of  locomotive 
power  is  not  far  from  50  cents  per  mile  run, 
which  includes  fuel,  oil,  wages,  repairs,  wear 
and  tear,  etc.  These  expenses  are,  of  course, 
lessened  by  levelness  and  straightness,  since 
where  these  are  perfect,  more  is  carried  for 
the  same  money,  than  on  common  roads.  A 
great  draw-back  upon  the  cheapness  of  rail 
transportation  is  the  weight  of  the  rolling 


stock.  The  cars  and  engines  usually  are  to 
the  paying  freight  as  1 0  to  6.  Various  means 
have  been  proposed  to  lessen  the  burden 
of  this  expense,  but  hitherto  without  much 
success.  It  is  evident  from  this  slight  sketch 
of  the  principles  of  railroad  construction  that 
the  characteristics  of  a  road,  in  relation  to 
curves,  grades,  etc.,  have  much  to  do  with  the 
economy  with  which  it  can  be  run,  and  its  ca- 
pacity to  compete  successfully  with  rival  lines. 

The  city  of  Boston  was,  as  we  have  said, 
one  of  the  earliest  to  understand  the  advan- 
tages that  were  to  be  drawn  from  railroads 
in  overcoming  the  disadvantages  of  its  posi- 
tion in  relation  to  the  west,  and  the  Western 
railroad  has  been  the  instrument  by  which 
she  made  the  great  states  west  of  New  York 
subservient  to  her  interests.  The  charter  of 
that  road  is  dated  March  15,  1833.  The 
road  runs  from  Worcester,  44  miles  west  of 
Boston,  to  the  Massachusetts  state  line,  and 
thence  38^  miles  over  the  Albany  and  West 
Stockbridge  railroad,  leased  and  operated  by 
the  Western  road,  into  Albany,  200  miles 
from  Boston.  The  first  train  of  passengers 
that  left  Boston  was  on  April  7,  1834,  for 
Davis'  Tavern,  Newton,  to  which  place  the 
Worcester  road  was  then  opened.  It  was 
completed  to  Worcester  July  3,  1835.  The 
Western  road,  in  continuation,  was  opened  to 
Springfield  Oct.  1,  1839,  ten  days  before 
the  United  States  Bank  finally  failed,  and  it 
reached  Greenbush  Dec.  21,  1841,  thus  es- 
tablishing the  route  from  Boston  to  the  Al- 
bany basin  in  seven  hours.  It  there  con- 
nects with  the  New  York  Central  road, 
which  carries  the  line  229  miles  to  Koclies- 
ter,  whence,  by  the  Lockport  division  of 
the  Central  road,  77  miles,  it  connects  at 
Suspension  bridge  with  the  Great  Western 
Canada  road,  and  thence  with  the  Michigan 
Central,  the  Illinois  Central,  and  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  roads  to  New  Orleans.  By 
this  route  Boston  and  St.  Louis,  1,365  miles 
distant,  are  connected  in  64  hours.  From 
Buffalo  the  line  connects  south  of  the  lakes 
with  all  the  net-work  of  Ohio  and  other 
roads.  Every  portion  of  the  country  is  thus 
brought  into  connection  with  Boston. 

The  Worcester  railroad  has  a  double  track 
its  entire  length,  laid  with  60  Ib.  iron.  Its 
freight-house  at  Boston  is  a  single  room  466 
feet  in  length  and  120  feet  wide.  The  cost 
of  the  road  was  $4,843,610.  The  Western 
has  a  double  track  68  miles;  it  has  20  de- 
pots, covering  118  acres  of  land;  it  has  15 
stone-arched  bridges,  15  to  60  feet  span. 


RAILROADS LAND  GRANTS EXTENT  AND  COST. 


197 


The  bridge  across  the  Connecticut  is  1,264 
feet  long.  The  Western  road  has  a  grade 
of  from  60  to  80  feet  per  mile  for  more  than 
1 8  miles ;  near  the  state  line  the  depot  is 
1,456  feet  above  the  depot  in  Boston !  These 
features  indicate  the  difficulties  that  were  en- 
countered in  the  construction,  and  it  received 
much  aid  from  the  state.  The  original  capi- 
tal was  $2,000,000;  in  1836  this  was  in- 
creased, and  the  state  subscribed  $1,000,000. 
The  state  subsequently  loaned  its  credit  for 
$4,000,000.  The  present  debt  of  the  com- 
pany is  $5,839,080,  and  the  capital  $5>150,- 
000,  on  which  it  uniformly  pays  8  per 
cent,  dividend.  The  cost  of  the  Western 
road  proper  was  $6,757,309,  and  of  the  Al- 
bany and  West  Stockbridge,  $2,392,384. 
The  opening  of  this  road  made  a  great  change 
in  flour  business.  Formerly  the  flour  that 
came  down  the  Erie  canal,  and  was  tranship- 
ped in  sloops,  made  the  voyage  up  the  Sound 
and  round  Cape  Cod,  into  Boston  harbor. 
The  Western  road  made  the  line  direct,  and 
by  it  about  600,000  bbls.  now  annually  leave 
Albany ;  of  this  40  per  cent,  is  sold  along 
the  line,  in  what  was  once  an  agricultural 
region,  and  the  balance  meets  in  the  Boston 
market  the  flour  of  the  southern  states.  The 
Boston  and  Providence  road  was  opened  41 
miles  in  June,  1835,  and  at  once  became  the 
connecting  link  between  the  steamboats  from 
New  York  and  Boston,  taking  the  place  of 
the  stage  lines.  This  road  has  now  several 
branches,  and  has  been  very  profitable.  The 
original  cost,  $3,862,710,  has  long  since  been 
returned  to  its  stockholders  in  6  per  cent, 
dividends.  It  has  a  debt  of  $195,220,  which 
is  paid  at  the  rate  of  $30,000  per  annum. 

The  Boston  and  Maine  road,  which  is  the 
second  link  in  the  great  chain  which  reaches 
from  Bangor  to  New  Orleans  by  the  Atlantic 
coast,  1,996  miles,  was  opened  in  1843.  It 
runs  74  miles  to  Berwick,  where  it  connects 
with  the  Portland,  Saco,  and  Portsmouth,  ex- 
tending to  Portland.  The  cost  of  this  has 
been  $4,719,995,  and  it  has  no  debt.  It 
has,  since  Oct.,  1843,  paid  40  dividends, 
amounting  to  $133  per  share  of  $100.  The 
connections  of  this  road  are  very  numerous. 
Lateral  and  cross  roads  bring  every  manu- 
facturing town  in  New  England  within  easy 
distance  of  Boston.  The  3,749  miles  of  rail- 
road in  the  New  England  states  give  an 
active  circulation  to  raw  materials  and  the 
products  of  industry,  making,  so  to  speak, 
all  the  labor  of  those  •  states  available  on 
equal  terms. 


In  New  York  the  question  of  railroads 
had  been  very  early  discussed.  A  publica- 
tion of  Colonel  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  in 
1812,  advocated  a  railway  instead  of  a  canal 
to  the  lakes ;  but  his  proposition  was  op- 
posed by  Chancellor  Livingston  on  grounds 
which  indicate  very  odd  ideas  of  the  'nature 
of  the  works.  The  first  regular  application 
to  the  legislature  for  a  railroad  charter 
seems  to  have  been  made  by  Stephen  Van 
Rensselaer  and  others  in  1826,  for  power  to 
construct  one  between  the  Hudson  and  the 
Mohawk,  and  they  received  the  grant  for 
the  reason  that  no  railroads  were  then  in  the 
country  at  all,  and  that,  as  the  petitioners 
were  willing  to  make  the  experiment  at  their 
own  cost,  it  was  a  good  opportunity  to  per- 
mit it.  The  surveys  for  the  road  were  not 
made  until  1830,  and  the  road  was  opened 
in  September,  1831,  and  three  cars,  with 
twenty  passengers  in  each,  were  drawn  to 
Schenectady  in  46  minutes  by  an  American 
engine  of  3£  tons.  Meantime,  the  charters 
of  the  Harlem  and  the  Saratoga  and  Schen- 
ectady had  been  granted.  The  opening  of 
the  Mohawk  road  caused  much  excitement. 
A  road  from  the  Hudson  to  the  lakes  was 
agitated,  and  applications  were  made  to  the 
legislature  of  1832  for  49  roads,  of  which 
27  charters  were  granted,  and  of  these  six 
have  been  constructed,  viz. :  the  Brooklyn 
and  Jamaica,  Hudson  and  Berkshire,  Erie,  < 
Rensselaer  and  Saratoga,  Tonawanda,  Water- 
town  and  Rome.  In  1833,  six  railroads 
were  chartered;  of  these  the  Utica  and 
Schenectady,  Whitehall  and  Rutland,  and 
Buffalo  and  Black  Rock  were  constructed. 
In  1834,  ten  railroads  were  chartered,  and 
of  these  five  were  constructed  :  the  Auburn 
and  Syracuse,  Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls, 
Long  Island,  Lockport  and  Niagara,  and  the 
Saratoga  and  Washington.  In  1836,  43 
railroads  were  chartered,  seven  of  which 
were  built :  the  Albany  and  West  Stock- 
bridge,  Attica  and  Buffalo,  Auburn  and  Roch- 
ester, Lewiston,  Schenectady  and  Troy,  Skan- 
eateles,  and  Syracuse  and  Utica.  In  1837, 
14  railroads  were  chartered,  but  none  of  them 
have  been  constructed.  In  1838,  the  state 
authorized  a  loan  of  its  credit  to  the  extent 
of  $3,000,000  to  the  Erie  railroad,  and  of 
$100,000  to  the  Catskill  and  Canajoharic, 
and  of  $250,000  to  the  Ithaca  and  Owego  ; 
also,  $200,000  to  the  Auburn  and  Syracuse. 
In  1839,  the  Oswego  and  Syracuse  railroad 
was  chartered ;  and  the  city  of  Albany  lent 
$400,000  to  the  Albany  and  West  Stock- 


200 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


bridge  road.  In  1840,  acts  were  passed  in 
the  legislature  to  loan  the  credit  of  the  state 
to  the  extent  of  $3,47 8,000  to  six  roads,  and 
provision  was  made  for  a  sinking  fund  to  be 
paid  into  the  treasury  by  the  railroad  com- 
panies, except  the  Erie.  In  1841,  the  city 
of  Albany  was  authorized  to  invest  $350,- 
000  in  the  Albany  and  West  Stockbridge 
road.  The  Erie  railroad,  having  defaulted 
on  its  interest,  was  advertised  for  sale  by  the 
comptroller,  which  did  not  take  place,  how- 
ever. This  was  not  the  case  with  the  Ithaca 
and  Owego,  which  was  sold  for  $4,500,  and 
the  Catskill  and  Canajoharie  for  $11,600. 
The  loss  to  the  state  was  81,026,327.  In 
1844,  the  several  railroads  from  Albany  to 
Buffalo  were,  for  the  first  time,  permitted  to 
transport  freight  on  the  closing  of  the  canal, 
by  paying  the  state  the  same  toll  as  the 
canal  would  have  paid.  In  1846,  the  Hud- 
son River  and  the  New  York  and  New  Ha- 
ven were  chartered.  In  1847,  the  seven 
roads  making  the  line  from  Albany  to  the 
lakes  were  required  to  lay  down  an  iron 
rail  of  56  Ibs.  to  the  yard.  They  were  like- 
wise authorized  to  carry  freight  all  the  year 
by  paying  canal  tolls ;  and  all  the  railroads 
were  made  liable  for  damages  in  case  of 
death  by  neglect  of  the  companies'  agents. 
In  1848,  the  general  railroad  law  was  passed. 
The  law  provides,  however,  that  the  legisla- 
ture shall  decide  whether  the  "  public  utility  " 
of  the  road  justifies  the  taking  of  private  prop- 
erty. This  was  removed  in  1849.  Thus, 
from  1826  to  1850, 151  charters  were  grant- 
ed, and  of  these  30  have  been  carried  into 
effect.  We  observe  that  the  line  from 
Albany  to  Buffalo  was  composed  of  seven 
distinct  companies,  finished  at  different 
times.  Most  of  these  were  restricted  as  to 
fares.  The  Mohawk  and  Hudson — or  Al- 
bany and  Schenectady — was  not  restrained. 
The  others  were,  as  in  the  following  table 
composing  the  line  now  known  as  .the  Cen- 
tral railroad : — 


Maxi- 
mum 

Char-  Open-  fare  ' 
tered.    ed.      per 


Albany  and  Schenectady . 
Utica  and  Schenectady. . . 

Syracuse  and  Utica 

Auburn  and  Syracuse 

Auburn  and  Rochester. . . 

Tonawanda 

Attica  and  Buffalo 


..1826  1831 

.  .1833  1836 

..1836  1839 

..1834  1839 

..1836  1841 

..1832  1842 

..1836  1842 


.4 

.4 

.5 

.4     78 

.4     48i 

.8     31  i 


Cost. 


17     $1,711,412 
78       4,143,918 
53       2,490,083 
26       1,011,000 
78       4,210,101 
1,216,820 
900,915 


Total 8ti7  $1 5,690,249 

These  companies  were  in  1850  allowed 
to  carry  freight  without  the  imposition  of 


the  canal  tolls,  and  in  1853  were  all  con- 
solidated in  a  single  company — the  New 
York  Central.  When  this  project  of  con- 
solidating was  under  consideration,  the  stocks 
rose  rapidly  to  high  premiums,  arid  the  prin- 
ciple of  consolidation  was  to  create  scrip 
stock  to  the  amount  of  the  aggregate  pre- 
miums, and  divide  this  pro  rata  among  the 
stockholders  of  all  the  companies.  That 
scrip,  to  the  amount  of  about  $8,100,000, 
now  figures  as  a  part  of  the  cost  of  the  pres- 
ent company.  It  may  be  remarked  that  the 
restrictions  as  to  charge  have  been  inopera- 
tive, since  the  charge  has  always  been  less. 
The  length  has  been  shortened  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  distance  is  now  298  miles 
from  Albany  to  Buffalo,  and  the  charge  is 
$7.00,  or  2*  cents  per  mile,  the  time  being  14 
hours.  The  capital  of  the  company  is  $24,- 
153,000,  the  liabilities  $6,233,000,  and  the 
$8,100,000  debt  certificates  to  be  paid  out 
of  future  income — making  altogether  $38,- 
486,000,  against  $30,732,517,  the  cost  of 
the  roads.  The  business  of  the  new  company 
from  its  consolidation  has  been  as  follows : — 

EARNINGS   FROM    PASSENGERS,    FREIGHT,  AND   ALL    OTHER 
SOURCES,  FOR  THE  YEARS  ENDING  SEPT.  30,  1853-1859. 

Tears  ending  Passengers.    Freight.  Rnurc3Js  Total. 

Sept.  30,  1853,  $2,829,068  $1,835,572  $122,279  $4,787,519 

"  1854,  8,151,513  2,479,820  2S(i,999  5,918.332 

"  1855,  3,242,229  8,189.602  131,749  6,563,580 

"  1856,  3,207.378  4,328,041  171,928  7,707,347 

"  1857,  3,14,7.636  4,559,275  320,338  8,027,259 

"  1858,  2,532,646  3.700.270  295,495  6,528,412 

"  1859,  2,566,369  3,337,148  297,330  6,200,848 

Total $45,733,296 

Whoever  glances  at  the  map  of  New  York 
will  observe  that  the  Erie  canal  runs  mostly 
through  the  northern  counties,  skirting,  as  it 
were,  Lake  Ontario  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance ;  that  the  lateral  canals  extend  from 
this  toward  the  southern  portion  of  the  state. 
The  Chenango  canal  connects  the  Mohawk 
with  the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Gencsee  Val- 
ley canal  extends  from  the  Alleghany  river  to 
Lake  Ontario.  The  great  southern  tier  of 
counties  bordering  on  northern  Pennsylvania, 
after  having  taken  great  interest  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal,  were  without  means 
of  communication  with  markets,  other  than 
by  common  roads.  The  face  of  the  country 
was  too  rugged  to  permit  of  a  canal,  but  in 
1825  the  state  legislature  ordered  the  survey 
of  a  state  road  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hud- 
son river.  Several  conventions  were  held 
during  the  four  years  ending  with  1830  in 
relation  to  the  road.  The  railroad  fever  had 
gained  ground  meantime,  and  finally,  in 
1832,  a  charter  for  a  railroad  was  granted, 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT   AND    COST. 


201 


•with  a  capital  of  $10,000,000.  The  survey 
was  made  by  De  Witt  Clinton,  Jr.,  but  the 
legislature  required  that  $1,000,000  of  the 
capital  should  be  subscribed  before  the  work 
was  commenced.  This  was  subscribed,  and 
E.  Lord  chosen  president  in  1833.  A  new 
survey  was  made  at  the  expense  of  the  state, 
and  the  report  made  on  it  in  1835,  when  a 
reorganization  of  the  company  took  place, 
with  J.  G.  King  president.  The  subscrip- 
tion of  capital  now  reached  $2,362,100. 
The  work  was  commenced  by  putting  40 
miles  along  the  Delaware  river  under  con- 
tract. The  great  fire  of  December,  1835, 
incapacitated  many  of  the  subscribers  from 
paying  up,  and  work  was  suspended.  In 
January,  1836,  the  legislature  loaned  its 
credit  for  $3,000,000,  but  the  stock  could 
not  then  be  negotiated.  Some  work  was 
done  along  the  line,  however,  by  local  sub- 
scription. In  1840 — Mr.  Lord  again  presi- 
dent— the  loan  act  was  amended  so  as  to  be 
available,  and  the  company  purchased  its 
iron.  The  terms  of  the  loan  permitted 
the  state  officer  to  deliver  to  the  com- 
pany $100,000  of  state  stock  whenever  he 
should  have  evidence  that  the  company  had 
expended  an  equal  amount ;  the  state  stock 
not  to  be  sold  under  par.  The  company 
then  paid  its  contractors  with  time  drafts. 
The  receipts  for  these  drafts  furnished  the 
evidence  of  the  company's  expenditure,  on 
which  the  state  officer  issued  the  stock  to 
the  company,  which  then  borrowed  on  it 
the  money  to  take  up  the  drafts,  and  the 
lenders  of  the  money  sold  the  state  stock  in 
the  state  for  what  it  would  bring — some  lots 
as  low  as  80.  The  work  thus  done  was  in 
detached  lots,  as  the  interest  of  certain  par- 
ties prompted  the  expenditure.  As  soon  as 
the  last  issue  was  made  by  the  state  the 
company  stopped,  and  the  state  assumed 
the  interest  on  the  $3,000,000  issued  to  it. 
In  1842  the  company  assigned,  and  its  af- 
fairs fluctuated  until  1844,  when  Mr.  Loder 
was  elected  president.  In  1845  the  state 
surrendered  its  lien  of  $3,000,000  upon  the 
road,  and  authorized  the  individual  stock  to 
be  cut  down  one-half  by  holders  giving  up 
two  shares  and  taking  one  new  one.  A 
new  subscription  of  $3,000,000  was  obtained, 
and  the  work  commenced  anew.  Much  of 
the  old  work  was  useless ;  and  at  this  day, 
when  the  passenger  approaches  Dunkirk,  he 
sees,  stretching  out  far  away  to  the  right, 
like  an  immense  army  of  grim  warriors,  the 
piles  that  were  driven  originally  for  the  road, 


at  great  expense,  and  then  abandoned.  From 
the  year  1845  the  road  began  to  grow.  Start- 
ing from  Piermont,  on  the  North  River,  20 
miles  above '  the  city,  it  reached  Otisville, 
62  miles,  in  October,  1846.  The  route  was 
altered,  and  reached  Binghamton,  139 
miles,  in  December,  1848,  at  a  cost  of  $9,- 
802,433,  allowing  $1,458,000  for  half  the 
old  stock,  after  the  release  of  the  state  lien. 
In  June,  1849,  22  miles  more  to  Owego 
were  opened;  in  October  361  miles  were 
added  to  Elmira ;  and  it  finally  reached  the 
lake  at  Dunkirk,  May,  1851.  This  was  a 
single  track,  and  it  was  found  almost  impos- 
sible to  work  it ;  consequently  they  put  a 
second  track  under  contract  on  portions  of 
the  road.  It  was  now  found  that  the  loca- 
tion of  the  road  at  Piermont,  to  be  reached 
by  steamboat,  would  not  answer.  The  com- 
pany then  made  an  arrangement  with  the 
Paterson  and  Ramapo  road  to  allow  the 
Erie  to  come  into  Jersey  City.  The  Erie 
railroad  being  a  wide  gauge,  6  feet,  and  the 
Paterson  road  4  feet  8  inches,  it  became 
necessary  to  lay  another  rail  outside  the 
track,  to  permit  the  Erie  cars  to  come  over 
that  road,  and  the  Erie  cars  reached  Jer- 
sey City  in  November,  1853.  It  is  remark- 
able in  relation  to  this  road,  that  it  has  de- 
pended upon  the  telegraph  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  could  scarcely  be  operated  without  it. 
It  gives  constant  information  of  the  where- 
abouts of  the  trains  and  the  condition  of  the 
track,  so  that  the  superintendent,  wherever 
he  may  be,  keeps  up  a  constant  communica- 
tion with  all  the  stations.  The  whole  length 
of  the  road  is  465  miles ;  282  miles  double 
track  and  sidings.  The  maximum  grade  of 
the  road  is  60  feet  to  the  mile  for  8  miles, 
and  there  is  one  of  57  feet  to  the  mile.  The 
cost  of  the  road  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the 
mode  of  raising  money  for  its  construction, 
by  a  constant  series  of  loans,  for  which  were 
issued  first  mortgage  bonds,  second  mort- 
gage bonds,  bonds  convertible  in  stock  in 
1862,  bonds  convertible  in  1871,  income 
bonds,  unsecured  bonds,  and  other  debts, 
for  very  few  of  which  the  face  was  obtained, 
many  of  them  being  disposed  of  at  a  large 
discount.  By  these  means  the  debts  of  the 
company  ran  up  to  $25,260,000,  and  the  cap- 
ital, $10,000,000,  was  in  February,  1857,  by 
a  dividend  of  10  per  cent,  in  stock,  money 
alleged  to  have  been  earned  and  sunk  in  the 
Long  Dock,  raised  to  the  sum  of  $11,000,000. 
This  load  of  debt  exceeded  the  ability  of  the 
company,  and  it  went  finally  into  the  hands 


202 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


of  a  receiver.  The  length  of  the  road  is 
446  miles,  and  it  has  a  branch  of  19  miles 
from  Chester  Junction  to  Newburgh,  making 
465  miles.  It  leases  of  other  companies  95 
miles,  consequently  operates  560  miles ; 
and  it  has  282  miles  of  second  track.  There 
are  219  locomotives,  160  passenger  cars,  49 
second  class  cars,  45  baggage  cars,  and  2,763 
freight  cars.  The  company  connected  with 
Jersey  City  over  the  track  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Transportation  Company,  but  it  project- 
ed an  independent  connection  through  what 
is  called  the  Long  Dock.  This  embraced  a 
tunnel  of  21  miles  through  Bergen  ridge, 
and  21  miles  of  road  running  out  on  to 
docks  and  piers  built  out  to  deep  water. 
The  Long  Dock  Company  was  chartered  by 
the  state  of  New  Jersey  with  a  capital  of 
$800,000.  It  purchased  $773,440  worth  of 
real  estate.  The  Erie  Company  leased  this 
at  10  per  cent,  of  the  capital,  and  then  com- 
menced expenditures  on  the  tunnel,  which 
is  4,880  feet  long,  and  up  to  January,  1860, 
it  had  expended  $1,500,000.  This,  among 
other  causes,  brought  the  Erie  railroad  to 
default;  and  in  August,  1859, at  the  suit  of 
the  fourth  mortgage  bondholders,  a  receiver 
was  appointed.  It  was  then  proposed,  as  a 
means  of  arrangement,  to  capitalize  the  un- 
secured bonds,  with  the  interest  for  two  years, 
into  a  preferred  7  per  cent,  stock ;  to  extend 
the  first  mortgage  bonds  coupon  to  March  1, 
1860;  the  second  mortgage  to  September, 
1860;  the  third  to  March,  1861,  and  the 
balance  to  December,  1861.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  road  will  clear  the  other  claims  upon 
it,  and  complete  the  Long  Dock.  The  busi- 
ness of  this  road  from  1842  to  1859,  inclu- 
sive, was  as  follows  : — 

EECEIPTS. 

Receipts  from  passengers $14,428,024 

"     freight 29,902,826 

"     mails,  &c 1,586,935 


Total $45,917,785 

EXPENDITURES. 

Operating  expenses $28,993,114 

Dividends 3,481,445 


Total $32,474,559 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  railroad  and 
Delaware  and  llaritan  Canal  Co.,  of  New 
Jersey,  is  one  of  the  oldest  passenger  roads, 
having  been  chartered  in  February,  1830, 
with  the  canal  privilege.  The  last  is  43 
miles  from  Bordentown  to  New  Brunswick ; 
and  the  former,  South  Amboy  to  Camden, 
New  Jersey,  63  miles.  There  was  to  be  no 


rival  route  within  five  miles  of  it.  In  1831 
the  company  gave  the  state  1,000  shares  of 
stock,  and  a  new  act  was  passed  consolidat- 
ing the  canal  and  railroad  companies  ;  fares 
not  to  exceed  $3  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  In  the  following  year  1,000 
shares  more  were  conveyed  to  the  state.  In 
1837  the  road  was  permitted  to  extend  to 
New  Brunswick  ;  fares  limited  to  5  cents  per 
mile.  In  1842  the  transit  duties  on  the  road 
were  fixed  at  10  cents  per  ton  for  freight, 
and  one-half  of  all  above  §3  charged  for  pas- 
sengers. The  road  was  opened  to  Camden 
in  1834.  In  1843  an  arrangement  was 
made  with  the  New  Jersey  Transportation 
railroad  for  through  passage  from  New  York 
to  Philadelphia.  The  Camden  road  cost 
$5,563,580,  and  the  New  Jersey  railroad, 
Jersey  City  to  New  Brunswick,  31  miles, 
$4,719,176.  The  Camden  road  has  paid  in 
25  years  281  per  cent,  dividends,  or  111  per 
cent,  average. 

The  New  Jersey  Central  road  extends 
from  Elizabethport,  1 2  miles  by  water  from 
New  York,  to  Easton,  on  the  Delaware ;  at 
Elizabeth  it  connects,  also,  with  the  New 
Jersey  railroad ;  at  Easton  it  commands  the 
great  Pennsylvania  coal  fields,  and,  prospec- 
tively,  it  will  unite  New  York  city  with  Lake 
Erie,  over  the  Pennsylvania  and  Sunbury 
and  Erie  railroads.  The  cost  of  the  road  is 
$5,617,290;  the  capital  is  $2,000,000 ;  and 
the  debt  $3,375,000. 

The  great  Pennsylvania  line  of  im- 
provements, from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg, 
commenced  4th  July,  1826,  and  finished 
in  March,  1830,  comprised  82  miles  of  rail- 
road from  Philadelphia  to  Columbia,  and 
36  miles  of  portage  road  from  Hollidays- 
burg  to  Johnstown  ;  this  consists  of  a  series 
of  inclined  planes,  which  are  worked  by  sta- 
tionary engines.  This  118  miles  of  railroad 
was  prolonged  by  278  miles  of  canal,  and  the 
cost  of  the  whole  to  the  state  was  over 
$12,000,000.  This  broken  line  was  not 
very  well  calculated  to  compete  either  with 
the  continuous  water  service  of  the  Erie 
canal  or  the  uninterrupted  passage  of  freight 
on  the  New  York  railways.  The  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  felt  the  want  of 'works  bettor 
adapted  to  the  growing  wants  of  that  great 
city ;  and  a  new  railroad  was  proposed  from 
Harrisburg  to  Pittsburg,  250  miles.  The  route 
is  favorable,  except  for  the  mountain  division, 
where  the  summit  is  crossed,  2,200  feet  above 
tide  water,  requiring  gradients  95  feet  to  the 
mile.  These  are  but  little  in  excess  of  those 


KAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


203 


of  the  Massachusetts  lines,  which  are  worked 
to  advantage.  This  work  was  opened  through, 
November  15, 1832,  at  a  cost  of  $7,978,000, 
It  proved  very  successful,  and  up  to  Novem- 
ber, 1855,  its  profits,  over  interest  on  capital, 
were,  in  accordance  with  its  charter,  credited 
to  construction  account,  and  it  has  since  paid 
6  per  cent.  The  state  line  of  public  works 
did  not  succeed  financially,  and  the  state  de- 
termined to  sell  it.  After  repeated  offerings 
it  was  finally  purchased  by  and  transferred 
to  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  in  1857  for 
$7,500,000,  which  was  met  by  an  issue  of 
the  5  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  company  to  the 
state,  payable,  $100,000  per  annum  until  1890, 
and  the  balance,  $4,300,000,  in  four  equal 
instalments  annually  thereafter.  When  the 
road  took  possession  of  the  state  works, 
the  canals  were  found  to  be  in  a  dilapidated 
condition,  and  the  railroad  needed  repairs, 
which  required  assessments.  The  route  then 
became  continuous  by  rail  from  Philadelphia 
to  Pittsburg,  353  miles.  From  Philadelphia 
8  miles  to  the  Susquehanna  river  there  is  a 
double  track,  and  other  portions  of  the  road 
raise  the  double  track  to  242  miles.  The 
cost,  including  the  state  line,  is  $30,168,987, 
composed  of  capital,  $13,240,225,  and  $17,- 
571,054  of  bonds.  A  part  of  the  cost  is 
composed  of  $816,050  advanced  to  the 
Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne,  and  Chicago  rail- 
road, which  prolongs  the  Pennsylvania  road 
to  the  latter  city.  That  road  was  composed 
of  three  roads,  viz. :  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  the  Fort 
Wayne  and  Chicago  roads.  These  were  con- 
solidated into  one  company  in  1856,  and  the 
line  completed  from  Pittsburg  to  Chicago  in 
1859,  471  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $16,079,590,  of 
which  $5,259,040  is  capital,  and  $7,956,075 
bonds.  To  assist  the  completion  of  this  road, 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  took  up 
the  rails  on  the  36  miles  of  portage  road 
which  it  had  bought  of  the  state,  and  which 
was  of  no  use,  as  it  run  parallel  to  its  own  road, 
and  gave  them  to  the  Pittsburg  road  to  com- 
plete its  extension  from  Plymouth  into  Chi- 
cago. For  this  iron  and  the  expense  of  tak- 
ing up  and  moving,  the  Pittsburg  road  gave 
its  first  mortgage  bonds  for  $650,000.  The 
business  of  the  Pennsylvania  road,  connect- 
ing, as  it  does,  Philadelphia  with  Chicago 
and  the  whole  net-work  of  railroads  between 
and  beyond  these  cities,  is  not  only  profitable 
to  itself,  but  of  immense  value  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

We  have  stated  that  a  portion  of  the  great 


Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  was  finished  two 
years  before  the  opening  of  the  Manchester 
road  in  England.  The  company  received 
two  charters :  one  from  the  state  of  Mary- 
land, February,  1827,  and  the  other  from  the 
state  of  Virginia  in  the  following  March, 
with  authority  to  construct  a  road  from  Bal- 
timore to  the  Ohio  river.  The  capital  au- 
thorized was  $5,000,000,  and  the  company 
entitled  to  organize  on  the  payment  of 
$1,000,000.  The  company  was  so  organized 
in  April  of  the  same  year,  and  with  the  aid 
of  several  officers  of  the  United  States  top- 
ographical corps,  the  road  was  partly  located 
in  the  same  summer.  July  4th,  ground  was 
broken  by  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  and 
the  portion  of  the  road  to  Ellicott's  Mills 
was  put  under  contract.  The  capital  of  the 
company,  at  the  close  of  1828,  reached 
$4,000,000,  of  which  three-fourths  was  taken 
by  individuals,  $500,000  by  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore, and  $500,000  by  the  state  of  Mary- 
land. The  road  was  gradually  extended  to 
the  Point  of  Rocks  in  1832.  Here  arose  an 
obstacle  of  right  of  way.  The  Chesapeake 
canal  had  appropriated  the  narrow  gorge 
through  the  mountain,  and  several  years  of 
negotiation  elapsed  before  the  difficulty  was 
finally  settled  by  the  legislature.  In  1833 
the  Washington  branch  was  chartered,  on 
the  condition  that  at  least  25  cents  per  pas- 
senger should  be  paid  to  the  state.  The 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Company  contributed 
$1,016,800  toward  the  construction,  and  it 
was  opened  30  miles  to  Washington,  August 
25,  1835.  The  road  had  then  no  locomotives, 
horse  power  being  used.  The  company  of- 
fered $4,000  for  a  locomotive  of  American 
manufacture  to  burn  coal.  One  was  invented 
by  Phineas  Davis  and  accepted.  It  ran  15 
miles  per  hour  on  short  curves  and  30  miles 
on  a  straight  line.  The  rails  were  flat  bars 
laid  on  stone  foundations,  which  soon  gave 
way  to  longitudinal  timbers  with  improved 
rails.  The  road  reached  Harper's  Ferry  in 
1834,  and  the  state  subscribed  $3,200,000 
for  the  extension  to  Wheeling.  In  1838  the 
state  of  Virginia  extended  the  time  for  con- 
struction through  its  territory  and  subscribed 
$1,058,420.  The  road  was  then  completed  to 
Cumberland  in  1842,  but  nothing  further 
was  done  until  1847.  Virginia  again  ex- 
tended the  time,  and  in  1849  state  bonds 
granted  to  the  company  furnished  means  for 
pushing  the  road  to  completion  in  1853.  The 
city  of  Baltimore  then  furnished  $5,000,000, 
which  was  expended  in  protecting  tunnels, 


204 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


double  track,  etc.  There  is  one  tunnel  of 
4,137  feet,  and  the  length  of  all  the  tunnels 
is  12,804  feet. 

A  charter  for  the  Parkersburg  branch  was 

granted  in  1851.  The  work  began  Decem- 
er,  1852,  and  was  completed  May  1,  1857. 
The  road  was  built  jointly  by  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Com- 
pany. The  former  gave  $1,500,000  first 
mortgage  bonds,  and  the  latter  $1,000,000 
of  its  second  mortgage  bonds,  and  has  since 
advanced  $1,795,326.  The  road  is  operated 
by  the  Baltimore  Company  under  a  contract 
for  five  years,  at  a  rent  of  40  per  cent,  of  the 
gross  earnings. 

The  capital  of  the  Baltimore  Company  is 
$10,011,800,  and  the  funded  debt  $13,881,- 
833.  There  are  three  sinking  funos  operat- 
ing to  redeem  these  debts,  and  all  amount  to 
about  $1,200,000.  The  total  earnings  of  the 
main  road  for  30  years  were  $9,744,351  from 
passengers,  $29,604,970  from  freight;  total, 
$39,349, 321;  the  amount,  less  expenses,  was 
$17,421,250,  and  the  total  amount  of  divi- 
dends paid  has  been  $4,589,866.  These 
range  from  1  to  7  per  cent.,  and  during  the  five 
years  ending  with  1852,  were  paid  in  stock. 

The  traffic  of  the  road  east  is  mostly  in 
coal.  Thus,  of  566,214  tons  delivered  at 
Baltimore  in  1859,  323,898  was  coal.  The 
number  of  passengers  on  the  road  and 
branches  going  west  in  1859  was  338,037; 
going  east,  349,501.  Tons  of  freight  going 
west,  303,104;  going  east,  770,452.  This 
road  has  exercised  an  immense  influence 
upon  the  business  of  Baltimore,  and  opened 
a  route  to  the  Ohio  valley  which  rivals  the 
Pennsylvania  and  the  great  New  York  routes. 
The  Virginia  Central  railroad,  which  now 
connects  Richmond  195  miles  with  Jackson's 
River,  was  originally  chartered,  in  1836,  as 
the  Louisa  railroad,  with  a  capital  of  $300,- 
000,  and  in  1837  the  board  of  public  works 
was  authorized  to  subscribe  on  behalf  of  the 
state  $120,000.  In  December,  1837,  twenty- 
three  miles  of  the  road  were  opened.  It  was 
further  extended  in  the  following  year,  and 
in  1840  the  road  reached  Gordonsville. 
Under  new  privileges,  granted  in  1848,  the 
work  was  resumed,  and  reached  Charlottes- 
ville  in  May,  1 850,  but  in  that  year  some  new 
privileges  being  asked,  the  name  of  the  road 
was  formally  changed  to  the  Virginia  Central 
railroad.  There  were  then  seventy  miles  in 
operation,  and  extensions  at  both  ends  were 
proceeded  with;  of  these  in  1851  twenty- 
three  miles  were  completed,  bringing  the  road 


into  Richmond.  It  was  not  until  1857  that 
the  road  was  opened  through  to  Jackson's 
River,  195  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $5,362,910  ;  of 
this  $3,132,445  is  capital  paid  in,  $1,878,493 
by  the  state,  and  the  balance  by  individuals. 
The  highest  grade  of  the  road  going  west  is 
eighty-three  feet  per  mile  for  1|  miles,  and 
going  east  seventy-two  feet  per  mile  for 
fourteen  miles.  There  are  107  miles  straight, 
and  77  miles  curved,  of  which  the  smallest 
radius  is  716  feet  for  1  mile.  The  rails  are 
all  T,  from  fifty  to  sixty  pounds  per  yard. 
The  cross  ties  2,400  to  the  mile.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  past  year  was  as  follows  : — 

Going  Passengers.         ^ols*' 

East 33,629  66,678 

West 30,548  68,205 

Total 64,177         134,883 

Earnings $311,980      $306,212 

This  road  from  its  opening,  1837,  to  the 
close  of  1859,  earned  as  follows:  average 
length, 90  miles  ;  passenger  earnings,$79,583  ; 
freight,  $89,773  ;  gross  earnings,  $180,009; 
expenses,  $94,486;  dividends  paid,  $22,971 ; 
per  cent.,  2. 

In  casting  the  eye  upon  a  railroad  map, 
the  line  from  Bangor,  Maine,  to  New  Orleans, 
1,996  miles,  is  found  to  be  composed  of 
nineteen  grand  links ;  one  of  the  largest  of 
these  is  that  which  connects  Lynchburg,  Va., 
with  Bristol,Tenn.,  204  miles.  This  was  called 
the  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  It  was  opened 
in  1854.  By  this  route  the  mails  of  the 
government  are  conveyed  from  Washington 
to  New  Orleans  in  seventy-five  hours.  This 
commanding  position  of  the  road  is  not, 
however,  more  advantageous  than  its  local 
business,  which  is  derived  from  one  of  the 
most  fertile  districts  of  Virginia,  as  well  as 
rich  in  minerals.  The  road  opened  what 
had  been  one  of  the  most  secluded  portions 
of  the  central  states,  and  vast  resources  are 
there  to  be  developed.  The  cost  of  the  road 
is  $7,050,519,  of  which  $3,418,599  is  capital 
and  $2,833,000  bonded  debt.  The  future  of 
this  road  is  one  of  the  most  promising. 

The  next  most  important  link  in  this  great 
line  is  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  road,  con- 
necting Alexandria  and  Lynchburg,  170 
miles.  This  road  was  completed  in  1859  ; 
by  it  the  distance  from  New  York  to  central 
Virginia  is  shortened  sixteen  miles,  and  the 
route  to  New  Orleans,  so  to  speak,  straight- 
ened. The  cost  of  the  road  was  capital, 
$1,899,330;  bonds,  $2,600,000. 

The  South  Carolina  road  was  one  of  the 


RAILROADS LAND  GRANTS EXTENT  AND  COST. 


205 


first  projected  in  the  country.  The  city  of 
Charleston  early  saw  the  advantage  and  im- 
portance of  the  work,  which  was  commenced 
in  1830,  and  opened  in  1833.  Its  main 
trunk  extends  from  Charleston  to  Hamburg, 
on  the  Savannah  river,  opposite  Augusta, 
Georgia,  136  miles.  The  track  was  origin- 
ally a  trestle-work,  on  which  was  laid  a  thin 
flat  rail.  Some  of  the  swamps  and  rivers 
were  crossed  at  an  elevation  of  fifty  feet. 
On  this  road  the  first  successful  American 
locomotive  was  run.  It  was  called  the 
"  Best  Friend,"  and  was  built  under  the 
supervision  of  E.  L.  Miller,  of  South  Caro- 
lina. It  was  introduced  by  Horatio  Allen, 
and  ran  in  1830,  when  there  were  but  eight 
miles  of  road  out  of  Charleston.  The  South 
Carolina  road  cost  $7,701,338,  of  which 
$4,179,475  is  capital,  and  $2,730,463  bond- 
ed debt.  The  road  owes  most  of  its  busi- 
ness to  the  transportation  of  cotton,  and  it 
pays  ten  per  cent,  regularly.  Its  stock  is 
above  par.  The  project  of  connecting  Charles- 
ton with  Cincinnati  was  early  entertained, 
and  in  1836  a  grant  was  obtained  from 
South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
and  Kentucky,  for  the  purpose  of  construct- 
ing a  road  through  Columbia,  Knoxville,  and 
Danville  to  Covington,  opposite  Cincinnati. 
This  enterprise  was  swamped  in  1837  by  the 
crisis,  when  the  road  was  partially  construct- 
ed to  Columbia.  That  project  has  now  been 
revived  by  the  completion  of  the  Greenville 
and  Columbia  road,  and  the  extension  of  the 
Blueridge  road  into  Tennessee,  thence  via 
Knoxville  through  Danville  and  Lexington  to 
Cincinnati.  A  more  circuitous  road  by  way 
of  Nashville  and  Louisville,  over  the  Nashville 
and  Chattanooga,  and  Nashville  and  Louis- 
ville railroads,  has  been  opened.  Charleston 
thus  drains  the  whole  interior  country. 

The  Georgia  railroad  system  is  composed 
of  two  great  lines  :  one  from  Savannah  to  the 
Tennessee  river,  434  miles,  and  the  other, 
255  miles,  from  Augusta  to  West  Point, 
whence  it  is  prolonged  to  Montgomery  by  the 
Montgomery  and  West  Point  road.  The 
Georgia  Central,  connecting  Savannah  with 
Macon,  191  miles,  was  opened  nearly  at  the 
same  time  as  the  Georgia  road  connecting 
Augusta  with  Atlanta,  171  miles,  viz.,  in 
November,  1843,  having  been  commenced  in 
1836.  It  was  chartered  with  banking  priv- 
ileges, and  has  been  eminently  successful. 
Its  capital  stock  is  $4,010,000,  and  bonded 
debt  $158,767.  This  road  made  a  dividend 
last  year  of  15  per  cent.,  and  its  stock  is  now 

13 


15  per  cent,  premium.  The  Georgia  road 
cost  $5,210,372,  of  which  $4,156,000  is 
capital,  and  $476,895  bonded  debt.  The 
earnings  of  this  road  are  1 5  per  cent. 

From  Atlanta  a  road  stretches  to  West 
Point ;  it  has  always  paid  either  seven  or 
eight  per  cent.,  besides  several  extra  divi- 
dends ;  and  last  year  divided  a  bonus  of  thirty 
per  cent.  The  state  railroad  of  Georgia, 
built  at  extravagant  cost,  and  managed  by 
state  officials,  paid  into  the  treasury  last 
year  out  of  its  net  earnings  about  eight  per 
cent,  on  its  cost. 

In  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas,  their 
fine  rivers,  navigable  for  steamboats,  and 
stretching  into  every  part  of  the  states,  have 
made  railroads  almost  unnecessary.  But 
whenever  they  are  built,  and  can  obtain  a 
freight  of  cotton,  they  are  sure  to  pay.  This 
product  is  not  like  corn,  or  wheat,  or  even 
flour,  worth  one,  two,  or  three  cents  a  pound, 
but  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  cents,  and  can  there- 
fore afford  to  pay  the  cost  of  transportation. 

The  most  remarkable  railroad  in  the  world 
as  to  extent,  location,  mode  of  construction, 
and  magnitude  of  resources,  is  perhaps  the 
Illinois  Central  road.  It  may  be  called  the 
corner-stone  of  a  future  empire.  In  1837, 
when  the  population  of  the  state  of  Illinois 
was  less  than  200,000  souls,  and  these  agri- 
culturists scattered  over  the  great  state,  they 
undertook  with  singular  boldness  a  system 
of  internal  improvement  by  canal  and  railroad, 
which  would  involve  an  expenditure  of  at  least 
$1 5,000,000.  Among  these  was  the  Central 
railroad,  which  was  to  extend  from  Cairo,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
longitudinally  of  the  state,  to  Galena  at  its 
northern  extremity  on  the  Missisippi  river, 
making  a  line  of  4571  miles,  which  should  be 
the  base  of  a  triangle  of  which  the  great  river 
formed  the  other  two  sides.  This  road  was  to 
cross  the  Illinois  river  at  the  commencement  of 
navigation,  or  where  it  meets  the  canal  coming 
from  Chicago.  Other  roads  were  projected 
to  cross  the  state,  intersecting  the  Central 
road.  The  Central  road  was  undertaken, 
and  about  $3,500,000  spent  upon  it,  when 
bankruptcy  overtook  the  state,  and  the  road 
rapidly  deteriorated.  The  progress  of  the 
work  on  the  canal,  with  the  funds  borrow- 
ed on  pledge  of  the  land  granted  by  the 
federal  government,  had  been  of  great  benefit 
to  the  state,  and  had  enabled  the  federal  gov- 
rnment  to  sell  most  of  its  lands  on  the 
anal  and  great  water-courses,  in  fact,  all 
within  reach  of  market.  There  remained, 


206 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


however,  some  15,000,000  acres  of  the  rich- 
est land  in  the  heart  of  the  state,  for  which 
there  was  no  sale,  because  it  was  not  acces- 
sible to  market.  Experiencing,  however,  the 
great  results  from  the  canal  grant,  which  not 
only  laid  open  great  tracts  to  market,  but 
by  local  expenditure  in  construction,  brought 
settlers  and  money  upon  the  vacant  lands, 
it  decided  upon  a  similar  grant  to  the 
state  in  aid  of  the  Central  railroad.  Accord- 
ingly, in  September,  1850,  Congress  made  a 
grant  of  lands  to  the  state  of  Illinois  of  every 
alternate  section,  six  sections  in  width,  on 
each  side  of  the  road  and  its  branches,  and 
if  any  land  so  situated  should  be  taken  up, 
then  any  vacant  land  elsewhere  might  be 
selected  in  room  of  it,  within  fifteen  miles  of 
the  line  of  the  road.  The  same  law  con- 
ferred upon  the  states  of  Alabama  and  Mis- 
sissippi similar  grants  for  the  extension  of 
the  road  from  Cairo  to  Mobile  city.  In 
the  following  February  the  state  of  Illinois 
incorporated  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  to 
be  extended  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  the 
cost  of  the  road.  The  company  on  its 
organization  was  to  pay  over  to  the  state 
treasury  $200,000,  and  receive  from  the  state 
the  entire  grant  of  lands  made  by  the  federal 
government,  together  with  all  that  remained 
of  the  old  Central  road,  right  of  way,  etc. 
The  company  was  to  have  fifty  miles  com- 
pleted within  two  years,  under  forfeit  of  the 
$200,000  deposited,  and  which  was  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  company  on  the  completion  of 
the  fifty  miles  within  the  time.  The  road  was 
to  run  from  Cairo  to  the  western  end  of 
the  Illinois  canal,  and  thence  branch  to 
Galena  on  the  river,  and  to  Chicago  on  the 
lake.  The  company  was  to  pay  to  the  state 
annually  five  per  cent,  on  the  gross  income 
of  the  road.  These  were  the  leading  items 
of  the  grant,  and  the  conditions  were  all 
carried  out.  The  location  and  survey  of  the 
route  showed  the  company  entitled  to 
2,595,000  acres  of  land  to  be  selected  by  the 
company.  This  vast  tract  of  land,  amount- 
ing to  an  area  larger  than  the  whole  state  of 
Connecticut,  was  all  to  be  selected  from 
good  farming  lands,  not  an  acre  of  waste  in 
the  whole,  but  all  of  the  richest  prairie  soil, 
of  the  same  character  as  that  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  St.  Louis,  which  for  two  hundred 
years  had  given  to  fresh  settlers  annual  crops, 
without  in  any  degree  deteriorating  appar- 
ently. These  lands  of  the  company  were 
appropriated,  2,000,000  acres,  valued  at 


$18,150,000,  as  a  security  for  $17,000,000 
of  construction  bonds;  250,000  acres  were 
added  to  the  interest  fund  to  meet  any  de- 
ficiency of  means  from  other  sources  ap- 
propriated to  interest  on  the  construction 
bonds ;  and  345,000  acres  were  held  in 
reserve,  but  were  finally  the  basis  of$3,000,- 
000  "  free  land  bonds,"  issued  and  redeemed 
by  conversion  into  company  stock.  Th« 
2,000,000  acres  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
trustees,  who  alone  have  power  to  give  title 
to  purchasers,  and  who  are  required,  when- 
ever the  funds  accumulate  to  the  amount  of 
a  bond,  to  buy  and  cancel  it.  No  land  can 
be  sold,  unless  bonds  to  the  same  amount 
are  cancelled.  It  was  estimated  that  the 
bonds  thus  issued  would  build  the  road,  and 
leave  the  entire  work  free  of  cost  to  the 
stockholders.  It  was  found  requisite,  how- 
ever, to  create  170,000  shares,  representing 
$17,000,000  capital.  On  this  instalments 
have  from  time  to  time  been  called  in.  The 
$200,000  deposited  with  the  state  was  as- 
sessed $20  on  10,000  shares,  and  the  amount 
has  since  been  increased  to  $26,000,000,  on 
which  80  per  cent,  has  been  called,  making 
$20,800,000.  In  April,  1852,  $4,000,000  of 
the  7  per  cent,  construction  bonds  were  is- 
sued at  par,  and  the  subscribers  to  this  loan 
had  the  privilege  of  subscribing  ten  shares  of 
stock  for  each  $1,000  bond.  The  company 
purchased  their  iron,  72,000  tons,  in  1852, 
when  it  was  very  low,  or  less  than  half  the 
price  to  which  it  rose  soon  after,  when  the 
railroad  fever  developed  itself.  In  October, 
1852,  the  whole  line  was  put  under  contract, 
in  divisions,  and  10,000  men  were  employed 
at  an  expense  of  $3,700,000  per  annum,  at 
work  along  the  line,  twelve  hours  per  day, 
stretching  a  great  highway  through  fertile 
plains  never  before  opened,  conferring  value 
on  them,  wealth  to  the  farmers,  and  strength 
to  the  state.  As  the  work  progressed,  it  en- 
countered difficulties  from  cholera,  and  the 
demand  for  labor  which  the  growing  railroad 
mania  caused.  The  road  was  opened  in 
1854,  and  its  earnings  for  its  first  year,  1855, 
were  $1,532,118.  It  sold  of  its  lands  528,- 
863  acres  for  $5,598,577,  and  the  sales  have 
since  reached  1,267,627  acres  for$16,230,326, 
leaving  on  hand  1,327,372  acres.  These  lands 
are  quite  as  valuable  for  farms  as  those  sold. 
The  Illinois  Central  railroad  is  the  longest 
continuous  line  of  road  under  the  control  of 
a  single  corporation  in  the  United  States. 
It  owns  112  locomotives  (of  which  number 
twenty-five  burn  coal),  seventy  first-class  pas- 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


207 


senger  cars,  twenty-four  baggage  and  express 
cars,  and  2,295  freight  cars.  It  has  ex- 
tensive workshops  for  the  manufacture  and 
repair  of  machinery  at  Chicago,  Centralia, 
and  Amboy,  with  one  or  two  smaller  es- 
tablishments at  other  places.  The  road  is 
intersected  by  and  makes  connections  with 
sixteen  distinct  lines  of  railroad.  At  its 
northern  terminus — Dunleith — on  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  the  cars  make  connections 
with  the  boats  of  the  Minnesota  Packet  Com- 
pany for  the  upper  Mississippi.  The  com- 
pany have  recently  erected  a  grain  elevator 
at  Dunleith,  by  which  grain  will  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  boats  to  the  cars  at  a  con- 
siderable saving  in  labor  and  expense. 

At  Cairo,  the  southern  terminus  of  the 
road,  the  cars  make  direct  connections  (by 
steamer  to  Columbus,  Ky.)  with  the  Mobile 
and  Ohio  railroad  for  Memphis,  Natchez, 
Vicksbui'g,  New  Orleans,  and  other  southern 
cities.  In  Chicago  the  company's  facilities 
for  receiving  and  forwarding  freight  are  un- 
surpassed. Sleeping  cars  are  run  on  all  its 
night  passenger  trains. 

The  land  department  is  the  most  interest- 
ing branch  of  the  company.  It  is  divided 
into  three  bureaus — the  cashier's  office,  the 
sales  room,  and  the  contract  room.  The 
whole  force  employed  in  it  comprises  about 
twenty-five  clerks,  one  of  whom  is  a  brother 
of  Charles  Dickens,  the  distinguished  novel- 
ist. He  is  on  the  sunny  side  of  thirty,  is  a 
quiet,  unassuming  gentleman,  and,  it  is  said, 
writes  considerable  for  some  of  the  leading 
literary  publications  in  this  country.  But 
to  return  to  the  lands  of  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad.  They  comprise  an  area  covering 
4,05£  square  miles,  nearly  as  large  as  the 
territory  of  the  state  of  Connecticut,  twice 
as  large  as  Delaware,  more  than  half  as  large 
as  Massachusetts,  about  the  same  size  as  the 
electorate  of  Hesse-Cassel,  three-fourths  as 
large  as  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden,  and  half 
as  large  as  the  grand  duchy  of  Tuscany. 

The  most  marvellous  result  of  this  great 
work  was  manifest  in  the  report  of  the 
United  States  land  commissioner.  The  lands 
through  which  the  road  ran  had  been  offered 
on  an  average  of  15  years  at  $1.25  per  acre, 
without  finding  a  buyer.  All  those  lands 
were  withdrawn  while  the  company  made 
its  selections.  When  that  was  done,  the 
lands  were  again  brought  into  market,in  June, 
1852,  and  these  in  the  next  twelve  months 
soldin  Illinois  298,861  acres  for  cash,  at  $2.50 
per  acre,  and  2,509,120  for  land  warrants. 


The  sales  were  double  the  quantity  sold  in  all 
the  states  in  the  previous  year.  The  whole 
interest  of  the  government  in  Illinois  was 
speedily  closed  out.  For  lands  which  had 
been  valueless  to  it  before  the  completion  of 
the  road,  it  realized  over  $9,000,000.  This 
was  the  effect  of  transportation  upon  those 
lands. 

The  first  land  grants  of  the  government, 
as  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding  chapter,  were 
in  aid  of  canals.  The  grant  to  the  Illinois 
railroad  was  followed  by  others,  and  the  ag- 
gregate grants  are  as  follows  to  each  state  : — 


Grants  for  internal 
improvements. 

Ohio 1,243,001.77 

Indiana 1,609,861.61 

Illinois 500,000.00 

Missouri 500,000.00 

Alabama 500,000.00 

Mississippi 500, 000.00 

Louisiana 500, 000.00 

Michigan 1,250,000.00 

Arkansas 500, 000.00 

Florida 500,000.00 

Iowa 1,385,078.22 

"Wisconsin 1,069,371.99 

California 500, 000.00 

Minnesota  Ter.  .    340,000.00 


Railroad 
grants. 


2,595,053 
1,815,435 
2,332,918 
1,687,530 
1,162,580 
3,096,000 
1,465,297 
1.814,400 
3,456,000 
1,622,800 

4,416,000 


10,897,313.59       25,464,013 

The  grants  for  internal  improvements  in- 
clude the  canal  grants  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois,  as  well  as  for  river  improvements. 
The  railroad  grants,  it  appears,  amount  to 
nearly  25,500,000  acres.  These  grants  have 
been  applied  to  that  purpose  by  the  several 
states,  not  always,  however,  with  the  best 
success.  The  state  of  Wisconsin  was  unfor- 
tunate in  the  grants  of  the  state  rights,  and 
the  land  has  been  withheld  in  some  cases. 
Minnesota  founded  a  railroad  system  upon 
her  lands,  but  up  to  the  present  time  disaster 
only  has  attended  it.  The  system  was  push- 
ed to  its  extent  in  1857,  and  then  suffered  a 
severe  revulsion.  With  the  improved  de- 
mand for  farm  produce,  migration  may  be 
expected  to  be  renewed,  and  the  value  of  the 
land  grants  to  be  restored. 

The  land  grant  of  the  federal  government 
to  Alabama  for  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  road 
was  to  the  extent  of  1,120,000  acres,  and  it 
became  the  basis  of  a  sinking  fund  for  the 
aid  granted  to  the  states  of  Tennessee,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Alabama.  The  road  is  to  extend 
from  Mobile  bay,  in  a  line  nearly  due  north, 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river,  opposite 
Cairo,  a  distance  of  594  miles.  Thence  by 
the  Illinois  Central  it  will  connect  with  Duii- 


208 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


leith,  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  928  miles,  and 
also  with  Chicago  and  the  eastern  lines. 
The  road  was  commenced  in  1851,  and  was 
pushed  through  Tennessee  to  West  Point 
in  1857;  it  is  by  the  law  of  that  state 
entitled  to  a  guaranteed  state  credit  of 
$8,000  per  mile,  which  will  carry  it  to  the 
Kentucky  line.  The  work  is  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  whole  country. 

The  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad 
connects  Memphis,  on  the  Mississippi,  with 
Charleston,  by  the  way  of  the  Nashville 
and  Chattanooga  road.  This  road  connects 
Charleston  and  Savannah  with  the  leading 
cities  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  js  271 
miles  long,  and  forms  part  of  the  great  through 
line  from  Washington  to  New  Orleans.  It 
is  well  built,  and  pays  1 2  per  cent,  dividends. 
Its  cost  was  $6,351,752,  of  which  $2,258,115 
is  capital,  and  $2,594,000  bonded  debt. 

The  New  Orleans,  Jackson,  and  Great 
Northern  road  forms  the  southernmost  link 
of  the  great  chain  which  stretches  2,000 
miles  on  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Bangor,  thus 
connecting  codfish  with  sugar,  the  Maine  law 
with  New  Orleans  rum.  The  road  runs  from 
New  Orleans  to  Canton,  Mississippi,  206 
miles.  It  has,  as  a  matter  of  course,  an  im- 
mense through  business  as  well  as  a  large 
local  traffic.  Its  cost  has  been  $8,949,183, 
of  which  $4,320,618  is  capital,  and  $3,185,- 
000  bonded  debt. 

There  were  completed  in  January,  1860, 
the  last  two  links  in  the  great  chain  of  rail- 
ways from  Maine  to  Louisiana — the  first,  the 
last  twenty-five  miles  on  the  Mississippi  Cen- 
tral, and  the  second,  of  sixty-one  miles  be- 
tween Lynchburg  and  Charlottesville,  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  popularly 
known  as  the  Lynchburg  Extension.  This 
route,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  table 
of  distances,  is  within  a  fraction  of  2,000 
miles  in  length,  from  Bangor  to  New  Or- 
leans, of  a  continuous  rail  track,  with  the 
exception  of  four  short  ferries,  viz. :  the  Hud- 
son river,  the  Susquehanna,  the  Potomac, 
and  the  James  river  at  Lynchburg,  the  last 
two  of  which  will  soon  be  supplied  with 
bridges. 

From  New  Orleans  to  Canton,  Miss.,  by  the 
New  Orleans,  Jackson,  and  Great  Northern 
railway 206 

Canton  to  Grand  Junction,  Miss.,  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi Central  railway 165 

Grand  Junction  to  Stephenson,  Ala.,  by  the 
Memphis  and  Charleston  railway 219 

Stephenson  to  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  by  the  Nash- 
yille  and  Chattanooga  railway 38 


Chattanooga  to  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  by  the  Cleve- 
land and  Chattanooga  railway 29 

Cleveland  to  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  by  the  East 
Tennessee  and  Georgia  railway 83 

Knoxville  to  Bristol,  Tenn.,  by  the  "East  Ten- 
nessee and  Virginia  railway 130 

Bristol  to  Lynchburg,  Va.,  by  the  Virginia  and 
Tennessee  railway 204 

Lynchburg  to  Alexandria,  by  the  Orange  and 
Alexandria  railway 169 

Alexandria  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  by  the  "Wash- 
ington and  Alexandria  railway 6 

"Washington  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  by  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  railway 39 

Baltimore  to  Philadelphia,  by  the  Philadelphia, 
"Wilmington,  and  Baltimore  railroad 98 

Philadelphia  to  New  York,  by  the  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  railroad  line 87 

New  York  to  New  Haven,  Conn.,  by  the  New 
York  and  New  Haven  railway , . . .  74 

New  Haven  to  Springfield 62 

Springfield  to  Worcester,  by  the  Western  rail- 
way   55 

Worcester  to  Boston,  by  the  Boston  and  Wor- 
cester railway 45 

Boston  to  Portland,  Me.,  by  the  Eastern  and 
Portland,  Saco,  and  Portsmouth  railways. . . .  107 

Portland  to  Bangor,  Me.,  by  the  Penobscot  and 
Kennebec,  and  Androscoggin  and  Kennebec 
railways 137 

Total 1,953 

This  vast  chain  of  railways  is  composed  of 
nineteen  independent  roads,  costing  in  the 
aggregate,  for  2,394  miles  of  road,  $92,784,- 
084,  or  .nearly  one-tenth  of  the  whole  rail- 
way system  of  the  United  States,  of  which 
1,953  miles  are  used  in  this  continuous  line. 
The  roads  from  Washington  city  to  New 
Orleans,  embracing  a  distance  of  1,249  miles, 
have  had  the  contract  for  the  great  through 
mail  to  New  Orleans  once  a  day  since  July 
1,  1858. 

The  state  of  Michigan,  in  1836,  con- 
templated the  construction  of  three  railroads 
to  cross  the  state :  the  Southern,  from 
Monroe  to  New  Buffalo ;  the  Central,  from 
Detroit  to  St.  Joseph;  and  the  Northern, 
from  Huron  to  Grand  River.  For  these  roads 
a  state  debt  of  $5,000,000  was  contracted ; 
and,  in  1838,  28  miles  of  the  Central  road 
had  been  put  in  operation,  which  was  ex- 
tended to  146  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $2,238,289, 
and  the  Southern  road,  68  miles,  at  a  cost 
of  $1,125,590,  when  the  state  failed  and  re- 
pudiated its  debt.  As  a  step  toward  re- 
covery, a  bill  was  passed,  at  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Charles  Butler,  of  New  York,  called 
the  "  Butler  act,"  by  which  the  state  sold 
the  Central  road  to  a  Boston  company  for 
$2,000,000  of  its  own  bonds,  and  the  South- 
ern road  for  $5,000,000  to  another  company. 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


209 


Little  was  done>  however,  until  1849,  when 
Mr.  Butler  and  others  reorganized  the  South- 
ern company,  and  the  road  was  pushed  to 
completion.  As  it  approached  the  Indiana 
line,  an  old  Indiana  state  charter  was  pur- 
chased, enabling  the  company  to  carry  their 
work  through  that  state  to  the  Illinois  line, 
whence,  under  the  general  law  of  that  state, 
it  was  pushed  on  to  Chicago.  The  dis- 
tance from  Monroe,  on  Lake  Michigan,  to 
Chicago,  is  246  miles,  and  the  work  was 
completed  for  $5,000,000,  or  $20,000  per 
mile  in  running  order,  the  level  nature  of 
the  country  being  very  favorable  to  the 
construction  of  railroads.  The  work  was 
eminently  successful,  but  became  involved 
through  its  connection  with  lateral  jobs, 
which  covered  it  with  liabilities  greater  than 
its  business,  large  as  it  was,  could  carry.  It 
was,  like  the  Erie  canal,  and  indeed  many 
other  railroads,  overlaid  with  useless  and  ill- 
judged  expenditure.  The  company  expend- 
ed §1,312,534  in  aid  of  other  roads,  many 
in  nowise  connected  with  it,  and  in  keeping 
up  a  ruinous  competition.  The  company 
thus  became  hopelessly  involved  in  1857, 
when  its  cost  had  risen  to  $19,595,407. 
Its  struggles  increased  its  liabilities,  while 
its  business  declined.  Its  main  line,  Monroe 
to  Chicago,  is  246  miles,  and  six  branches 
raise  the  length  to  509  miles,  to  which  30 
miles  leased  are  to  be  added. 

The  Michigan  Central  reached  the  lake 
in  May,  1849,  and  was  also  pushed  to  com- 
pletion, going  round  the  foot  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, where  the  Illinois  Central  put  out  a 
hand  to  meet  it.  The  connection  is  thus 
284  miles  Detroit  to  Chicago.  The  cost  of 
this  road  was  $14,548,411.  The  road  was 
laid  with  T  rail,  and  was  very  prosperous. 
The  capital  of  the  company  is  $6,057,844, 
and  the  debt  $8,284,063.  The  road  is  an 
important  link  in  the  line  of  connection 
between  Boston  and  the  western  country. 

The  state  of  Tennessee  has  an  important 
system  of  railroads  extending  to  all  sec- 


tions of  the  state.  The  state  guarantees 
$8,000  per  mile  for  the  purchase  of  iron  and 
epuipmetit,  upon  the  condition  that  the  com- 
panies prepare  the  road  bed  and  defray  the 
charges  of  construction.  The  state  retains 
a  lien  upon  the  whole  property.  The  roads 
have  been  well  built. 

The  state  of  Missouri  had  done  little 
toward  the  construction  of  roads  until  the 
session  of  1851,  when  it  agreed  to  lend  its 
aid  to  two  great  lines:  the  Pacific  road, 
commencing  at  St.  Louis  and  running  across 
the  state,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri 
river,  and  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  road, 
extending  206  miles  across  the  state  from 
river  to  river,  connecting  the  two  cities 
named.  This  last  has  also  a  land  grant  of 
600,000  acres,  made  the  basis  for  $5,000,- 
000  of  the  company's  bonds.  The  state 
subsequently  enlarged  its  plan,  and  agreed 
to  issue  some  $24,000,000  of  its  bonds  in 
aid  of  the  railroads.  The  panic  of  1857 
supervened  before  the  issue  was  completed, 
and  many  of  the  roads  became  embarrassed. 
The  most  important  of  these  roads  is  the  Pa- 
cific. It  has  received  state  aid,  direct  and 
contingent,  to  the  extent  of  $7,500,000,  and 
has  also  a  land  grant  of  1,127,000  acres. 
The  main  line,  St.  Louis  to  Kansas  city,  is 

282  miles,  running  nearly  parallel  with  the 
Missouri  river,  and  the  south-west  branch  is 

283  miles — together,  565.     The  route  open 
is  63  miles  to  Syracuse.     The  cost  is  $11,- 
701,516,  of  which  $3,319,835  is  capital,  and 
bonded  debt  $8,303,000. 

In  the  following  table  of  the  leading  rail- 
roads of  all  the  states,  with  the  capital  paid  in 
and  the  funded  debts  outstanding,  there  are 
many  roads  which  run  through  several  states. 
These  are  given,  the  whole  in  those  states 
where  their  greatest  length  is.  Thus  the  Bos- 
ton and  Maine  road  has  three  miles  in  Maine, 
but  the  whole  is  put  down  in  Massachusetts. 
The  titles  of  roads  in  Italics  show  the  land- 
grant  roads.  The  figures  are  from  returns 
a  year  earlier  than  those  above. 


RAILROADS  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES— PROJECTED  LENGTH  AND  MILES  COMPLETED,  WITH 
THE  CAPITAL  PAID  IN,  AND  FUNDED  DEBT. 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 

Androscoggin 

Androscoggin  and  Kennebec. 

Atlantic  and  St  Lawrence 

Branch 

Bangor,  Oldtown,  and  Milford 123 

Branch 0.5 


Total  length  Length  roads 
of  Koads.      completed. 
36.1 
55.6 
149.2 
1.5 


36.1 
55.6 
149.2 

1.5 
12.3 

0.5 


Carried  forward 255.2 


255.2 


Capital. 
$151,833 
457,900 

2,494,900 
135,000 

3,239,633 


Funded 
Debt 
$444,638 
1,748,451 

3,472,000 


5,665,095 


210 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 

Total  lengtl 
of  roads. 
....        255.2 

i  Length  roads 
completed. 
255.2 

Capital. 
$3,239,633 

Funded 
debt. 
$5,665,095 

172 

17.2 

226,500 

6.0 

6.0  J 

.  .  .  .           5.5 

5.5  f 

224,113 

6.0 

6.0 

175,000 

63.0 

63.0  ) 

9.5 

9.5  f 

1,287,779 

1,280,000 

7.5 

7.5} 

100,000 

33.0 

180,497 

300,000 

54.7 

64.7 

555,228 

1,206,800 

Portland  and  Oxford  Central  

28.5 

21.5 

430,000 

51.3 

51.3 

1,500,000 

39.0 

39.0 

169,200 

656,900 

55.0 

18.5 

370,000 

450,000 

631.4 

554.9 

8,457,980 

9,458,495 

....         20.8 

20.8 

371,037 

23.1 

23.1 

246,018 

150,000 

Boston  Concord  and  Montreal  

93.0 

93.0 

1,800  000 

1  050  000 

53.8 

53.8 

2,085  925 

738  200 

37.0 

28.5 

389,047 

420  853 

34.5 

34.6 

1,500,000 

14.6 

14.6 

200,000 

16.8 

16.8 

492  500 

42  795 

.'..".         46.3 

20.5 

166,748 

209  927 

26.8 

26.8 

863,400 

33  800 

Merrimac  and  Connecticut  Rivers  

53.8 

53  8 

595  587 

383  400 

Northern  New  Hampshire  

69.2 

69.2  ) 

Bristol  Branch          

12.8 

12.3  f 

3,068,400 

299,500 

Peterboro'  and  Shirley  

10.5 

10.5 

245,643 

46.8 

46.8 

250,000 

24.7 

24.7 

500,000 

750,000 

Wilton  and  Nashua  

10.3 

10.3 

232  227 

Total  New  Hampshire  

.  .  .  .       594  8 

660  5 

13  206  532 

4,078  475 

Connecticut  and  Passumpsic  Rivers  

...'.       110.3 

90.7 

1,200,000 

800,000 

Grand  Trunk  of  Canada  

17.3 

17.3 

345,000 

Rutland  and  Burlington  

119.6 

119.6 

2,233,376 

3,145,001 

Rutland  and  Washington  

44.8 

44.8 

950,000 

Rutland  and  Whitehall  

6.8 

6.8  ) 

Branch     

15 

1.5  I 

255,706 

47.0 

47.0 

1,350,000 

Vermont  Central  

118.0 

118.0  ) 

Branch  

4.0 

4.0  f 

5,000,000 

3,853,000 

Vermont  Valley  

23.7 

23.7 

516,164 

793,200 

54.0 

540  ) 

Branches  

10.5 

10.5  f 

332,000 

700,000 

557  5 

537.9 

12  182  246 

9  291  201 

New  York  and  Boston  air-line  

.  ....         23  3 

153,312 

New  York,  Providence,  and  Boston  

50.0 

50  d 

1,508,000 

306,500 

Providence,  Warren,  and  Bristol  

13  6 

13  6 

287  917 

109,937 

Total  Rhode  Island  

86  9 

63  6 

1  949  229 

416437 

Danbury  and  Norwalk  

23  9 

23  9 

279  100 

85  000 

Hartford,  Providence,  and  Fishkill  

1975 

122  4 

1  936  739 

1,810  500 

..   .         740 

740 

2  000  000 

232  000 

57  0 

57  0 

1  031  800 

287  300 

New  Haven  and  Hartford  

55  5 

65  5  ) 

10  6 

10  6  C 

2,350,000 

964,000 

New  Haven,  New  London,  and  Stonington.  .  . 

61.5 

61  5 

960  748 

866,000 

Carried  forward 480.0 


40419 


8,558,387 


4,244,800 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


211 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 
Brought  forward  

Total  length 
of  roads. 
480.6 

404.9 

66.0 
62.3 

Capital. 
$8,558,387 
922,500 

510,900 

2,980,839 

2,122,500 

Funded 
Debt 
$4,244,800 

700,000 

1,052,500 
2,219,000 

714,998 

New  Haven  and  Northampton     

46.4 

Branches  

8.8 

New  London,  Willimantic,  and  Palmer  

66.0 

New  York  and  New  Haven  

62.3 

Norwich  and  Worcester  

59.0 

Allyn's  Point  Extension  

7.0 

Total  Connecticut  

729.5 

654.4 

64.2 
7.1 
63.0  i 
31.0  ' 
60.2 
63.0 
48.0 
11.8' 
11.0 
6.6 
53.0 
6.0 
33.8 
21.7 
14.5 
15.0 
12.0 
18.7 
13.0 

15,095,126 

977,700 
120,000 

3,798,400 
657,351 
2,200,000 

238,513 
220,666 
111,114 
1,157,800 
101,387 
3,749,000 
154,157 
630,000 
248,225 
357,078 
1,024,600 
216,794 

8,331,298 
2,049,500 

6,882,000 
1,006,800 
3,186,000 

340,000 
188,700 

95',000 
600,000 

Belvidere  Delaware  

.'.  64.2 

Burlington  and  Mount  Holly  ,  

7.1 

Camden  and  Amboy  

63.0 

Branch  

31.0 

Camden  and  Atlantic  

60.0 

Central  of  New  Jersey  

63.0 

Extra  track  

48.0 

Flemington  

11.8 

Freehold  and  Jamesburg  

17.0 

Millstone  and  New  Brunswick  

6.6 

Morris  and  Essex  

92.0 

Newark  and  Bloomfield  

6.0 

New  Jersey  

33.8 

Northern  New  Jersey  

21.7 

Paterson  and  Hudson  

14.5 

Paterson  and  Ramapo       

15.0 

Sussex  

12.0 

Warren  

18.7 

60.0 

Total  New  Jersey  

645.6 

553.6 

16.1 

19.5 
21.2 
26.7  ' 
1.8 
74.3 
8.8 
74.5 
43.5 
12.1 
44.8 
24.3 
46.1 
1.0 
50.0 
2.4 
9.2 
3.3 
44.1  1 
30.5 
3.8 

19.9  ; 

1.4; 
15.1 
50.9 
16.0 
14.0 
9.0 
24.9 
6.9 
0.7 
6.6 
12.4 
3.9 

15,982,785 

312,828 
295,337 
600,000 

1,830,000 

4,076,974 
.     3,692,144 
3,160,000 

4,500,000 
681,690 

1,591,100 

203,150 
136,789 

2,853,400 
56,353 
299,107 
396,085 
3,540,090 

214,296 
1,895,402 
298,951 
369,218 
12,000 
250,357 
200,000 
156,185 

14,348,000 

440,000 

174,200 
600,000 
190,000 
252,500 

2,030,500 
280,261 

100,000 
62,900 

303,014 
100,000 

Agricultural  branch  

28.4 

43.0 

21.2 

Boston  and  Lowell                

26.7 

Branch    .               

1.8 

Boston  and  Maine      

74.3 

8.8 

Boston  and  New  York  Central  

74.5 

Boston  and  Providence  

43.5 

Branches                  

12.1 

44.8 

24.3 

46.1 

1.0 

Connecticut  River    

50.0 

2.4 

9.2 

3.3 

44.1 

30.5 

3.8 

19.9 

1.4 

15.1 

50.9 

16.8 

Fitchburg  and  Worcester.  

14  0 

9.0 

24.9 

Hartford  and  New  Haven  

5.9 

0.7 

Lexington  and  West  Cambridge  

66 

12.4 

3.9 

Carried  forward 775.3 


737.7 


31,621,456 


4,433,376 


212 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 

Total  length 
of  roads. 

Length  roads 
completed. 

Capital. 

Funded 
debt. 

Srotight  forward  

775.3 

737.7 

$31,621,456 

$4,433,375 

Medway  branch  

3.6 

3.6 

32,554 

Middleboro'  and  Taunton  

8.1 

8.1 

149,496 

.  . 

Nashua  and  Lowell  

14.4 

14.4 

600,000 

New  Bedford  arid  Taunton  

20.1 

20.1  ) 

*>00  000 

Branch  

1.6 

1.6  f 

*  • 

Newburyport  

26.9 

26.9 

220,240 

221,600 

New  York  and  Boston  air  line  

32.0 

8.6 

223,176 

675,000 

Old  Colony  and  Fall  River  
Bridgewater  branch  

79.5 
7.8 

79.5  ) 
7.8  ) 

3,015,100 

134,500 

Peterboro'  and  Shirley  

14.1 

14.1 

265,327 

Pittsfield  and  North  Adams  

18.6 

18.6 

450,000 

Providence  and  Worcester  

43.4 

43.4 

1,510,200 

300,000 

Salem  and  Lowell  

16.9 

16.9 

243,305 

226,900 

South  Reading  branch  
Branch  

8.2 
0.3 

8.2  ) 
0.3  f 

298,947 

South  Shore  

11.5 

11.5 

259,685 

153,290 

Stockbridge  and  Pittsfield  

21.9 

21.9 

448,700 

Stony  Brook  

13.2 

13.2 

267,364 

Stoughton  branch  

4.1 

4.7 

94,944 

Taunton  branch  

11.1 

11.1  ) 

Branch  

0.6 

0.6  f 

313,156 

•• 

Troy  and  Greenfield  

36.5 

36.1 

385,206 

219,000 

Vermont  and  Massachusetts  
Branch  

69.0 
8.0 

69.0  ) 
8.0  f 

2,214,225 

1,003,880 

"Waltham  and  Watertown,  horse  

2.2 

2.2 

18,978 

"Western  

156.1 

156.1 

5,150,000 

6,125,520 

"West  Stockbridge  

2.7 

2.7 

39,600 

,   9 

Worcester  and  Nashua.  .  .  

45.7    . 

45.7 

1,141,000 

194,500 

Total  Massachusetts  

1,474.8 

1,384.2 

49,462,563 

13,687,566 

Albany  and  Susquehanna  

140.0 

.:;..:.  :. 

275,792 

Albany  and  West  Stockbridge  

38.0 

38.0 

1,000,000 

1,289,933 

Albany,  Vermont,  and  Canada  
Branch  

31.9 
0.8 

31.9  ) 
0.8  f 

495,005 

1,575,091 

Black  River  and  Utica  
Branch  

108.5 
2.6 

34.9  ) 
2.6  f 

804,648 

700,000 

Blossburg  and  Corning  

14.8 

14.9 

250,000 

220,000 

Buffalo,  Corning,  and  New  York.  

142.3 

142.0 

680,000 

2,592,221 

Buffalo  and  New  York  City  
Branch  

91.0 
1.5 

91.0  ) 
1.5  f 

755,709 

1,720,000 

Buffalo  and  Pittsburg.  

75.2 

.  . 

133,167 

Buffalo  and  State  Line  

68.  3 

68.3 

1,934,850 

1,049,000 

Oanandaigua  and  Elmira  

69.8 

69.8 

500,000 

Canandaigua  and  Niagara  Falls  
Branch  

98.6 
1.6 

98.6) 
1.6  f 

1,300,000 

2,195,832 

Cayuga  and  Susquehanna  

34.6 

34.6 

687,000 

411,000 

Chemung  

17.4 

17.4 

380,000 

70,000 

Erie  and  New  York  City.  

63.2 

352,741 

14,000 

Genesee  Valley  

16.0 

75,689 

165,000 

Hicksville  and  Cold  Spring  

4.1 

4.1 

52,000 

Hudson  and  Boston  

17.0 

17.0 

175,000 

Hudson  River.  

144.0 

144.0 

3,758,466 

8,842,000 

Lake  Ontario,  Auburn,  and  New  York 

73.8 

71,000 

Lake  Ontario  and  Hudson  River  

182.0 

2,715,186 

870,000 

Lebanon  Springs  

22.5 

324,448 

Long  Island  
Hempstead  branch  

95.0 
2.5 

95.0  ) 
2.5  \ 

1,852,715 

636,997 

New  York  and  Erie  
Newburg  branch  

446.0 
19.0 

446.0  t 
19.0  ) 

11,000,000 

25,326,505 

New  York  and  Harlem  

130.8 

130.8  ) 

Morrisania  branch  

2.1 

2.1  5 

5,717,100 

5,151,287 

New  York  Central  
Branches,  &c  

297.7 
258.2 

297.7  ) 
258.2  I 

24,153,000 

14,333,771 

Niagara  Falls  and  Lake  Ontario  

13.2 

13.2 

393,721 

•• 

Carried  forward 2,724.0       2,057.4 


59,837,237 


67,112,637 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


213 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 
Brought  forward  

Total  length 
of  roads. 
2,724.0 

Length  roads 
completed. 
2,057.4 

Capital. 
$59,837,237 

Funded 
debt 
$67,152,637 

Northern  Ogdensburg  ..   .. 

118.0 

118.0  ) 

3.8 

3.8  J 

Oswego  and  Syracuse  

35.9 

35.9 

396,340 

213,500 

Plattsbur0"  and  Montreal  

20.6 

20.6 

347,775 

Potsdam  and  Watertowu  

75.4 

75.4) 

2.3 

2.3  j 

665,419 

Rochester  and  Genesee  Valley  

..    ..        49.7 

18.5 

557,560 

150,000 

Rensselaer  and  Saratoga  

25.2 

25.2 

610,000 

140,000 

Sackett's  Harbor  and  Ellisburg  

18.0 

18.0 

167,485 

278,400 

Saratoga  and  Schenectady        .          .      .        . 

..    ..         21.0 

21.0 

300,000 

85,000 

Saratoga  and  Whitehall         .       

40.9 

40.9  ) 

6.6 

6.6  f 

500,000 

395,000 

Sodus  Point  and  Southern  

35.0 

35,289 

Staten  Island  

26.0 

26.0 

115,000 

Syracuse  Bin°"hamton  and  New  York  .    .  . 

80.0 

80.0 

1,200,130 

1,643,126 

Troy  and  Bennin°pton     

5.4 

5.4 

75,370 

171,200 

Troy  and  Boston  

34.7 

34.7 

604,911 

806,500 

6.0 

6.0 

275,000 

Troy  and  Rutland              .... 

.    ...         17.3 

17.3 

380,818 

Troy  Union  and  Depot  

2.0 

2.0 

7,611 

680,000 

Union,  Ramapo      

0.2 

0.2 

50,000 

1.3 

1.3 

77,414 

96.8 

96.8 

1,498,500 

685,000 

Total  New  York  

3,520.4 

2,786.3 

70,674,768 

74,811,371 

Delaware  and  Maryland  

84.0 

84.0 

361,478 

931,500 

Newcastle  and  Frenchtown          .         ... 

16.0 

16.0 

744,520 

Newcastle  and  Wilmington  

5.0 

5.0 

93,000 

Total  Delaware  

,  105.0 

105.0 

1,198,998 

931,500 

39.0 

39.0 

462,000 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  

Branches                           

(•   379.0 

379.0 

10,011,800 

13,881,833 

Washington  line         , 

,  30.0 

1,650,000 

Hoffman's  Mines  branch  

11.0 

11.0 

500,000 

22.0 

22.0 

800,000 

George's  Creek  Canal  and  Iron  

21.0 

21.0 

600,000 

[    138.0 

138.0 

2,260,000 

5,578,800 

Western  Maryland  

14.0 

14.0 

300,000 

Sundry  coal  railroads  say  

40.0 

40.0 

800,000 

Total  Maryland  

694.0 

694.0 

17,383,800 

19,460,633 

Alexandria  Loudon,  and  Hampshire  , 

122.0 

41.3 

1,403,018 

36,188 

105.0 

77.8 

2,969,861 

775,500 

79.0 

79.0 

1,500,124 

590,610 

103.0 

103.0 

468,605 

5,719,229 

Orange  and  Alexandria  , 

,  149.0 

88  0 

1  981  167 

2  316  879 

45.0 

45  0 

231  573 

123.0 

123  0 

1  365  300 

1,851  500 

Petersburg  and  Roanoke  

59.0 

590 

883,200 

102,500 

Richmond  and  Danville  

140  0 

140  0 

1  980  997 

907  491 

Richmond  Frederick,  and  Potomac  

750 

75  0 

1  041  880 

643  960 

Richmond  and  Petersburg  

22.0 

22  0 

835  750 

204  808 

Richmond  and  York  River  

24.0 

24  0 

657  812 

85  000 

80  0 

80  0 

844  200 

472  811 

Virginia  Central  

178  0 

178  0 

3  132  445 

1  485  346 

Virginia  and  Tennessee  , 

204.0 

2040 

3  353  672 

3  247  500 

Winchester  and  Potomac  

32.0 

32  0 

300  000 

120  000 

Total  Virginia.  .  .  .  , 

1,540.0 

1,371.1 

22  949  604 

18,559,316 

Atlantic  and  North  Carolina  

95.0 

95  0 

1  545  225 

400  000 

North  Carolina  

.  .    .  .       223  0 

223  0 

4  000  000 

Carried  forward 318.0 


318.0 


5,545,225 


400,000 


214 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 
Brought  forward  

Total  length 
of  roads. 
318.0 

Length  roads 
completed. 
318.0 
97.0 
22.0 

161.0 
162.0 

Capital 
$5,545,225 
973,300 
450,073 

1,127,511 
1,340,217 

Funded 
debt. 
$400,000 
126,200 

1,060',000 
791,055 

Raleigh  and  Gaston  

97.0 

Roanoke  Valley  

22.0 

Western,  coal  

43.0 

Wilmington  and  Manchester.             

161.0 

Wilmington  and  Weldon  

162.0 

Total  North  Carolina  

803.0 

760.0 

13.0 
55.0 
109.0 
40.0 
143.0  ) 
21.0  f 
23.0 
32.0 
102.0 
136.0  ) 
106.0  f 
25.0 

9,436,322 

1,916,515 
706,365 
1,201,000 
400,000 

1,429,008 

200,000 
400,000 
685,743 

4,179,475 
1,000,000 

2,377,255 

217,577 
195,266 
384,000 
200,000 

1,145,000 

106,218 
960,410 

2,770,463 

Blue  Ridge  

183.0 

Charleston  and  Savannah      

102.0 

Charlotte  and  South  Carolina  

109.0 

Cheraw  and  Darlington            

40.0 

Greenville  and  Columbia  

143.0 

Branches  

21.0 

King's  Mountain              

23.0 

Laurena  

32.0 

North-eastern  1  

102.0 

South  Carolina              

.    ..         1360 

Branches  

106.0 

Spartanburg  and  Union  

67.0 

Total  South  Carolina  

1,0640 

805.0 

87.0 
53.0 
16.0 
24.0 
191.0 
232.0 
102.0 
4.0 
17.0 
22.0 
50.0 

68.0 
228.0 
138.0 

12,418,106 

1,250,000 
733,700 

151,887 
3,750,000 
4,150,000 
1,438,800 
63,767 
212,500 
275,000 
669,950 

1,275,901 
2,921,900 
5,901,497 

5,978,934 

250,000 
298,500 

106,267 
373,000 
23,000 

249,000 

10,200 
396,500 

Atlanta  and  West  Point  

87.0 

Augusta  and  Savannah  

53.0 

Barnesville  and  Thomaston  

...         16  0 

Brunswick  and  Florida  

67  0 

Central  of  Georgia  

.  191.0 

Georgia  and  Bank  

2320 

Macon  and  Western  

102.0 

Main  Trunk  (Atlantic  and  Gulf)  

4.0 

Milledgeville  and  Gordon  

17  0 

Milledgeville  and  Eaton  ton  

22.0 

Muscogee  

50  0 

Rome  and  Kingston  

Savannah,  Albany,  and  Gulf.  

...         68  0 

South-western  

228  0 

Western  and  Atlantic  

138.0 

Total  Georgia  

1  275  0 

1,222.0 

62.0 
32.0 
32.0 
29.0 
22.0 

22,794,902 

2,500,000 
191,485 
205,781 
800,000 
425,000 

1,582,467 

195,000 
204,600 

Florida  

1540 

Florida  and  Alabama  

45  0 

Florida,  Atlantic,  and  Gulf  Central  

60.0 

Pensacola  and  Georgia  

253  0 

Tallahassee  

22  0 

Total  Florida  

534  0 

177.0 

65.0 
30.0 
109.0 
14.0 
57.0 
362.0 
116.0 

4,122,266 

877,953 
355,010 
1,067,006 
290,000 
1,500,000 
3,481,791 
1,419,769 
650,000 
65,184 

399,600 

503,500 
109,500 

777,777 

4,717',497 
922,622 

Alabama  and  Florida  

135  0 

Alabama  and  Mississippi  Rivers  

88  0 

Alabama  and  Tennessee  Rivers  

1680 

Marion  

14  0 

Mobile  and  Girard  

222  0 

Mobile  and  Ohio  

518  0 

Montgomery  and  West  Point  

116  0 

North-east  and  South-west  Alabama  

209  0 

Tennessee  and  Alabama  Central  

Total  Alabama  

753.0 

17.0 
22.0 
27.0 
6.0 

9,646,723 

225,000 
750,666 
662,911 
212,398 

7,030,896 

Baton  Rouge,  Gros    Tete,  and  Opelousas  

.     .           17  0 

Clinton  and  Port  Hudson  

22  0 

Mexican  Gulf  

27  o 

Mimesburg  and  Lake  Pontchartrain  

6  0 

Carried  forward  

72.0 

72.0 

1.950.975 

RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND*  COST. 


215 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 
Brought  forward  

Total  length 
of  roads. 
72.0 

Length  roads 
completed. 
72.0 
13.0 
80.0 
206.0 
21.0 

392.0 

236.0 
71.0 
83.0 
8.0 
7.0 
26.0 

Capital. 
$1,950,975 
497,220 
1,002,959 
4,437,990 
882,922 

Funded 
Debt. 

$ 

2,121,000 
2,817,000 
58,744 

New  Orleans  and  Carrollton  

13.0 

New  Orleans  Jackson  and  Cfreat  Northern  ... 

258.0 

New  Orleans   Opelousas,  and  Great  Western.  .  .  . 

....       411.0 

Vicksburg.  Shreveport.  and  Texas  

189.0 

943.0 

8,672,066 

2,000,961 
798,285 
1,000,000 
200,000 
95,000 
620,000 

4,996,744 

2,554,732 
456,949 
1,400,000 

Mississippi  Central  

236.0 

Mississippi  and  Tennessee  

99.0 

Southern  Mississippi  

143.0 

Grand  Gulf  and  Port  Gibson  

8.0 

Raymond  

7.0 

West  Feliciana  

26.0 

Total  Mississippi  

519.0 

431.0 

12.0 

206.0 
168.0 
182.0 
19.0 
8.6 

4,714,246 

50,493 
1,770,612 
2,620,000 
3,330,657 
66,974 
1,999,300 

4,411,681 

327,000 
8,768,000 
3,250,000 
8,203,000 
1,400,000 
3,276,000 

Cairo  and  Fulton  

78.0 

Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  

206.0 

North  Missouri  

236.0 

Pacific  

311.0 

South-western  branch  

283.0 

St.  Louis  and  Iron  Mountain  

8.6 

Total  Missouri  

1,200.0 

673.0 

8.0 
80.0 
20.0 
13.0 
29.0 
65.0 

185.0 

19.0 
26.0 
5.0 

9,838,036 

312,000 
1,582,169 
694,024 
694,444 
514,409 
741,069 

2,151,430 

575,000 
800,000 
100,000 

25,224,000 

2,930,000 
sold  for  26,000 
71,000 
130,000 
456,519 

2,300,000 

8.0 

Covington  and  Lexington  

80.0 

Lexington  and  Big  Sandy  

133.0 

Lexington  and  Danville  

35.0 

Lexington  and  Frankfort  

29.0 

Louisville  and  Frankfort  

65.0 

J-    269.0 

Maysville  and  Lexington  

90.0 

Paducah  and  Mobile  

26.0 

Portland  and  Louisville  

5.0 

Total  Kentucky  

740.0 

450.0 

48.0 
30.0 
30.0 
30.0 
130.0 
300.0 
300.0 
VO.O 
60.8 
59.0 
41.0 
159.0 
46.0 
30.0 

8,164,545 

300,000 
867,210 
333,204 
1,289,673 
536,654 
3,809,949 
570,000 
298,721 
317,447 
798,285 
144,894 
2,256,479 
595,922 
216,962 

5,887,519 

61  2*,  000 
2,020,000 
1,902,000 
2,659,000 
1,361,000 
740,000 
632,500 
554,949 
406,000 
1,524,000 
860,000 
413,000 

48.0 

Cleveland  and  Chattanooga  

30.0 

Edgefield  and  Kentucky  

41  0 

East  Tennessee  and  Georgia  

30  0 

East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  

148.0 

Memphis  and  Charleston  '  

311.0 

Memphis  and  Ohio  

.  .    .       306  0 

Memphis  Clarksville,  and  Louisville  

130  0 

Mississippi  Central,  and  Tennessee  

50.0 

Mississippi  and  Tennessee  

100.0 

McMinnville  and  Manchester  

41  0 

Nashville  and  Chattanooga  

202  0 

62  0 

38.0 

Total  Tennessee  

1,543.0 

1,346.0 

38.0 
22.0 

75.0 
86.0 
50.0 

38.0 
11.0 
107.0 

12,335,390 

351,524 
785,950 

752,733 
516,072 
838,086 
245,000 
921,449 
648,216 

13,684,449 

446,000 
729,000 

665,000 
860,000 
965,000 
755,000 
570,000 
414,000 

Memphis  and  Little  Rock  (Arkansas)  

146.0 

Sacramento  Valley  (California)  

....         22  0 

286  0 

Chicago  Iowa,  and  Nebraska  

860 

Dubuque  and  Pacific  

3190 

Iowa  Central  air-line  

....       438.0 

Keokuk  Fort  Desmoines,  and  Minnesota  

140.0 

Keokuk,  Mount  Pleasant,  and  Muscatine  

68.0 

....       419.0 

Total  Iowa 1,756.0 


367.0 


3,821,556 


4,229,000 


216 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 

Total  length  Length  roads             rflnitAl 
of  roads.        completed.              Capital. 

Funded 
Debt. 

Ashtabula  and  New  Lisbon  

84.8 

.  . 

$600,000 

Bellefontaine  and  Indiana 

118.2 

118.2 

1,859,813    ' 

$1,267,078 

Carrollton  Branch  

11.5 

11.5 

225,000 

Central  Ohio  

....       137.0 

137.0 

1,628,356 

3,673,000 

Cincinnati,  Hamilton,  and 

Dayton  

60.3 

60.3 

2,155,800 

1,411,000 

Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis  Junction  

99.1 

37.0 

1,000,000 

Cincinnati,  Wilmington,  and  Zanesville  

162.8 

131.8 

2,441,176 

3,032,000 

Cleveland,  Columbus,  and  Cincinnati  
Branches,  &c  

135.4 
6.8 

135.4 

-   5.8 

4,746,100 

38,000 

Cleveland  and  Mahoning. 

75.0 

67.0 

580,000 

1,202,300 

Cleveland,  Painesville,  and  Ashtabula.  

95.4 

95.4 

3,000,000 

1,667,000 

Cleveland  and  Pittsburg.  . 

101.0 

101.0" 

Tuscarawas  extension.  . 

32.0 

32.0 

,:..    , 

Hanover  branch  

1.5 

1.5 

',  .  :      3,942,368 

4,918,325 

Beaver  extension  

22.0 

22.0 

Wheeling  extension.  .  . 

47.0 

47.0 

Cleveland  and  Toledo,  N.  div  
"          "        "       S.  div  

109.2 
79.4 

109.2 
79.4 

3,343,812 

3,842,720 

Cleveland,  Zanesville,  and  Cincinnati  

114.0 

61.4 

369,673 

575,250 

Clinton  Line  

55.3 

1,000,000 

.  . 

Clinton  Line  extension.  .  . 

94.6 

1,983,000 

Columbus,  Piqua,  and  Indiana  

103.0 

72.0 

750,000 

1,600,000 

Columbus  and  Xenia.  .  .  . 

54.6 

54.6 

1,490,000 

290,700 

Dayton  and  Cincinnati,  tunneL  

53.2 

2,000,000 

Dayton  and  Michigan.  .  .  . 

144.0 

144.0 

2,108,380 

2,513,400 

Dayton  and  Western.  .  .  . 

36.6 

36.6 

289,692 

700,000 

Dayton,  Xenia^  and  Belpre  

63.0 

16.0 

437,838 

422,658 

Eaton  and  Hamilton  

45.0 

45.0 

469,762 

728,853 

Four  Mile  Valley  

34.0 

300,000 

Fremont  and  Indiana.  .  .  . 

120.0 

36.0 

1,000,000 

.  . 

Greenville  and  Miami.  .  . 

32.0 

32.0 

300,000 

473,000 

Iron  

47.0 

13.0 

118,865 

50,000 

Little  Miami  

83.4 

83.4 

2,981,293 

1,399,000 

Marietta  and  Cincinnati  , 
Hillsboro'  branch  

173.8 
21.6 

173.8 
21.6 

1,399,000 

7,405,917 

Ohio  and  Mississippi  

192.3 

192.3 

6,584,681 

9,880,000 

Pittsburg,  Columbus,  and  Cincinnati  
Cadiz  branch  

117.0 
8.0 

117.0 
8.0 

1,906,736 

2,400,000 

Pittsburg,  Maysville,  and 

Cincinnati.  

225.0 

.  . 

390,933 

.  . 

Sandusky,  Dayton,  and  Cincinnati  

153.9 

153.9 

( 

Old  line  

52.0 

52.0 

..;  •;      2,697,090 

2,134,000 

Findlay  Branch  

16.0 

16.0' 

'•• 

Sandusky,  Mansfield,  and 
Huron  branch  

Newark  

116.0 
9.0 

116.0 
9.0 

828,583 

1,402,572 

Scioto  and    Hocking  Valleys  

130.0 

55.5 

403,975 

500,000 

Springfield  and  Columbus 

43.0 

19.5 

193,000 

150,000 

Springfield,  Mount  Vernon,  and  Pittsburg.  .  . 

112.0 

49.0 

1,000,000 

1,050,000 

Tiffin  and  Fort  Wayne.  . 

102.7 

,  , 

150,000 

Toledo,  Wabash,  and  Western  

243.0 

243.0 

3,573,000 

7,650,000 

Total  Ohio  

4,282.0 

3,060.0 

62,326,631 

61,376,763 

Detroit  and  Milwaukee.  .  . 

188.0 

188.0 

2,950,009 

4,250,000 

Detroit,  Monroe,  and  Toledo  

51.0 

51.0 

1,202,821 

Grand  Eapids  and  Indiana  

183.0 

- 

Iron  Mountain,  N.  Michigan  

25.0 

25.0 

600,000 

Michigan  Southern  and  Northern  Indiana.  ... 

246.0 

246.0] 

Constantino  branch.  .  . 

4.0 

4.0 

Old  Goshen  branch.  .  . 

10.0 

10.0 

Michigan  City  branch. 

14.0 

14.0 

St.  Joseph  Valley  railroad  
Jackson  branch  

8.0 
42.0 

8.0 
42.0 

8,975,400 

9,343,000 

Goshen  air-line  

120.0 

120.0 

Toledo  section  

3.0 

3.0 

Ohio  section  of  D.  M.  and  T.  Railroad  

7.0 

7.0 

Erie  and  Kalamazoo.  .  . 

30.0 

30.0 

Carried  forward 931.0 


748.0 


13,728,230 


13,593,000 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


217 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 
Brought  forward  

Total  length 
of  roads. 
931.0 

Length  roads 
completed. 
748.0 
284.0 

Capital. 
$13,728,230 
6,057,844 
500,000 

Funded 
debt 
$13,593,000 
8,284,063 

Michigan  Central  

284.0 

Port  Huron  and  Milwaukee  

89.8 

Flint  and  Pere  Marquette  

173.0 

Total  Michigan  

1,477.8 

1,032.0 

lo's.o 

29.0 
109.0 

72*.4 

89'.8  ) 
20.2  f 
84.0 
78.0 
27.0 
640 
86.0) 
26.0  }• 
23.0  ) 
288.0 
74.0 
20.0 
16.0 
73.0 
3.5 

20,286,061 

1,196,679 
1,000,000 
986,061 
835,000 
611,050 

1,689,900 

835,971 
1,014,252 
188,000 
1,000,000 

1,647,700 

2,800,000 
1,100,000 
120,000 
160,000 
1,381,450 
265,033 

21,877,063 

1,006,125 
1,219,100 
1,166,000 

1,362,284 

1,025,700 
681,000 

600,000 
1,336,816 

3,000,000 
820,000 

230,000 

Chicago  and  Cincinnati  

104.0 

Cincinnati  and  Chicago  

.      .  .  .       108.0 

Cincinnati,  Peru,  and  Chicago  

102.0 

Evansville  and  Crawfordsville  

109.0 

Evansville,  Indianapolis,  and  Cleveland.  .  .  . 

155.0 

Indiana  Central  

724 

Indiana  and  Illinois  Central  

70.0 

Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati  

89.8 

Cincinnati  extension  

20.2 

Indianapolis,  Pittsburg,  and  Cleveland.  .  .  . 

84.0 

Jeffersonville  

78.0 

Knightstown  and  Shelbyville  

27.0 

Lafayette  and  Indianapolis  

64.0 

Madison  and  Indianapolis  

86.0 

Martinsville  branch  , 

26.0 

Shelbyville  branch  

23.0 

New  Albany  and  Salem  

288.0 

Peru  and  Indianapolis  

74.0 

Rushville  and  Shelbyville  

20.0 

Shelbyville  Lateral  

16.0 

Terre  Haute  and  Richmond  

73.0 

Union  Track,  Indianapolis  

3.5 

Total  Indiana  

1,692.9 

1,290.9 

220.0 
138.0 
45.0 
181.8 
196.0 
33.2 
121.0") 
105.5 
21.0  }• 
1.5 
10.5J 
175.6 
308.0  ) 
250.0  J. 
146.0  ) 
4.0 

35.0 
45.0 
3.0 
148.0 
46.0 

94.0  ) 
92.0  f 
100.0 
43.0 
1.0 
168.5  ) 
25.0}- 
14.8) 

16,831,096 

3,500,000 
4,631,540 
988,000 
5,603,000 
2,000,000 
1,000,000 

6,026,400 

1,600,000 
10,249,210 
100,000 

750,000 
1,300,000 
60,000 

1,780,295 

200,000 
1,560,889 
800,000 

200,000 
3,026,903 
500,000 

12,447,025 

4,500,000 
3,158,000 
762,865 
1,397,000 
7,369,000 
580,000 

3,783,015 

3,088,426 
20,000,000 

3,292',402 
600,000 

2,200,000 
1,200,000 

5,035,615 

Chicago,  Alton,  and  St.  Louis  

220.0 

Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy  

138.0 

Chicago  and  Milwaukee  

45.0 

Chicago  and  Rock  Island  

181.8 

Chicago,  St.  Paul,  and  Fond  du  Lac  

196.0 

Fox  River  Valley  

...           33  2 

Galena  and  Chicago  Union  

121.0 

Fulton  and  Iowa  line  

105  5 

Beloit  branch  

21.0 

Elgin  branch  

1.5 

St.  Charles  branch  

10.5 

Great  Western  

178  0 

Illinois  Central  

308  0 

250.0 

Galena  branch  

1460 

40 

Illinois  and  Indiana  Central  

745 

81.5 

Joliet  and  Chicago  

.  .  .    .           35  0 

Joliet  and  Northern  Indiana  

45  0 

Mound  City  

30 

Ohio  and  Mississippi  

1480 

Peoria  and  Bureau  Valley  

46  0 

Peoria  and  Hannibal  

129  0 

Peoria  and  Oquawka  

94  0 

92  0 

Quincy  and  Chicago  

100  0 

Quincy  and  Eastern  

43  0 

Rock  Island  Bridge  

1  0 

Terre  Haute,  Alton,  and  St.  Louis  

1685 

St  Louis  branch  

25  0 

Belleville  division  

14  8 

Tonica  and  Petersburg  

.  .  .    .         120  0 

Total  Illinois.. 

.    3.177.4 

2.772.4 

45.885.237 

56.9fifi.324 

218 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


CorponUetitU*  of  copies.                                            *£*%*  ^Sff          Capital.  Funded 

Alleghany  Valley 181.0  45.0  $  1,660,000  $400, 000 

Beaver  Meadow 20.0  20.0  1,410,900  2,000 

Catawissa,  Williamsport,  and  Erie 63.0  63.0  1,700,000  .    2,271.536 

Cumberland  Valley 52.0  52.0  981,900  245^500 

Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western 193.0  193.0  3,360,872  6,070,125 

East  Pennsylvania 36.0  36.0  386,121  365,500 

Erie  and  North-east 22.0  22.0  600,000  400,000 

Harrisburg  and  Lancaster 55.0  55.0  1,087,100  661,000 

Hempfield 32.0  32.0  1,809,563 

Huntingdon  and  Broad  Top 46.0  42.0  425,015  1,000,000 

La«kawanna  and  Bloomsburg 69.0  69.0  710,000  1,000,000 

Lehigh  Valley 45.0  45.0  1,966,350  1,500,000 

Little  Schuylkill 46.0  28.0  2,256,100  942,500 

Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation 24.0  20.0  2,479,900  3,619,304 

Mine  Hill  and  Schuylkill  Haven 145.0  72.0  2,800,000 

North  Pennsylvania 75.0  660  3,155,820  2,787,000 

Pennsylvania 386.0  386.0  13,249,125  16,932,517 

Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Central 79.0  12.0  . .  250,000 

Philadelphia,  Germantown,  and  Norristown 24.0  24.0  1,208,500  374,800 

Philadelphia,  and  Reading 151.0  151.0  11,737,041  12,195,950 

Philadelphia  and  Trenton 28.0  2-8.0  1,000,000 

Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore 104.0  98.0  5,600,000  2,498,435 

Pittsburg  and  Connellsville 147.0  60.0  1,753,864  1,500,000 

Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne,  and  Chicago 467.0  467.0  6,266,278  8,895,457 

Pittsburg  and  Steubenville 31.0  31.0  1,221,277  280,000 

Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna 54.0  54.0  1,258,700  97,000 

Schuylkill  Valley 39.0  24.0  568,150 

Shamokin  Valley  and  Pottsville 33.0  28.0  500,000  821,447 

Sunbury  and  Erie 148.0  148.0  4,506,920  4,369,070 

Tioga 29.0  29.0  97,550  396,000 

Westchester  and  Philadelphia 26.0  26.0  682,170  944,169 

Williamsport  and  Elmira 78.0  78.0  1,500,000  2,361,973 

Total  Pennsylvania 2,928.0  2,044.0  57,939,216  73,181,283 

Kenosha  and  Rockford 176.0  55.0  800,000  700,000 

Lacrosse  and  Milwaukee 199.0  199.0  10,872,000  10,414,066 

Milwaukee  and  Chicago 40.0  40.0  1,000,000  600,000 

Milwaukee  and  Horicon 42.0  42.0  1,101,200 

Milwaukee  and  Mississippi 260.0  234.0  3,696,693  4,047,000 

Milwaukee,  Watertown,  and  Baraboo 130.0  130.0  345,861  132,000 

Racine  and  Mississippi 142.0  136.0  2,705,720  1,417,000 

Wisconsin  Central 65.0  10.0  600,000 

Total  Wisconsin 1,054,0  846.0  21,121,474  17,310,066 

Buffalo  Bayou 190.0  32.0 

Galveston,  Houston,  and  Henderson 240.0  56.0 

Houston  and  Brazoria 125.0  50.0  275,000  240,000 

Houston  and  Texas  Central 125.0  70.0  455,000  975,000 

San  Antonio  and  Mexican  Gulf 135.0  25.0 

Southern  Pacific 784.0  28.0 

TotalTexas 1,824.0  251.0  730,000  1,215,000 

Minnesota  and  Pacific 620.0  ..  ..  600,000 

Southern  Minnesota 175.0  ..  ..  575,000 

Minneapolis  and  Cedar  Rapids 112.0  ..  ..  600,000 

Minnesota  Transit 200.0  ./  ..  500,000 

Hoot  River  Valley t 60.0 


Total  Minnesota 1,167.0 


2,750,000 


There  is,  in  addition  to  the  roads  here 
mentioned,  a  considerable  length,  probably 
2,000  miles  in  all,  employed  in  mining  dis- 


grand  result*  is  over  28,000  miles  of  road, 
which  have  cost,  in  capital  and  funded  debt, 
,066,866,284,  which  has  been  expended 


tricts,  and  not  used  for  general  traffic.     The  '  in  the  period  since  the  first  road  was  begun. 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


219 


Corporate  titles  of  companies. 


RECAPITULATION  BY  STATES. 

Total  length  Length  roads 
of  roads.        completed. 

Maine 631.4  554.9 

New  Hampshire 594.8 

Vermont 557.5 

Rhode  Island 86.9 

Connecticut 729.5 

Massachusetts 1,474.8 

New  York 3,520.4 

New  Jersey 645.6 

Pennsylvania 2,928.0 

Delaware 105.0 

Maryland 694.0 

Virginia 1,540.0 

North  Carolina 803.0 

South  Carolina 1,064.0 

Georgia 1,275.0 

Florida 534.0 

Alabama 1,496.0 

Louisiana 943.0 

Mississippi 519.0 

Missouri 1,200.0 

Kentucky 740.0 

Tennessee 1,543.0 

Arkansas 146.0 

California 22.0 

Iowa 1,756.0 

Wisconsin 1,054.0 

Minnesota 1,167.0 

Texas 1,824.0 

Illinois 3,177.4 

Indiana 1,692.9 

Michigan 1,477.8 

Ohio 4,282.2 


Funded 

Debt 

$9,458,495 
4,078,475 
9,291,201 
416,437 
8,331,298 
13,687,565 
74,811,371 
14,348,000 
73,181,283 
931,500 
19,460,633 
18,559,316 
2,377,255 
5,978,934 
1,582,467 
399,600 
•7,030,896 
4,996,744 
4,411,681 
25,224,000 
5,887,519 
13,684,449 
446,000 
129,000 
4,229,000 
17,310,066 
2,275,000 
1,215,000 
56,966,324 
12,447,025 
21,877,063 
61,376,763 

Total 40,224.1      28,007.8       $569,865,924       $497,000,360 


560.5 

537.9 

63.6 

654.4 

1,384.2 

2,786.3 
553.6 

2,044.0 
105.0 
694.0 

1,371.0 
760.0 
805.0 

1,222.0 
177.0 
753.0 
392.0 
431.0 
673.0 
450.0 

1,356.0 

38.0 

22.0 

367.0 

846.0 

25LO 
2,772.4 
1,290.9 
1,032.0 
3,060.1 


Capital. 

$8,457,980 

13,006,532 

12,182,246 

1,949,229 

15,095,126 

49,462,563 

70,674,768 

15,982,785 

57,939,216 

1,198,998 

17,383,800 

22,249,604 

9,436,322 

12,418,106 

22,794,902 

4,122,262 

9,646,723 

8,672,066 

4,714,246 

9,838,036 

8,164,545 

12,335,400 

351,524 

785,950 

3,821,556 

21,121,474 

730,000 
45,885,237 
16.831,096 
20,'286,061 
62,326,631 


The  expenditure  of  such  an  enormous  sum 
of  money,  amounting  to  $54  per  head  for 
the  average  population  during  the  30  years 
in  which  they  have  been  building,  is  mar- 
vellous in  so  young  a  country,  which,  40 
years  before  this  outlay  occurred,  was  mostly 
destitute  of  capital.  The  railroads,  however, 
exist,  and  capital  is  now,  at  this  moment, 
more  abundant  for  general  purposes  than  it 
was  before  the  construction  of  the  railroads. 
It  is,  in  fact,  cheaper  in  the  general  market, 
and  in  this  we  recognize  the  vast  utility  of 
the  works  in  developing  capital.  The  opera- 
tion has  been  to  bring  the  production  of 
millions  of  acres  into  general  circulation, 
more  than  supplying  the  absorption  that  the 
railroad  building  occasioned.  It  is  to  be 
considered  that  a  considerable  amount,  prob- 
ably $300,000,000,  has  been  borrowed  in 
Europe.  For  the,  in  round  numbers,  26,000 
miles  of  road  built  since  1840,  there  would 
have  been  required  very  nearly  2, 000,000 
tons  of  railroad  iron,  which,  at  an  average 
price,  was  worth  $104,000,000.  There  was 
imported  in  the  same  time,  1840  to  1849 
inclusive,  1,714,343  tons,  at  a  cost  of  $69,- 


799,797,  mostly  purchased  in  exchange  for 
bonds.  In  the  six  years  ending  with  1857  there 
were  opened  14,335  miles  of  railroad,  which 
required  1 ,304,485  tons.  In  the  same  period 
there  were  imported  1,289,787  tons.  Thus 
the  quantity  of  domestic  required  was  14,698 
tons  in  addition  to  the  renewal  of  old  rail.  A 
good  deal  of  iron  was  bought  at  very  high 
prices  proportioned  to  the  estimated  values  of 
the  bonds.  That  some  of  those  bonds  have  not 
been  paid  is  true,  and  also  that  iron  was  very 
bad.  The  iron  has  been,  therefore,  a  posi- 
tive advance  to  the  capital  of  the  country, 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  products  of  the  earth 
newly  opened  to  market  by  its  means.  In 
illustration  of  the  value  conferred  by  the 
means  of  transportation,  we  may  take  the 
Philadelphia  coal  fields  ;  these  were  discov- 
ered as  fuel  in  1820.  The  quantity  that  has 
since  been  delivered  is  seen  in  the  following 
table : — 

Tons. 

1820  to  1840 21  years 6,847,179 

1840  to  1850 10     "     22,034,961 

1850  to  1860 9     "     55,742,000 


Total  tons  coal 84,624,140 


220 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


This,  at  an  average  value  of  $5,  gives  $423- 
120,760.  If  this  coal  is  assumed  to  have 
been  transported  100  miles  average  at  the 
cost  of  transportation  on  common  roads,  the 
expense  would  have  swallowed  up  the-whole 
value,  but  there  have  been  built,  running  into 
the  anthracite  region,  the  following  works : — 


Miles. 

11  canals 815 

40  railroads 1,564 


Cost 

$40,556,775 
86,773,269 


Total $127,330,044 

Under  the  supposition  that  the  coal  trans- 
ported pays  the  interest  on  this  cost,  which 
would  be  $8,690,000  per  annum,  then  the 
7,626,000  tons  brought  to  market  last  year, 
at  a  value  of  $38,000,000,  paid  $1.12  per 
ton,  or  22  per  cent.,  thus  bestowing  a  clear 
value  of  $29,000,000  per  annum  upon  those 
fields.  The  Cumberland  coal  fields  also  de- 
liver over  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road 
617,010  tons  per  annum.  The  annual  sale 
of  coal  from  those  regions  of  Pennsylvania 


1841 

1842 

1843 

1844 

1845 

1846 1,169 

1847 1,303 

1848 1,319 

1849 1,415 

1850 1,415 


Miles  of 
road. 

662 

791 

848 

932 
1,109 


Cotton  crop. 

Bales. 
1,634,945 
1,683,574 
2,378,875 
2,030,401 
2,394,503 
2,100,537 
1,778,651 
2,347,634 
2,728,596 
2,096,706 


Total 21,174,422 

The  value  of  the  5,914  miles  of  roads 
built  is  not  far  from  $150,000,000,  but  the 
value  of  the  cotton  produced  and  brought 
to  market  has  been  in  the  20  years  $2,900,- 
000,000.  The  increase  in  the  value  during 
the  last  10  years  over  the  former  decade  has 
been  $800,000,000.  That  vast  sum  has 
poured  out  upon  the  markets  of  the  world 
as  a  purchasing  power,  stimulating  industry 
at  home  and  abroad  to  produce  the  equiva- 
lents to  give  in  exchange,  and  which  have 
been  consumed  by  the  southern  cotton  pro- 
ducers. 

In  the  western  country  the  results  are  still 
more  marked,  since  a  country  which  was  a 
wilderness  has,  under  the  influence  of  rail- 
roads opening  the  way,  become  the  source 
of  immense  wealth.  This  influence  upon 
the  grain  business  of  Chicago  is  seen  in  the 
following  table,  which  shows  the  number  of 
miles  in  operation  in  Illinois  and  Wisconsin, 


is,  including  the  quantities  used  locally, 
$40,000,000.  This  sum  is  added  to  the 
floating  capital  of  the  country  as  a  conse- 
quence of  the  $127,330,044  absorbed  in  con- 
structing the  roads.  In  other  words,  the 
cost  of  construction  is  repaid  in  three  years 
nearly,  and  a  perpetually  increasing  fund 
flows  down  for  the  promotion  of  trade, 
since  coal  is  as  much  a  purchasing  power 
for  goods  as  is  gold.  What  those  roads 
have  done  for  coal  have  the  southern  roads 
done  for  cotton.  Formerly  the  water-courses 
were  the  only  means  of  transportation ;  and 
when  they  were  dry  or  shallow  cotton  ac- 
cumulated at  the  landings  until  the  next 
flood.  The  iron  arms  now  stretch  out  in  all 
directions,  and  not  only  is  all  the  cotton 
grown  added  to  the  marketable  value,  but 
new  lands  are  brought  into  action.  The  ef- 
fect of  railroads  upon  cotton  is  seen  in  the 
following  table,  which  shows  the  miles  of 
railroad  open  in  10  cotton  states,  and  the 
quantity  of  cotton  produced: — 


Miles  of 
road. 

1851 1,560 

1852 2,010 

1853 2,515 

1854 3,040 

1855 3,362 

1856 3,809 

1857 4,165 

1858 4,751 

1859 5,552 

1860 5,914 


Cotton  crop. 

Bales. 
2,355,257 
3,015,029 
3.262,882 
2,930,027 
2,847,339 
3,527,845 
2,9159.519 
3.113J962 
3,851,481 
4,675,770 

32,519,111 


in  each  year,  and  the  bushels  of  grain  re- 
ceived in  Chicago  for  corresponding  years : — 


1841  

Miles  of  railroad. 
Illinois.        Wisconsin 
22 

Grain  receipts. 
Bushels. 
40,000 
5,873,141 
6,412,181 
12,932,320 
16,633,700 
21.583,221 
18,032,678 
20,035,166 
21,736,147 
40,000,000 

1852    . 

148 

20 
50 
200 
240 
285 
559 
793 
838 
951 

1853    

296 

1854  

1,200 

1855  

1,884 

1856      

2,241 

1857  

2,571 

1858  

2,678 

1859      ..    .. 

2,774 

I860.. 

..2,811 

The  cost  of  the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin 
railroads  has  been  $141,283,691,  most  of  it 
furnished  by  the  eastern  states  and  by  Eu- 
rope. In  the  same  period  there  have  been 
sold  by  the  federal  government,  in  Illinois, 
15,000,000  acres  of  land,  and  the  canals  and 
railroads  have  sold  3,000,000  acres.  Thia 
land  now  sends  forth,  it  appears,  over  these 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


221 


railroads,  40,000,000  bushels  of  grain,  at  a 
value  of  $60,064,575  per  annum,  as  esti- 
mated by  Col.  Graham,  of  the  United  States 
Engineers,  and  Chicago  sends  back,  in  re- 
turn, a  value  of  $60,608,779.  Two  years  and 
a  half  of  such  production  gives  the  whole 

Passengers. 

Chicago  and  Milwaukee $145,580  84 

Racine  and  Mississippi 41,151  80 

Lacrosse  and  Milwaukee. . . .     205,745  19 

Chicago  and  St.  Paul 102,876  26 

Milwaukee  and  Mississippi. .     305,305  93 

Galena  and  Chicago 1,022,141  65 

Mineral  Point 14,015  77 

Chicago  and  Iowa 15,379  29 

Chicago  and  Burlington 533,034  75 

Dubuque 30,900  17 

Burlington  and  Missouri 46,377  58 

Chicago  and  Rock  Island 449,526  02 

Mississippi  and  Missouri. . . .       90,280  02 
Chicago,  Alton   and  St.  Louis    417,80026 

Illinois  Central 819,829  87 

Pitts.,  Ft.  Wayne,  and  Chicago     742,372  04 

Michigan  Southern 920,366  53 

Michigan  Central 1,013,062  24 


cost  of  the  railroads,  and  a  permanently  in- 
creasing affluence  of  wealth  from  that  region. 
The  railroads  of  the  other  sections  bordering 
the  Lakes  have  not  been  less  efficient. 

As  an  illustration  take  Chicago  as  a  great 
railroad  centre : — 


Freight. 

$46,363  40 

114,077  85 

269,941  10 

194,608  50 

557,900  20 

472,269  13 

37,487  05 

32,817  86 

103,421  97 

29,468  83 

42,869  46 

439,152  32 

124,162  51 

424,734  84 

975,904  87 

699.053  79 

849^528  36 

931,753  98 


Mail  and  Mis. 
$12,235  91 

16,767  45 

12,824  92 

17,479  89 

53,150  45 

1,552  52 

2,555  08 

34,252  92 

1,200  00 

1,975  06 

43,101  66 

3,400  00 

24.753  32 

180,804  28 

126,354  35 

269,452  08 

71,370  63 


Total. 

$204,186  15 

155,229   65 

492,453  74 

310,319  68 

383.176  01 

1,547,561  33 

53,055  35 

50,853  24 

1,600,709  63 

61,578  00 

91,222  10 

981,789  00 

717,842  53 

967,288  52 

1,976,578  52 

1,567,780  18 

2,039,346  97 

2,016,186  85 


Total $15,297,156  85 


This  gives  a  value  of  $15,297,155  earned 
by  roads  running  into  Chicago  from  almost 
every  point  of  the  compass.  A  large  por- 
tion of  the  earnings  were  derived  from  pas- 
sengers who  had  been  connected  with  rail- 
road building  and  land  speculation. 

While  all  these  rivers,  canals,  and  roads 
have  been  busy  bringing  down  produce  from 
swelling  numbers  of  settlers,  the  traffic  of 
the  great  outlets  has  been  equally  as  active. 
We  are  to  bear  in  mind  that  in  1825,  when 
the  Erie  canal  opened,  there  was  no  transpor- 
tation of  produce  from  west  to  east  of  the 
mountains.  Bearing  that  in  mind,  we  shall 
inspect  the  following  table  with  interest. 
It  shows  the  tonnage  and  revenues  of  the 
five  great  outlets,  for  the  year  1859,  as  fol- 
lows : — 


THROUGH    TONNAGE. 


Going 


East.        West 


Total 
tonnage. 

New  York  canals 2,121,672    317,459    8,781,684 

New  York  Central 234,241    113,833       834,379 

New  York  and  Erie 200,000      60,000       869,072 

Pennsylvania  railroad 129,767     108,a39    1,170,240 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  ..     135,127      66,470       897,496 


Total 3,820,807    667,601    7,552,871 


KECEIPTS. 

Freight.  Passengers. 

New  York  canals  (tolls) . .  $  1 ,723,945 

New  York  Central 8,357,148  $2,566,369 

New  York  and  Erie 8,108,248  1,154,083 

Pennsylvania  railroad....    3,419,494  1,412,603 

Baltimore  and  Ohio 2,92^,411  690,207 


Total 
receipts. 

$6,200,848 
4,894,527 
5,362,355 
3,613,618 


Total $  14,517,246    $5,823,262    $  1 9,57 1 ,348 

Thus  these  five  routes  collected  in  1859 

H 


$14,517,246  in  tolls  and  freights,  and  $5,823,- 
262  from  passenger  traffic.  This  has  been 
the  sum  of  the  progress  in  transportation 
across  the  mountains  east  and  west.  The 
vast  lines  of  railroads  now  in  operation  are 
probably  more  than  the  present  wants  of  all 
parts  of  the  country  may  require,  but  the 
glance  we  have  made  at  the  past  shows  that 
the  country  will  very  soon  outgrow  this  sup- 
ply of  rails,  and  call  for  a  completion  of  those 
projected. 

This  immense  length  of  continued  rail  now 
enables  an  individual  to  travel  from  one  ex- 
tremity of  the  Union  to  the  other  without 
fatigue ;  not  only  are  the  distances  short- 
ened, but  every  appliance  for  comfort 
makes  the  journey,  even  to  invalids,  com- 
modious. For  this  purpose  there  have  been 
recently  introduced  on  the  long  lines,  sleep- 
ing-cars, wherein  the  passenger  takes  his  nat- 
ural rest  while  the  iron  horse  is  whirling 
him  toward  his  destination  at  the  rate  of  30 
miles  an  hour.  This  is  an  improvement  upon 
the  invention  introduced  by  Captain  Bun- 
ker, as  we  have  seen  on  the  Hudson  river 
sloops  in  the  early  part  of  the  century, 
whereby  gentlemen  and  ladies  could  be  ac- 
commodated with  beds.  They  were  prob- 
ably more  necessary  in  that  day,  however, 
when  it  might  have  been  necessary  to  while 
away  the  time  in  their  berths.  The  rail  cars 
do  not  go  the  less  rapidly  that  the  passengers 
are  well  accommodated.  There  have  been 


222 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


many  instances  not  only  of  berths  provided 
but  of  births  taking  place  in  the  cars.  Such 
an  event  happened  on  the  Long  Island  cars, 
which  were  going  at  the  speed  of  40  miles 
per  hour,  and  a  grave  difficulty  sprang  up 
as  to  where  the  young  gentleman  was  born, 
a  problem  not  easily  solved,  when  towns 
passed  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  90  seconds. 

We  have  seen  that  the  passenger  of  the 
present  day  does  not  occupy  much  time  in 
performing  long  distances,  and  that  these 
passages  are  by  no  means  costly  as  compared 
with  the  inconvenient  mode  of  locomotion  in 
the  olden  time.  Twenty  years  since  it  was 
recorded  as  a  marvel  that  a  gentleman  made 
the  distance  from  Chicago  to  Albany  in  154 
hours,  or  6  days  and  10  hours,  and  24  days 
from  New  Orleans  to  Baltimore  was  recorded 
as  matter  of  wonder.  Now,  89  hours  from 
New  York  to  New  Orleans  is  an  easy  pas- 
sage, and  Cincinnati  is  reached  in  36  hours. 
A  passenger  is  booked  through  from  Bangor 
to  New  Orleans  in  less  time  than  was  em- 
ployed to  go  from  Boston  to  New  York. 
From  New  York,  as  the  great  centre,  lines 
radiate  in  all  directions,  bringing  the  most 
distant  cities  within  a  more  convenient  dis- 
tance than  was  Philadelphia  in  the  past 
century. 

It  is  instructive  to  look  back  at  the 
changes  the  means  of  locomotion  have 
wrought  in  the  views  of  passengers.  At  the 
close  of  the  last  century  enterprising  con- 
tractors advertised  as  follows  : — 

"PHILADELPHIA  STAGE- WAGGON  and  NEW 
YORK  STAGE-BOAT,  performs  their  Stages 
twice  a  Week.  John  Butler,  with  his  wag- 
gon, sets  out  on  Mondays  from  his  House, 
at  the  Sign  of  the  Death  of  the  Fox,  in 
Strawberry-ally,  and  drives  the  same  day  to 
Trenton  Ferry,  when  Francis  Holman  meets 
him,  and  proceeds  on  Tuesday  to  Bruns- 
wick, and  the  passengers  and  goods  being 
shifted  into  the  waggon  of  Isaac  Fitzran- 
dolph's  the  same  day,  where  Ruben  Fitz- 
randolph,  with  a  boat  well  suited,  will 
receive  them,  and  take  them  to  New  York 
that  night.  John  Butler  returning  to  Phil- 
adelphia on  Tuesday  with  the  passengers 
and  goods  delivered  to  .him  by  Francis 
Holman,  will  again  set  out  for  Trenton 
Ferry  on  Thursday,  and  Francis  Holman,  &c., 
will  carry  his  passengers  and  goods,  with  the 
same  expedition  as  above  to  New  York." 

By  this  remarkably  ingenious  plan  and 
-diction  of  John  Butler,  everybody  got  to 
his  journey's  end  in  the  course  of  time ; 


"with  the  same  expedition  as  above,"  that 
is,  it  appears,  from  Monday  morning  to 
Tuesday  night,  if  Ruben  Fitzrandolph's 
boat  did  not  get  aground  or  becalmed,  or 
weather-bound,  or  driven  off,  in  either  of 
which  cases  the  time  of  arrival  was  dubious. 
But  honest  John  "  with  his  waggon,"  was 
soon  "cutout."  Those  "Yankees,"  immor- 
talized by  Knickerbocker,  came  down  from 
the  north  and  innovated  even  upon  so  ad- 
mirable  an  arrangement  as  was  here  devised 
in  the  tap-room  of  the  "  Death  of  the  Fox," 
Strawberry-ally,  under  the  administration  of 
Jefferson.  Ruben's  boat  with  its  vicissitudes 
was  abandoned,  notwithstanding  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  "  Kill  van  Kull"  passage,  and  a 
land  route  through  adopted.  The  attractions 
of  this  route  were  set  forth  as  follows : — 

"  FOR  PHILADELPHIA  AND  BALTIMORE — 
SWIFTSURE  MAIL  STAGE. — A  new  line  has 
removed  from  No  2  Courtlanclt  street  to  No. 
116  Broadway,  and  is  now  running  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  through  a 
beautiful  country,  and  on  the  short  and 
pleasant  road  through  Newark,  Springfield, 
Scotch  Plains,  Bound  Brook,  Somerset, 
Arnwell,  Coryell's  Ferry,  Cross  Road, 
Crooket  Billet,  and  Jenkintown  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

"To  start  from  New  York  every  day  at  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.  (Sundays  excepted,)  lodge  at 
Somerset,  and  arrive  at  Philadelphia  next 
day  afternoon.  The  Swiftsure  is  the  only 
opposition  stage  from  this  city  to  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore." 

There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much 
time  saved  by  this  new  plan,  any  further 
than  that  the  vicissitudes  of  the  boats  were 
exchanged  for  those  of  muddy  roads.  Spring 
coaches  had,  however,  supplanted  honest 
John  Butler's  wagon,  since  travellers  had 
become  more  dainty.  A  few  years  more 
brought  steam  into  competition  for  the  use 
of  travellers,  and  the  number  multiplied  to 
such  an  extent,  that,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
great  semi-centennial  jubilee  anniversary 
of  the  National  Independence,  held  July  4, 
1825,  it  was  recorded  in  The  Philadelphia 
Gazette,  that  300  New  Yorkers  were  said  to 
have  been  in  Philadelphia.  There  were 
passengers  enough  to  fill  35  coaches  !  Great 
doings,  that,  in  the  travelling  way  !  What 
would  Francis  Holman  have  done  with  the 
crowd  between  Brunswick  and  Trenton  ? 
Travelling  had  clearly  outgrown  his  arrange- 
ments. Well,  35  years  more  passed  on,  and 
railroad  connections  being  constructed,  the 


RAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT    AND    COST. 


223 


papers  of  the  day  contained  a  new  adver- 
tisement of  a  trip  to  Philadelphia.  It  was  no 
longer  "John  Butler  with  his  waggon,"  but 
that  "  John  Brougham  with  his  company" 
would  perform  as  usual  in  the  evening  at 
the  New  York  theatre,  then  proceed  by  the 
cars  to  Philadelphia  and  perform  at  the 
theatre  there  in  the  same  evening,  and  re- 
turn to  New  York  to  sleep.  Thus  two  per- 
formances were  had  in  two  cities  90  miles 
distant,  and  the  passage  made  both  ways  in 
the  same  evening  by  rail !  The  ordinary  pas- 
sage is  some  4  hours,  and  the  expense  $3.00. 
The  fare  is  reduced  to  $2. 25,  if  the  passenger 
does  not  care  about  an  hour  or  so  of  time. 

The  influence  of  these  great  improve- 
ments in  travel  has  been  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree to  consolidate  population  in  cities,  and 
these  grow  the  more  readily  that  the  dis- 
tance within  which  perishable  food  can 
be  brought  to  market  is  so  much  increased 
by  rapidity  of  travel.  The  elements  of 
growth  of  a  city  are  supplies  of  food,  fuel, 
and  water.  Unless  these  are  abundant  and 
cheap,  the  disadvantages  thence  arising  will 
counterbalance  the  geographical  and  commer- 
cial advantages  of  a  city.  To  supply  food  the 
circle  of  country  about  the  city  which  supplies 
market-gardens,  dairies,  etc.,  must  be  fertile 
and  accessible.  The  width  of  this  ring, 
or,  in  other  words,  the  area  thus  devoted,  is 
determined  by  the  speed  with  which  the 
produce  can  be  transported.  The  distance 
of  its  extreme  limits  must  not  be  greater 
than  will  permit  the  products  to  reach  the 
centre  in  time  for  use ;  any  improvement 
that  enables  a  larger  space  to  be  gone  over 
in  the  same  time  increases  the  area  of  dwell- 
ings and  market-lands.  The  area  thus 
commanded  increases  as  the  square  of  the 
distances.  Thus,  if  the  speed  is  doubled,  the 
area  is  four  times  as  large,  if  it  is  tripled,  the 
area  adapted  to  city  supplies  is  nine  times  as 
great,  consequently  there  will  be  nine  times 
as  much  milk,  butter,  vegetables,  food,  and 
produce  as  before.  Steamboats  opened  a 
market  in  New  York  for  large  quantities  of 
early  southern  fruits  and  vegetables  that 
compete  with  those  coming  by  rail  from  a 
country  before  secluded.  If  the  city  is  thus 
benefited,  so  are  the  distant  farms,  the 
value  of  which,  as  compared  with  those  near, 
becomes  equalized.  If  wheat  is  worth  $1.00 
in  the  city,  and  it  cost  25  cents  to  get  it 
there  from  a  certain  farming  district,  the 
producer  will  get  75  cents  only.  If  the  cost 
of  transportation  be  reduced  to  10  cents, 


then  there  is  1 5  cents  to  be  divided  between 
the  city  consumer  and  the  producer.  The 
comparative  influence  of  a  railroad  in  effect- 
ing this  result  over  a  common  road  is  great. 
Another  very  important  development  of 
railroads  has  been  for  city  service.  It  is 
now  nearly  30  years  since,  the  city  of  New 
York  having  spread  over  a  greater  surface 
of  ground  than  it  was  convenient  to  walki 
over,  lines  of  omnibuses  were  started  to  run 
on  the  great  thoroughfares,  to  carry  passen- 
gers. The  price  was,  at  first,  12^  cents  for 
a  ride  any  distance  on  the  line.  This  was 
gradually  reduced  to  6  cents.  About  the  year 
1852,  however,  the  plan  of  horse  railroads 
was  proposed,  and  one  was  laid  down  the 
Sixth  Avenue,  to  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 
This  was  at  once  eminently  successful.  The 
advantages  accruing  to  the  general  benefit 
from  the  development  of  this  system  may  be 
briefly  enumerated  as  follows: — The  quick- 
est, cheapest,  and  most  agreeable  facilities  of 
travel  to  all  parts  of  the  city ;  the  surprising 
increase  of  the  value  of  property  upon  the 
outskirts,  now  easy  of  access  at  all  hours  of 
the  day  and  evening  ;  the  spreading  of  the 
laboring  population  to  the  suburbs,  and  the 
consequent  rapid  extension  of  the  city ;  the 
opening  of  new  branches  of  occupation  by 
the  necessity  created  for  conductors  and 
drivers,  and  the  building  of  cars  ;  and,  lastly, 
the  creation  of  an  extensive  and  profitable 
investment  for  capital,  the  stock  of  some  of 
these  lines  of  railway  being  eagerly  sought 
as  safe  and  lucrative.  It  resulted,  that 
others  were  put  into  operation.  The  plan 
was  soon  adopted  in  Boston,  and  in  Phila- 
delphia, which  is,  from  its  broad  and  rectan- 
gular streets,  well  adapted  to  railroad  travel. 
From  there  the  system  has  spread  to  Balti- 
more, Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  New 
Orleans,  and  other  cities.  The  extent  of  the 
roads  is  as  follows : — 


No. 

Boston 5 

New  York  and  Brooklyn.  7 
Philadelphia 18 


Miles.  Cost. 

30.4  $968,943 

66.8  5,212,586 

1548  8,550,000 


Total 30       242.0        14,731,529 

The  amount  of  traffic  on  these  roads  is 
immense.  In  New  York,  the  number  of 
passengers  carried  in  a  year  more  than  equals 
the  whole  population  of  the  United  States. 
Thus  while  the  railroads  favor  the  settle- 
ment of  cities,  by  concentrating  in  them  a 
large  manufacturing  and  commercial  pop- 
ulation, which  can  draw  cheap  food  from 


224 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


every  section  of  the  Union,  they  at  the  same 
time  circulate  that  city  population  cheaply 
and  speedily,  enabling  them  to  occupy  a 
larger  space  of  ground,  and  at  the  same  time 
concentrate  the  manufacturing  operations  in 
a  manner  to  facilitate  the  greatest  production 
of  commodities  that  are  reciprocally  re- 
quired by  the  producers  of  food.  In  no  coun- 
try have  railroads  been  availed  of  to  the  ex- 
tent which  the  United  States  exhibit.  Under 
the  free  action  of  the  national  energy,  the 
roads  have  multiplied  in  a  marvellous  man- 
ner, but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  this 
has  had  an  immense  tract  of  rare  and  fer- 
tile soil  to  respond  to  the  operations  of  the 
roads,  and  the  country  has  been  taken  up, 
step  by  step,  by  an  immense  immigration. 
Such  a  state  of  affairs  cannot  exist  in  Europe. 
There  are  no  new  lands  and  crowds  of  immi- 
grants, the  resources  of  which  need  only  the 
railroad  to  be  developed.  There  the  money 
put  into  railroads  is  a  positive  investment, 
here  it  calls  into  activity  a  sum  larger  than  its 
own  amount.  The  gross  income  of  257 
roads  in  the  United  States,  for  1859,  was 
$111,203,245  freights  and  passengers,  or 
$4  per  head  for  each  soul  in  the  Union.  This 
was  for  goods  transported  and  for  travelling. 
The  roads  of  the  United  States,  as  compared 
with  Europe  and  Great  Britain,  will  be  seen 
in  the  following  tables  of  the  number  of 
miles  in  operation  throughout  the  globe  at 
the  commencement  of  the  year  1857 : — 

United  States 28,500  miles. 

Canada  and  British  Provinces 1,465     " 

Cuba 391     " 

Jamaica 10     " 

New  Granada 49 

Brazil 53 

Peru 22 

Chili 80 

England  and  Wales 6,426 

Scotland 1,138 

Ireland 1,012 

Spain 263 

France 3,712 

Belgium 1,119 

Holland 422 

Denmark 188 

Norway  and  Sweden 67 

Russia  and  Poland 637 

Prussia 2,309 

Smaller  German  States; 4,235 

Austria  and  Hungary 1,697 

Switzerland 167 

Italy 812 

Egypt 132 

British  India 311 

Australia 39 


Total  of  railways  in  the  world  in  1857,65,256 


The  comparative  cost  of  the  roads 
other  authority  is  as  follows  : — 


Miles. 

United  States 28,037 

Great  Britain 8,297 

France 4,038 

Germany 3,213 

Prussia 1,290 

Belgium 1,095 

British  Provinces.      826 

Cuba 359 

Panama 47 

South  America ...        60 

Russia 422 

Sweden 75 

Italy 170 

Spain 60 

Africa 25 

India. .  100 


Cost.     .' 

$1,086,865,399 

1,487,916,420 

616,118,995 

228,000,000 

145,000,000 

98,500,000 

41,600,000 

16,100,600 

7,000,000 

4,500,000 

42,000.000 

7.500^000 

17,000,000 

6,000,000 

3,100,000 

15,000,000 


by  an- 

Cost  per 

mile. 

$38,800 

179,000 

152,000 

71,000 

63,000 

90,OOG 

50,000 

41.000 

150,000 

75,000 

100,000 

100,000 

100,000 

100,000 

125,000 

150,000 


Total 48,114    $3,823,200,814    $79,000 

Although  the  territories  of  the  United 
States  abutting  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  the 
north-west  were  the  scene  of  Mr.  Astor's  en- 
terprise early  in  the  century,  California,  up 
to  the  Mexican  war  in  1846,  was  an  unknown 
region.  That  war  resulted  in  an  acquisition 
of  territory,  that  was  no  sooner  annexed, 
than  the  inquisitive  settlers  discovered  those 
gold  treasures  that  set  the  world  in  a  blaze, 
and  made  that  region  the  centre  of  migra- 
tion for  many  years.  The  route  thither  was 
by  Cape  Horn,  on  a  voyage  of  many  months, 
or  across  Central  America,  by  a  perilous 
journey.  That  was  not  to  be  suffered  long 
by  a  people  who  had  learned  the  art  of  rail- 
road building,  and  the  Panama  railroad,  48 
miles,  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,- 
000  ;  $4,973,000  capital,  and  $2,427,000 
debt.  This  road,  connecting  on  the  Atlantic 
side  with  New  York  by  a  steam-line,  and  on 
the  Pacific  side  with  San  Francisco,  by 
another,  became  at  once  the  great  route, 
and  its  revenue  last  year  was  $1,925,444. 
The  facilities  of  trade  thus  afforded,  caused 
a  rapid  multiplication  of  people  on  the  north- 
west coast,  the  more  so  that  new  discover- 
ies of  gold  were  being  made.  Meantime  the 
public  mind  was  awakened  to  the  neces- 
ity  of  an  inland  route  by  rail,  not  only  to 
shorten  the  transport  trade  from  India,  but  as 
a  means  of  support,  in  case  of  war,  and  also 
as  a  bond  of  union.  The  undertaking  was 
regarded  with  hesitation,  even  by  those  who 
had  seen  the  active  progress  of  great  works 
among  us.  It  was  supposed  impossible  to 
build  a  road  2,000  miles  to  connect  St. 
Louis  with  San  Francisco,  across  the  moun- 
tains, although  the  map  shows  a  line  be- 


BAILROADS LAND    GRANTS EXTENT   AND    COST SHIP    CANALS. 


225 


tween  St.  Louis  and  New  York,  and  between 
New  Orleans  and  Brazos.  What  is  there  more 
difficult  in  one  than  in  the  other  ?  It  is  said 
the  country  is  unsettled!  What  was  the 
country  between  Detroit  and  New  Orleans, 
through  which  there  are  now  1500  miles  of 
road,  25  years  since  ?  The  settlement  of  the 
country  goes  on  at  a  railroad  pace.  The 
frontier  line  of  the  country  is  1,600  miles. 
Along  this  the  population  advance  west,  at 
the  rate  of  1,000,000  souls  per  annum.  The 
demand  for  a  railroad  in  1850  came  from 
20,000,000  people,  without  any  answering 
reply  from  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  demand  is  now  prolonged  by  30,000,- 
000,  to  whom  500,000  voices  from  the 
Pacific  coast  respond.  Before  the  roads  can 
be  constructed,  if  now  undertaken,  40,000,- 
000  on  the  east  of  the  mountains  will  be 
eager  to  communicate  with  1,000,000  on 
the  western  slopes.  These  vast  numbers 
will  be  pressing  toward  each  other,  so  as  to 
shorten  the  purely  through  route,  increase 
the  local  traffic  at  both  termini,  and  a  ter- 
minus which  shall  be  500  miles  south  of 
one  centre  and  500  miles  north  of  another, 
will  not  suffice.  The  mind  at  once  be- 
comes impressed  with  the  necessity  of 
having  three.  Let  us  revert  thirty  years,  to 
the  connection  of  the  Atlantic  with  the 
Mississippi  river.  Suppose  the  necessity  of 
a  railroad  connection  had  then  been  agitated 
to  run  12  or  1 5  hundred  miles  to  St.  Louis ; 
that  one  connection  would  have  ill  supplied 
the  numerous  routes  that  now  cross  the 
country  between  Canada  and  Charleston. 
A  parallel  case  will  soon  present  itself  with 
the  western  slopes,  and  three  routes  will 
be  found  by  no  means  too  many,  either  to 
answer  the  purposes  of  communication  or  to 
accommodate  the  travel.  The  requisites  of 
a  road  are  shortness  and  cheapness.  These 
are  relative.  The  road  which  is  shortest 
and  cheapest  to  connect  the  Columbia  river 
with  the  great  northern  interests,  including 
those  of  Canada,  which  concentrate  round 
Lake  Superior,  is  not  the  shortest  and 
cheapest  mode  of  reaching  New  Orleans 
from  San  Diego ;  nor  would  a  route  between 
the  two  latter  at  all  accommodate  those 
northern  interests.  The  Pacific  railroad  ex- 
tended from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco  would 
be  the  shortest  and  cheapest  for  those  central 
interests,  but  it  could  not  advantageously 
do  the  business  of  the  other  sections. 

Each  of  these  sections  has  large  means 
that  can  be  applied  to  the  construction  of  a 


road  that  would  serve  their  necessities,  but 
which  could  not  be  enlisted  in  favor  of  one 
that  would  be  of  no  direct  benefit.  If,  there- 
fore, the  government  should  give  authority 
for  the  construction  of  three  roads,  with  a 
grant  of  six-mile  sections  along  the  route  of 
each,  and  in  addition  aid  each  by  a  grant 
of  $50,000,000  of  5  per  cent,  bonds,  taking 
a  first  lien  upon  the  road,  the  local  interests 
of  each  section  would  complete  the  balance. 
Migration  will  follow  these  lines  of  com- 
munication settling  the  best  lands,  until 
those  coming  east  will  meet  those  proceed- 
ing west,  and  a  continuous  line  of  settlement 
will  follow  the  rising  sun  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco,  and  the  entire  Union  be 
united  with  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  that 
bring  the  commerce  of  Asia  on  the  east, 
and  with  those  of  the  Atlantic,  that  float  its 
commerce  with  Europe  on  the  west. 

The  Pacific  railroad,  though  long  dis- 
cussed, was  not  definitely  located,  nor  the 
company  incorporated,  tillJuly  1st,  1862,  and 
acts  amendatory  of  it  were  passed  July  2d, 
1864,  March  3d,  1865,  and  July  3d,  1866. 
By  this  act,  the  right  of  way,  to  the  extent  of 
200  feet  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  rail- 
road, was  granted  to  the  company;  and  also 
every  alternate  section  of  public  land,  to  the 
amount  of  five  alternate  sections  per  mile, 
except  mineral  lands ;  and  also  provided  for 
issuing  thirty-year  government  bonds,  to 
the  amount  of  $16,000  per  mile,  for  every 
section  of  forty  miles  completed,  to  the  com- 
pany, such  bonds  constituting  a  first  mort- 
gage on  the  road.  Under  this  act  and  its 
amendments,  the  road  was  commenced  from 
both  termini,  and  has  been  vigorously  prose-1 
cuted.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1867,  there 
were  completed  about  305  miles  of  the 
eastern  division,  extending  to  within  200' 
miles  of  Denver,  Colorado  ;  and  it  was  pro- 
gressing at  the  rate  of  from  one  to  two  miles 
per  day.  Of  the  western  division,  156  miles 
east  from  Sacramento,  to  the  state  line,  was 
to  be  finished  by  July  1st,  1867,  and  to 
Salt  Lake,  675  miles  from  Sacramento,  by 
1869.  It  is  expected  to  be  completed  in  its 
whole  extent  by  1870.  The  completion  of 
this  road  will  bring  the  carrying  trade  be- 
tween Europe  and  Eastern  Asia  through  the 
United  States,  and  will  *  greatly  facilitate 
the  development  of  the  vast  mining  interests 
of  the  Kocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  regions. 


THE   SEUUND    EXPERIMENTAL   BOAT   OF  JOHH    1'ITCH. 


Finished  in  May,  1787,  and  run  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  per  hour  on  the  Delaware.    Cylinder 
twelve  inches  in  diameter,  stroke  three  feet. 


THE   FIRST   STEAMBOAT   EVER   BUILT   TO   CARRY   PASSENGERS. 

Constructed  by  John  Fitch,  and  finished  April  16th,  1798.  Cylinder  eighteen  inches  in  diameter, 
speed  eight  miles  per  hour  in  smooth  water.  The  following  year  this  boat  was  run  to  Burlington 
regularly  as  a  passenger  boat 


STEAM. 


BY   JOHN    C. 


CHAPTER  L 

INTRODUCTORY. 
HISTORY    OF    STEAM    ENGINE. 

ONE  hundred  years  ago,  a  harmless  vapor 
arose  with  the  morning  sun,  and  floated  o'er 
our  heads,  remarked  by  the  artist,  poet, 
or  philosopher,  but  almost  unheeded  by  the 
mechanic,  and  only  regarded  by  the  mariner 
as  a  prognosticator  of  the  wind. 

How  is  it  to-day  ?  From  myriad  towering 
columns,  o'er  which  the  fierce  fire-king  his 
sombre  mantle  flings,  gushes,  in  mimic 
clouds,  the  quick  breath  of  our  new-born 
Titan.  The  ancient  rocks  echo  to  his  shrill 
voice,  and  tremble  as  he  rushes  by.  He 
troubles  the  waters,  and  rides  on  their 
crest  defiant.  O'er  hill  and  dale,  and  lake 
and  river,  is  his  white  flag  unfurled,  pro- 
claiming peace  to  all  nations.  From  the 
pine  of  the  frozen  north,  to  the  palmetto  of 
the  sunny  south,  his  twin  track  tunnels  the 
mountain,  belts  the  prairie,  and  spans  the 
flood.  Mightiest  of  kings  is  this  son  of  fire  ! 
proudest  of  monarchs  is  this  genius  of  the 
lamp  and  the  fountain ! 

In  an  article  like  this,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  we  should  dwell  upon  the  ge- 
nius of  James  Watt  —  abler  pens  have 
awarded  him  the  fame  he  so  richly  deserves, 
and  a  proud  monument  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey tells  the  passing  stranger  that  it  was 


KOT  TO   PERPETUATE  A  NAME, 
WHICH  MUST  ENDURE  WHILE  THE  PEACEFUL  AKTB  FLOURISH; 

BUT    TO     SHOW 

THAT   MANKIND   HAVE    LEARNED  TO   HONOR  THOSE 
WHO    BEST    DESERVE   THEIR  GRATITUDE, 

THAT   THE   KING, 

HIS  MINISTERS,    AND    MANY   OF  THE  NOBLES 

AND   COMMONERS   OF  THE   REALM 

BAISED    THIS    MONUMENT    TO 

JAMES  WATT, 

WHO,  DIRECTING  THE  FORCE  OF  AN  ORIGINAL  GENIUS, 

EARLY  EXERCISED  IN  PHILOSOPHIC  RESEARCH, 

TO  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OP 

THE  STEAM-ENGINE, 
ENLARGED  THE  RESOURCES  OF  HIS  COUNTRY, 

INCREASED  THE  POWER  OF  MAN, 

AND  BO8E  TO   AN   EMINENT   PLACE 

AMONG  THE  MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  FOLLOWERS  OF  SCIENCE, 

•AND  THE  REAL  BENEFACTOBS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


What  greater  praise  could  be  awarded  to 
him  than  this?  How  could  his  unrivalled 
genius  be  more  concisely  expressed,  or 
clearly  acknowledged  1  and  yet,  at  that  time, 
they  had  but  begun  to  see  the  stupendous 
results  of  his  inventions.  To  realize  the  in- 
ventive mind  of  James  Watt,  it  requires 
careful  study,  and  thorough  mechanical 
knowledge,  even  at  this  late  day ;  and  when 
•we  consider  that  with  him  all  was  compara- 
tively novel,  we  pause  in  astonishment  at  a 
mind  so  fertile  in  mechanical  devices. 

England,  ever  true  and  grateful  to  her  own 
genius,  has#  fitly  honored  her  greatest  in- 
ventor, while  America  has  suffered  genius  as 
great  to  die,  unrewarded  in  life,  and  forgot- 
ten in  the  grave ;  but  she  has  not  neglected 
to  profit  by  their  inventions ;  and  it  is  our 
purpose  to  show,  in  this  article,  how  great 
have  been  the  results. 

The  first  steam  engine  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge  in  America  was  at  the 
Schuyler  copper  mine,  Passaic,  N.  J.  It 
was,  more  properly  speaking,  an  atmos- 
pheric engine,  and  was  imported  from  Eng- 
land in  1736,  and  put  up  by  a  Mr.  Horn- 
blower.  The  first  engine  that  was  con- 
structed in  America  was  built  by  Christopher 
Colles  for  a  distillery  in  Philadelphia;  the 
machine  was,  however,  very  defective.  It 
was  built  in  October,  1772,  and  was,  like 
the  other,  an  engine  upon  Newcomen's  plan. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  less  than  a 
hundred  years  since  America  took  her  first 
lessons  in  a  science  that  was  destined  to 
work  such  a  revolution  in  the  whole  world ; 
and  her  birth,  as  a  nation,  may  be  considered 
as  cotemporary  with  that  of  the  steam  en- 
gine. In  1787,  John  Fitch,  of  Connecticut, 
built,  in  Philadelphia,  the  first  condensing 
engine,  and  this  without  the  aid  of  Watt's 
experiments — for  it  was  only  in  the  year 
1786  that  the  latter  patented,  and  made 
public,  his  most  important  improvements; 
and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
Fitch  was  at  first  ignorant  of  them.  With 


228 


STEAM. 


the  assistance  of  common  blacksmiths,  he 
constructed  a  low-pressure  engine,  and,  more 
than  this,  applied  the  motor  to  a  steam- 
boat. Then  came  the  experiments  and  suc- 
cess of  Robert  Fulton,  a  man  whom  we  have 
not  forgotten  to  honor;  ,the  improvements 
of  Stevens,  to  whom  we  owe  our  great  suc- 
cess in  river  navigation,  and  the  energy  and 
perseverance  of  Oliver  Evans,  the  first  to 
apply  the  principles  of  the  high-pressure,  or 
non-condensing  engine,  to  common  use,  and 
to  demonstrate  its  advantages  not  only  for 
the  stationary  engine,  but  also  its  adapta- 
bility to  carriages  on  common  roads ;  from 
which  we  may  date  the  invention  of  the  lo- 
comotive engine,  for  it  was  only  the  experi- 
ence of  Stephenson  in  tram-roads  that  led 
him,  at  a  much  later  day,  to  the  invention 
of  the  latter,  and  Watt's  engines  would  never 
have  become  applicable  thereto,  on  account 
of  their  great  size. 

In  spite  of  the  difficulties  under  which  a 
young  nation  labored,  from  the  want  of  an 
accumulated  capital,  we  took  a  start  from 
the  first  introduction  of  the  locomotive  en- 
gine, that  has  astonished  the  world;  and 
have  grown  a  race  of  civil  engineers  that, 
with  a  limited  amount  of  money,  have  pro- 
duced effects  wonderful  even  to  themselves. 
Well  may  Americans  be  proud  of  the  results 
of  their  inventive  genius.  To  the  general 
reader  these  events  have  come  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  and  steam,  with  its  thousands 
of  detailed  improvements,  is  looked  upon  as 
something  wonderful,  but  inexplicable  ;  the 
mass  of  people  understanding  little  or  nothing 
of  its  nature.  We  propose,  then,  to  explain, 
as  simply  as  possible,  the  cause  of  this  great 
effect,  and,  dropping  technicalities,  to  give 
the  great  public  a  concise  idea  of  steam,  and 
the  steam  engine,  before  proceeding  to  the 
results  of  its  use. 

When  Watt  constructed  his  first  engines, 
he  used  them  to  replace  horses  in  the  mines, 
and,  in  order  to  give  some  idea  of  their 
value,  he  reckoned  his  engines  as  at  so  many 
horses'  power ;  and  the  power  of  a  horse  was 
computed  from  the  effect  produced  by  a 
horse  raising  a  weight  to  a  certain  height 
in  a  given  time  :  this  he  computed  as  33,000 
Ibs.,  raised,  in  one  minute,  to  the  height  of 
one  foot.  The  following  description,  from 
S.  Holland,  chief  engineer  of  the  English 
navy,  concisely  shows  the  manner  of  obtain- 
ing the  horse-power  of  a  steam  engine  : — 

"  Work  is  a  term  in  mechanics  of  recent 
origin,  but  of  great  utility ;  it  means  a  com- 


pound of  force  (or  pressure)  and  motion. 
Work  is  said  to  be  performed  when  a  pres- 
sure is  exerted  upon  a  body,  and  the  body 
is  thereby  moved  through  space."  The  unit 
of  a  pressure  is  one  pound,  the  unit  of  space 
one  foot,  and  work  is  measured  by  a  '  foot- 
pound' as  a  unit.  Thus,  if  a  pressure  of  so 
many  pounds  be  exerted  through  a  space  of 
so  many  feet,  the  number  of  pounds  is  mul- 
tiplied into  the  number  of  feet,  and  the  prod- 
uct is  the  number  of  foot-pounds  of  work  ; 
hence,  if  the  stroke  of  a  steam  engine  be 
seven  feet,  and  the  pressure  on  each  square 
inch  of  the  piston  be  22  pounds,  the  work 
done  at  each  single  stroke,  for  each  square 
inch  of  the  piston,  will  be  7  multiplied  by 
22,  equal  to  154  foot-pounds.  Power  con- 
tains another  element  in  addition  to  those 
contained  in  work.  It  implies  the  ability  to 
do  so  much  work  in  a  certain  period  of  time  ; 
and,  in  order  to  have  a  proper  idea  of  it,  a 
unit  of  measure  is  also  employed.  This 
unit  is  called  a  'horse-power,'  and  is  equal 
to  33,000  pounds  raised  through  a  space  of 
one  foot  in  one  minute ;  it  is  the  execution 
of  33,000  foot-pounds  of  work  in  one  minute. 
To  find  the  horse-power  of  a  steam  engine  is 
to  find  the  number  of  pounds  pressure  on  the 
piston  in  square  inches,  and  to  multiply  this  by 
the  number  of  feet  travelled  by  the  piston  per 
minute,  which  gives  the  work ;  then  this  is 
divided  by  33,000  pounds,  and  the  quotient  is 
the  horse-power,  which  is  usually  abbreviated 
II.  P.  As  the  pressure  is  always  indicated 
by  the  square  inch,  the  number  of  square 
inches  in  the  area  of  the  piston  has  to  be 
found.  This  is  done  by  squaring  the  diam- 
eter of  the  piston,  and  multiplying  this  by 
the  decimal,  -7854." 

The  horse-power  of  an  engine  is  always 
calculated  with  the  steam  in  the  boiler  at  a 
moderate  pressure,  and,  consequently,  if  the 
steam  is  kept  at  a  higher  pressure,  it  will  be 
capable  of  more  work,  and  the  engine  will 
be  of  a  greater  effectual  horse-power  than 
the  one  given.  Hence  the  terms  real  and 
nominal  horse-power.  The  term  horse- 
power is,  in  reality,  of  itself  nominal,  as 
Watt,  in  order  to  have  his  engines  give 
satisfaction,  added  some  twenty-five  per  cent, 
to  the  real  work  of  the  best  horses  in  Corn- 
wall. Having  thus  given  an  explanation 
of  this  term  concisely,  that  it  may  be  re- 
membered, we  will  endeavor  to  instruct  the 
general  reader  as  to  some  other  terms  not 
always  understood,  although  constantly  made 
use  of  in  conversation. 


STEAM. 


229 


Engines  are  divided  into  two  kinds :  low 
and  high-pressure,  or  condensing  and  non- 
condensing.  The  low-pressure  engine  was, 
in  the  main,  invented  by  James  Watt ;  and 
its  peculiarity  consists  in  the  fact  that,  while 
the  steam  is  entering  upon  one  side  of  the 
piston,  the  steam  upon  the  other  side  is  con- 
densed, and  forms  a  vacuum  that  adds  to 
the  power  of  the  engine  from  twelve  to  four- 
teen pounds  to  the  square  inch.  Thus,  with 
steam  at  the  pressure  of  twenty-five  pounds 
only,  we  have  an  effective  force  of  nearly 
forty.  The  low-pressure  engine  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  not  carrying  so  much  steam,  and, 
consequently,  is  less  dangerous.  From  the 
fact,  however,  that  it  is  much  more  compli- 
cated and  expensive,  it  is  not  often  used  on 
land,  unless  for  large  engines,  and  its  size 
prevents  its  adaptation  to  locomotion. 

The  high-pressure  engine  was  invented  by 
Leopold  and  Trevithick,  •  subsequent  to  the 
other.  Oliver  Evans,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
the  first  to  advocate  its  use,  and,  in  fact,  to 
practically  apply  it.  Engines  of  this  descrip- 
tion discharge  the  steam,  after  using  it,  into 
the  air,  and  have,  consequently,  the  resistr 
ance  of  the  atmosphere  to  contend  with ; 
they  are,  however,  much  cheaper,  and  with 
properly  built  boilers  are  not  necessarily 
more  dangerous.  All  our  locomotives  are 
upon  this  principle,  and  the  draft  of  the  fur- 
naces is  accelerated  by  the  rush  of  the  waste 
or  exhaust  steam,  as  it  passes  into  the  chim- 
ney. The  pressure  of  steam  used  in  our  high- 
pressure  engines,  averages  more  than  in  any 
other  country ;  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
pounds  per  square  inch  being  the  common 
average.  In  order  to  prevent  an  amount  of 
steam  from  accumulating  to  a  higher  pres- 
sure than  this,  the  safety  valve  is  placed 
upon  the  boiler,  so  constructed  that,  when 
the  pressure  rises  above  the  point  desired,  it 
will  open  the  valve,  and  allow  the  surplus  to 
escape.  Over-weighting  this  valve,  or  not 
taking  proper  care  of  it,  and  allowing  it  to 
rust  into  its  seat,  are  fruitful  sources  of 
boiler  explosions.  No  engineer  should  run 
an  engine  without  trying  his  valve  at  least 
once  a  day. 

It  is  important  that  the  water  in  the 
boiler  should  always  be  at  about  the  same 
height ;  not  full,  as  in  that  case  water  is  apt 
to  pass  over  into  the  cylinders,  and  the  en- 
gine is  said  to  be  flooded ;  nor  too  low,  for 
the  heat  of  the  furnace  would  melt  the  flues, 
if  they  were  not  covered  with  water.  Vari- 
ous automatic  contrivances  have  been  in- 


vented to  keep  the  water  at  the  true  level ; 
but  their  liability  to  get  out  of  order  has  pre- 
vented their  use,  and  engineers  unite  in  the 
opinion  that  man's  judgment  alone  is  com- 
parative security.  To  assist  the  competent 
engineer,  there  are  several  devices.  The 
most  common  are  the  three  gauge-cocks, 
placed,  the  one  above  the  other,  at  some 
three  inches  apart — the  centre  one  being  the 
desired  level ;  by  trying  these  cocks,  the  ex- 
act height  can  be  readily  seen.  Other  water 
gauges  have  been  in  use,  some  of  them  since 
the  earliest  engines  were  constructed,  upon 
the  principle  that  a  float  upon  the  water  will 
indicate,  by  means  of  a  rod,  its  exact  height. 
A  glass  tube,  connected  above  and  below  the 
water  line,  is  much  used  in  our  steamers. 

In  order  to  determine  the  steam  pressure 
at  any  point  below  that  at  which  it  raises  the 
safety  valve,  various  steam  gauges  have  been 
in  use  from  time  to  time ;  the  most  common 
in  steamboats  is  called  the  syphon  gauge, 
and  works  upon  the  principle  of  balancing  a 
column  of  mercury  in  a  syphon  tube.  With- 
in the  last  ten  years  the  spring  gauge  has 
.come  into  general  use  in  locomotive  and 
other  engines;  they  occupy  but  little  room, 
and,  if  occasionally  tested,  answer  every  pur- 
pose of  the  more  cumbersome  syphon.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Bourdon  (French)  and 
SchaefFer  (Prussian),  all  the  spring  gauges  in 
use  in  the  United  States,  some  thirty  in 
number,  are  American  inventions,  and  both 
of  the  foreign  gauges  have  been  improved 
upon,  and  are  made  in  a  superior  manner 
here. 

The  passage  between  the  boiler  and  the 
cylinder  was  at  first  opened  and  closed  by 
means  of  a  cock ;  the  slide  valve,  modifica- 
tions of  which  are  now  universally  used,  was 
the  invention  of  Murray,  of  Leeds,  England, 
in  1810.  The  piston  was  at  first  packed 
with  hemp,  saturated  with  grease ;  the  brass 
rings,  now  used,  were  invented  by  Murdock 
&  Aiken,  of  Glasgow,  in  the  year  1813. 
The  paddle-wheel  between  two  boats  was 
first  used  by  William  Symington,  in  Scot- 
land ;  but  the  side  wheel,  as  now  used,  to- 
gether with  the  screw  propeller,  were  both 
made  use  of  in  the  models  by  John  Fitch. 
His  first  steamboat,  however,  was  worked  by 
oars,  or  paddles,  after  the  same  manner  as  an 
Indian  uses  them.  The  first  boat  that  car- 
ried passengers,  built  by  John  Fitch  in  1789, 
was  propelled  by  a  set  of  paddles  at  the 
stern.  The  North  River,  of  Clermont — Ful- 
ton's first  passenger  boat — was  driven  by  the 


230 


STEAM. 


present  form  of  side  wheel ;  she  made  a 
successful  trip  in  the  year  1807. 

One  of  the  greatest  improvements  of 
steamboats  with  regard  to  speed  was  made 
by  Robert  L.  Stevens,  who  added  the  false 
bow  to  a  boat  constructed  by  him  in  1815. 
She  attained  the  speed  of  1 5  miles  per  hour, 
a  great  improvement  over  the  North  River 
(which  only  made  four  miles  per  hour),  but 
seeming  very  slow  at  the  present  date,  as 
contrasted  with  the  time  made  at  a  trial  trip 
of  the  Daniel  Drew,  in  1860,  which  was  22 
miles  per  hour  against  the  tide. 

It  is  quite  curious  to  follow  the  various 
improvements  that  have  been  made  upon  the 
steam  engine,  and  to  see  how  the  present 
simple  apparatus  was  isettled  upon.  It  re- 
quired years  of  experiment  before  the  crank 
was  adopted,  notwithstanding  that  the  same 
device  had  been  in  use  in  the  common  foot- 
lathe  for  several  centuries.  It  was  finally 
adopted  by  Picard ;  but,  after  his  invention, 
Watt  patented  a  much  more  complicated 
method  of  transmitting  the  reciprocating 
into  the  rotary  motion.  This  was  called  the 
sun  and  planet  motion,  and  went  out  of  use 
only  after  repeated  trials  with  the  crank. 
It  is  true  that  the  latter  was  patented ;  and 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Watt  wished  to  avoid 
another  patent,  had  much  to  do  with  this 
persistent  trial  of  an  inferior  device.  In  the 
use  of  the  locomotive  engine,  also,  it  was 
only  after  years  of  experiment  that  it  was 
realized  that  the  traction  of  the  wheel  upon 
the  rail  was  sufficient  to  propel  the  carriage 
not  only  upon  a  level,  but  also  up  a  very 
steep  grade. 

On  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad, 
beyond  the  town  of  Altoona,  the  track  has 
an  ascending  grade  over  the  mountains  of 
over  100  feet  to  the  mile,  yet  a  passenger 
train  of  six  or  seven  cars,  with  the  assistance 
of  two  locomotives,  surmounts  the  grade  at 
a  speed  of  nearly  thirty  miles  per  hour,  and 
this,  too,  upon  a  road  that  lies  coiled  upon 
the  side  of  the  mountain  like  a  huge  serpent. 
So  short  are  its  curves,  that  the  locomotive 
is  quite  visible  from  the  fourth  car  during 
many  parts  of  the  ascent.  No  other  nation 
in  the  world  can  show  so  great  a  triumph  of 
civil  engineering  as  this.  The  first  road 
that  was  constructed  at  this  place  was  work- 
ed by  stationary  engines,  and  the  cars  were 
drawn  up  by  ropes  and  chains.  This  was  a 
copy  of  European  engineering  ;  but  Amer- 
ican genius  is  destined  always  to  rise  supe- 
rior to  imitation,  and  it  is,  in  fact,  only  when 


it  so  rises,  and  trusts  to  its  own  gigantic 
plans,  that  the  true  power  of  American  char- 
acter shows  itself.  The  stolid  English  en- 
gineer imitates  the  Egyptians  and  the  Ro- 
mans, and  piles  stone  upon  stone,  and  iron 
upon  iron.  The  American  imitates  nature, 
with  whose  great  works  he  is  in  constant 
communion,  and,  like  the  spider,  constructs 
a  bridge  light  in  appearance,  but  sufficiently 
strong  to  withstand  the  tempest  and  the 
storm,  and  bear  with  an  easy  vibration, 
double,  nay,  triple,  the  load  put  upon  it. 
Only  an  appreciation  of  the  grandeur  of  such 
a  fall  as  that  of  Niagara,  could  fit  a  man  to 
construct  the  bridge  that  spans  its  river. 

But  to  return  to  the  improvements  in  the 
steam  engine  itself.  When  we  look  at  the 
combination  of  them,  as  at  present  in  use, 
we  cannot  but  feel  the  wonderful  genius 
therein  displayed.  It  is  but  a  few  years 
since  the  steam  engine,  although  vastly  su- 
perior to  horse  power,  was  a  cumbersome 
and  expensive  machine  both  to  construct 
and  repair ;  and  although  it  is  at  present  far 
from  being  perfect,  yet  the  difference  in  its 
first  cost,  and  the  amount  of  fuel  it  uses  for 
the  same  effect,  is  astonishing.  Stand  and 
look  at  some  of  our  immense  stationary  en- 
gines, and  see  how  noiselessly  and  steadily 
they  turn  the  ponderous  wheel !  One  would 
think  a  child's  power  could  stop  it.  Then 
pass  on,  and  on,  through  the  groaning  mill, 
and  see  the  labor  of  thousands  of  men  per- 
formed by  this  untiring  giant.  It  is  only 
after  seeing  the  work  he  accomplishes,  you 
can  realize  his  strength.  Stand  upon  the 
western  prairie  at  night.  The  moon  silvers 
a  twin  track  that  glistens  far  into  the  dark- 
ness ;  soon  you  hear  a  distant  hum  that 
grows  upon  the  ear,  and  detect  a  faint  spark 
that  brightens  as  you  gaze ;  anon  the  sound 
increases,  and  the  eye  of  the  iron  horse  over- 
powers the  moon's  pale  gleam ;  he  sees  you, 
and  screams  his  shrill  warning.  Who  can 
help  starting  as  he  rushes  by,  or  not  feel  as 
though  steam  itself  were  personified.  Mark 
the  groaning  train,  with  its  living  freight, 
tearing  madly  through  the  darkness,  bearing 
absent  friends  to  the  loved  at  home,  or  per- 
haps good  news  from  the  beloved  afar. 

Again,  stand  upon  the  Battery,  at  New 
York,  and  watch  the  almost  countless  fleet 
of  steamships,  steamboats,  propellers,  and 
tugs;  some  moving  steadily  toward  the 
Narrows,  as  though  conscious  and  proud  of 
a  power  that  can  span  the  ocean  in  so  short 
a  time  ;  others  plashing  and  dashing  madly 


STEAM. 


231 


about,  or  clinging  to  some  gigantic  ship,  and 
tugging  manfully  at  its  side,  •  when  old 
Boreas  has  left  it  helpless ;  others,  again,  in 
holiday  attire,  bearing  a  happy  throng  over 
the  glad  waters,  and  tuning  the  voice  of  this 
giant  slave  into  fitting  melody  for  the  joyous 
hour.  Here  comes  the  Sound  steamer,  a 
floating  palace  fitted  up  in  almost  regal  ele- 
gance, drawing  but  little  water,  and  yet 
a  staunch  sea-boat,  large,  and,  to  the  foreign 
ship-builder,  apparently  top-heavy,  yet  fast 
as  the  racehorse,  and  frequently  tried  by  the 
stoutest  gales.  Up  and  down  both  rivers 
ply  the  ever  busy  ferry-boats  —  movable 
bridges,  ever  crowded  with  passengers.  Did 
Fulton's  wildest  dreams  ever  picture  a  scene 
like  this  ?  Did  John  Fitch  ever  imagine  a 
triumph  so  wonderful  ?  Yet  it  is  all  the 
work  of  steam ;  and  to  them  we  owe,  in 
part,  the  bands  by  which  we  hold  this  half- 
tamed  Titan.  Not  only  are  these  steamers 
propelled  by  steam,  but  his  aid  is  called  in 
both  to  load  and  unload  them,  and,  in  the 
hour  of  danger,  steam  works  at  the  pumps 
with  untiring  hands.  Not  alone  in  the  large 
manufactory,  the  gallant  steamer,  and  the 
rushing  car,  does  the  vapor  of  water  show 
its  strength  and  usefulness,  but  thickly  strewn 
about  our  cities  and  villages,  delving  in  the 
mines,  driving  the  rattling  press,  it  helps 
all  trades,  and  multiplies  the  power  of  man 
a  thousand  fold.  Cities  have  sprung  up  under 
its  magic  touch,  and  everywhere  we  see  traces 
of  the  king  of  motors — steam. 

And  to  whom  are  we  indebted  for  all  this 
improvement,  this  immense  power  ?  Mainly 
to  the  American  inventor,  and  our  patent 
laws.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  one- 
half  of  the  patents  issued  at  the  United 
States  Patent  Office  for  the  last  twenty  years 
related  either  directly  to  the  steam  engine, 
or  to  machines  intended  to  be  driven  by  it ; 
nearly  all  of  them  patented  by  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  The  use  of  steam  ex- 
pansively was  an  English  invention,  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  it  was  profitably  used  until 
improved  upon  in  America.  American  loco- 
motives have  borne  off  the  palm  wherever 
they  have  been  brought  into  contact  with 
those  of  other  nations.  In  ocean  steamers 
we  may  be  second,  but  the  reason  is  plain  : 
foreign  builders  have  the  assistance  of  rich 
and  powerful  governments,  while  our  own 
success  is  entirely  due  to  private  enterprise, 
with  a  limited  amount  of  capital. 

As  for  steamboats  for  rivers  and  lakes,  to 
which  our  immense  inland  navigation  has 


turned  the  attention  of  our  mechanics,  we 
are  far  ahead  of  our  rivals.  The  Yangtsze 
and  Peiho,  built  for  the  Chinese  coast,  have 
never  been  equalled  by  England,  as  is  suffi- 
ciently plain  from  the  following  China  over- 
land trade  report,  written  by  one  of  their 
own  countrymen : — 

"  Steamboat  builders  in  England,  and  Scot- 
land, too,  are  certainly  the  most  adroit 
'shavers'  living.  They  turn  out  so  many 
miserable  botches,  that  really  we  think  a 
very  great  majority  of  the  community  would, 
were  they  '  going  into  steam,'  resort  to  the 
United  States.  As  far  as  river  naviga- 
tion is  concerned,  our  attempts  to  com- 
pete with  Jonathan  are  simply  absurd,  as 
those  who  own  English  river  steamers  here 
at  present,  must,  ere  this,  have  discover- 
ed to  their  cost.  But,  even  in  sea-going 
steamers,  '  if  the  proof  of  the  pudding  be  in 
the  eating,'  we  should  wish  to  know  where 
the  British  steamers  are,  which  are  as  swift, 
as  safe,  as  commodious,  as  serviceable,  or  as 
economical  in  expenditure  of  fuel,  as  the 
Yangtsze  or  the  Peiho  ?  We  maintain  that 
every  boat  sent  out  here  from  England  or 
Scotland,  on  China  account,  whether  for 
coast  or  the  river,  has  either  been  a  misera- 
ble failure,  or  a  glutton  for  fuel.  We  do 
not  make  one  exception.  We  do  not  like  to 
mention  names,  as  we  are  averse  to  depre- 
ciate people's  property,  but  we  confidently 
leave  it  to  every  unfortunate  sufferer  to  say 
whether  or  not  we  are  correct  in  our  state- 
ment. 

"We,  of  course,  except  the  P.  &  O. 
Company,  as  they  seem  to  have  a  secret 
plan  of  constructing  boilers,  which  makes 
them  last  as  long  as  the  boat ;  that  is,  for  an 
indefinite  period.  We  declare  one  never 
hears  of  any  thing  occurring  to  one  of  the 
company's  boilers,  nor  any  of  their  boats 
being  laid  up  to  have  a  new  one,  or  the  old 
one  mended. 

"  We  will  take,  for  instance,  the  Chevy 
Chase,  which  vessel,  we  believe,  cost  on  the 
Clyde  about  three  times  the  sum  that  the 
Yangtsze  cost  at  New  York.  Now  the 
Yangtsze  has  been  running  nearly  three  years 
hard  upon  the  coast,  making  unprecedentedly 
swift  passages,  and  never  was  docked  until 
the  other  day.  The  Chevy  Chase  will  not 
carry  so  much  as  the  Yangtsze,  nor  has  she 
as  good  accommodation ;  but  she  burns 
twice  as  much  coal,  and,  in  a  race  between 
this  and  Shanghai,  would  be  sparingly  backed. 
She  is  about  as  strong  again  and  as  heavy 


232 


STEAM. 


again  as  there  is  the  slightest  occasion  for ; 
and  has  clearly  twice  as  much  power  as  she 
can  bear,  for  the  weight  of  it  sinks  her.  She 
is  a  very  shalloAV  craft,  and  her  deck  is  so 
near  the  bottom,  which  contains  an  enor- 
mous mass  of  iron,  that  compasses  will  not 
act,  and  it  becomes  dangerous  to  run  her 
in  thick  weather.  She  will  bring  grief  to 
the  hearth,  but  never  grist  to  the  mill ;  and 
the  sooner  she  is  altered  the  better.  She 
should  be  made  into  a  screw  propeller,  and 
a  suitable  vessel  built  for  the  valuable  and 
powerful  machinery  now  fitted  in  her.  With 
a  screw,  and  a  spar  deck  fore  and  aft,  she 
might  be  rendered  serviceable  yet.  If  the 
beams,  etc.,  of  the  spar  deck  were  con- 
structed of  wood,  and  the  compasses  put  on 
an  elevation,  they  would  act  well  enough ; 
they  are  at  present  neutralized  by  their 
proximity  to  a  prodigious  mass  of  iron. 

"The  American  boilers,  though  not  so 
durable  as  ours,  are  much  better  adapted  to 
economy  of  fuel.  Coal,  in  the  United 
States,  costs  as  many  dollars  as  it  does  shil- 
lings in  England.  Economy  of  fuel  is,  there- 
fore, more  studied  than  with  us,  space  being 
sacrificed.  Our  short  tubular  boilers  send 
half  the  heat  into  the  chimney,  while  the 
long  flue  boilers  of  the  Americans  absorb  the 
heat  pretty  much  in  making  steam.  The 
difference  is  very  great,  and  well  worth  the 
subject  of  an  inquiry. 

"Our  engineers  are  such  a  pig-headed, 
self-satisfied,  conceited  set  of  people,  that, 
until  they  see  their  trade  gone,  and  their 
crotchets  explode,  they  will  not  believe  their 
own  eyes.  We  are  not  venturing  on  opinions, 
so  much  as  stating  results ;  and  too  many 
here  can  corroborate  the  sad  experience  we 
unfold." 

Having  spoken  thus,  in  general  terms,  of 
the  steam  engine,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
give  a  description  of  the  simplest  form 
thereof,  by  describing  its  component  parts  in 
terms  easy  to  be  understood  and  remembered. 
A  steam  engine  consists,  then,  of  a  cylinder, 
closed  at  both  ends,  having  fitted  to  it  a  pis- 
ton, whose  rod  passes  out  at  one  end  through 
a  steam-tight  hole  called  a  stuffing-box. 
The  piston  consists  of  a  skeleton,  technically 
called  a  spider,  having  three  brass  rings 
made  thin  enough  to  yield  to  the  inequali- 
ties of  the  cylinder  as  it  wears,  and  forced 
against  it  by  springs  resting  upon  the  spider, 
and  held  in  place  by  a  plate  commonly 
called  a  follower.  The  steam  is  admitted  to 
the  cylinder  on  the  side,  at  each  end,  through 


what  are  called  the  ports  ;  the  two  ends  of 
the  ports  arc  brought  near  each  other  at  the 
point  where  they  enter  the  steam-chest — a 
small  box  near  the  centre  of  the  cylinder. 
These  ports  are  alternately  opened  to  the 
boiler  and  the  atmosphere,  by  a  sliding 
valve,  that  obtains  its  motion  from  what  is 
called  the  eccentric,  which  is  placed  upon 
the  main  shaft.  The  piston-rod  is  fastened, 
at  the  external  end,  to  a  cross-head,  which 
communicates  its  motion  to  the  crank-rod, 
and  through  it  to  the  main  shaft.  In  sta- 
tionary engines,  working  by  a  single  cylin- 
der, it  is  evident  there  will  be  two  points  at 
which  the  rod  has  no  power  over  the  crank ; 
these  points  are  called  dead  centres,  and 
to  overcome  them  the  momentum  of  the 
balance-wheel  is  used.  In  the  locomotive, 
two  cylinders  being  used,  they  are  set 
quartering  (at  right  angles  with  each  other), 
and  the  one  overcomes  the  dead  centre,  of 
the  other.  In  the  marine  engine  the  motion 
of  the  wheel  is  continued  by  the  action  of 
the  water,  as  the  boat  advances,  and,  conse- 
quently, no  balance  is  required. 

If,  after  a  part  of  the  steam  has  entered 
the  cylinder,  the  induction  valve  be  closed, 
the  expansion  of  the  steam  would  continue 
the  stroke  of  the  piston  until  the  pressure 
became  the  same  as  that  of  the  external  air, 
or  until  the  piston  had  reached  the  end  of 
its  stroke.  Thus,  if  the  pressure  of  the  steam 
was  eighty  pounds  per  square  inch  in  the 
boiler,  and  the  valve  was  closed  after  the 
piston  had  made  one  quarter  of  its  stroke, 
it  is  evident  that  the  pressure  would  con- 
stantly decrease  up  to  the  end  of  that 
stroke,  and  that  the  average  pressure  would 
be  less  than  the  pressure  in  the  boiler,  but 
at  the  end  of  the  stroke  there  would  be 
but  very  little  waste  steam ;  in  other  words, 
the  pressure  remaining  in  the  cylinder  would 
not  be  in  so  great  an  excess  over  the  atmos- 
pheric pressure  as  if  the  steam  had  followed 
the  piston  throughout  its  entire  stroke.  To 
show  this  more  plainly,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  steam  at  eighty  pounds  pressure 
is,  in  reality,  steam  at  ninety-five  pounds  to 
the  square  inch,  working  against  fifteen 
pounds  (the  atmospheric  pressure),  or  a 
difference  of  pressure  of  eighty  pounds ;  there- 
fore, at  the  end  of  the  stroke,  the  ninety-five 
pounds  would  have  become  twenty-three 
and  three-quarters  of  pressure  working 
against  fifteen  pounds  atmospheric,  or  a 
difference  of  eight  and  three-quarters  of 
pressure ;  so  that,  when  the  cylinder  was  open- 


STEAM. 


233 


ed  by  its  exhaust  to  the  air,  there  would  be 
only  eight  and  three-quarters  of  a  pound  to 
the  square  inch  thrown  out  into  the  air,  and 
thus  wasted,  while  you  have  had  an  average 
of  sixty-seven  pounds  to  the  square  inch 
throughout  the  stroke  of  the  piston,  working 
against  fifteen  pounds  of  atmospheric,  or  an 
actual  difference  of  pressure  of  fifty-two 
pounds.  Had  you  used  fifty-two  pounds  of 
indicated  pressure,  following  the  full  stroke 
of  the  piston,  it  is  evident  you  would  have 
thrown  into  the  air  the  contents  of  the  cylin- 
der at  that  pressure,  instead  of  at  eight  and 
three-quarters,  as  by  the  cut-off.  This  is,  in 
brief,  the  theory  of  the  cut-off;  but,  like 
many  other  improvements,  it  has  been  car- 
ried to  an  extreme,  and  has  thus  become  a 
positive  evil.  In  order  to  realize  this,  notice 
carefully  the  following  :  If  steam,  at  thirty 
pounds  per  inch,  as  indicated,  be  used  in  a 
cylinder,  cutting  off  at  one-quarter  stroke, 
what  will  be  the  pressure  at  the  end  of  the 
stroke?  Thirty  is,  as  before  shown,  forty- 
five  against  fifteen :  at  the  end  of  the  stroke 
it  will  then  be  eleven  and  one-quarter  against 
fifteen,  or  a  back  pressure  of  three  and  three- 
quarter  pounds.  Many  people,  who  have 
found  fault  with  cut-offs,  have  overlooked 
this  important  point,  and  have  judged  all 
cut-offs  by  an  engine  that  was  thus  working 
at  a  disadvantage. 

In  explaining  the  cut-off,  we  have  not 
taken  into  consideration  the  condensation  of 
the  steam  from  its  expansion ;  and  this  is, 
of  itself,  a  very  important  item  of  loss,  as  is 
also  its  increased  friction ;  so  that  the  actual 
gain  from  the  use  of  a  cut-off  is  not  as  great 
as  it  would  theoretically  appear. 

Having  thus  stated  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant parts  of  a  steam  engine,  we  will  now 
speak  of  some  of  its  accessories.  In  order 
to  give  a  uniformity  of  speed  to  the  machin- 
ery driven  by  a  steam  engine,  no  matter 
how  much  the  work  it  has  to  do  may  vary, 
the  governor  was  invented :  it  consists,  in 
its  simplest  form,  of  two  balls  revolving 
around  an  upright  shaft,  and  suspended  from 
its  top  by  rods ;  if  revolved  with  great  rapid- 
ity, these  balls  are  carried  by  their  centrif- 
ugal motion  to  the  greatest  circumference 
that  their  rods  will  allow  them  ;  if  moved 
slowly,  they  will  assume  their  smallest  cir- 
cumference, and,  by  these  motions,  close  or 
open  the  throttle,  or,  in  the  improved  en- 


gines, vary  the  cut-off:  thus  controlling  the 
speed  of  the  engine,  and  keeping  it  always 
at  nearly  the  same  velocity. 

In  order  to  keep  the  boiler  filled  with 
water  to  the  requisite  level,  one  or  more 
pumps  are  placed  in  connection  with  it,  of  a 
capacity  to  supply  it,  if  only  working  part 
of  the  time.  These  pumps  should  always  be 
provided  with  a  pet-cock,  which,  when  open- 
ed, will  show  whether  the  pump  is  doing  its 
duty,  as  the  valves  of  any  pump  are  liable  to 
become  clogged  and  useless.  On  the  loco- 
motive engine  the  casual  observer  will  notice 
that  the  engineer  frequently  tries  these  cocks, 
Avhich  are  placed  upon  the  side  of  the  en- 
gine, and,  in  fact,  that  he  sometimes  tries 
them  to  the  detriment  of  dandified-looking 
individuals,  who  approach  too  close  to  the 
iron  steed.  The  pet-cocks  are  not,  how- 
ever, as  much  used  as  they  should  be,  and, 
in  fact,  are  very  frequently  left  out  altogether 
in  the  construction  of  the  stationary  engine. 
The  safety  valve,  as  at  present  in  use,  has  a 
great  many  faults  :  it  was  originally  the  in- 
vention of  Denis  Papin,  of  France,  and  was 
constructed  by  him  in  his  experiments  with 
what  was  called  Papin's  steam  digester — a 
machine  for  dissolving  bones,  etc.  It  con- 
sisted, as  at  first  constructed,  of  a  small 
round  plate  covering  a  hole,  and  held  in  its 
place  by  a  weight  suspended  from  a  lever, 
whose  fulcrum  rested  upon  the  plate.  But 
little  improvement  has  been  made  upon  this 
simple  device ;  it  is  now  tapered,  to  fit  a 
counter-sunk  hole,  and  possesses  the  advan- 
tage of  being  more  difficult  to  calculate.  But 
one  of  its  chief  faults  is  in  the  fact  that  the 
point  of  contact  between  the  lever  and  valve 
is  so  large,  that  its  wear  creates  a  constantly 
varying  leverage.  This  could  be  obviated 
by  making  the  point  of  contact  a  knife-edge 
instead  of  a  half-inch  pin.  Another  disad- 
vantage in  the  common  safety  valve  is  the 
fact  that  the  engineer  has  the  power  of 
weighting  it  to  an  unlimited  extent.  "We 
have  seen  this  difficulty  obviated  by  an 
American  invention.  The  weight  is  sus- 
pended in  the  boiler  directly  from  the  valve, 
and  consists  of  the  greatest  weight  the  boiler 
should  ever  be  allowed  to  carry.  The  lever 
is  now  so  applied,  that  its  tendency  is 
to  always  lighten  the  valve,  so  that  the 
more  it  is  weighted  the  less  steam  can  be 
carried. 


234 


STEAM. 


CHAPTER  II. 

STEAMBOATS. 

IN  looking  over  English  works  upon  steam, 
we  cannot  help  noticing  the  truth  of  Dr. 
Lardner's  remarks :  "  England  has  been  so 
dazzled  by  the  splendor  of  her  own  achieve- 
ments in  the  creation  of  a  new  art  of  trans- 
port by  land  and  water  within  the  last  thirty 
years,  as  to  become  in  a  measure  insensible 
to  all  that  has  been  accomplished  in  the 
same  interval  and  in  the  same  department 
of  the  arts  elsewhere."  Not  content  with 
the  praise  other  nations  have  ever  been 
willing  to  give  her  for  the  invention  of  the 
steam  engine,  she  also  wishes  to  rob  John 
Fitch  of  the  only  reward  we  can  now  give 
him  for  a  life  devoted  to  the  steamboat.  It 
is  true  that  her  arguments  are  aided  to  this 
end  by  the  writings  of  some  Americans  who 
have  endeavored  to  prove  Fulton  as  the  first 
practical  steam  navigator,  thereby  putting 
the  date  of  this  invention  some  twenty  years 
later.  But  the  time  is  fast  approaching 
when  the  true  inventor  will  be  acknowledged 
by  his  countrymen,  and  the  man  who  proph- 
esied so  truly  that  "  this  will  be  the  mode 
of  crossing  the  Atlantic  in  time,  whether  I 
shall  bring  it  to  perfection  or  not ;  steam- 
boats will  be  preferred  to  all  other  convey- 
ances, and  they  will  be  particularly  useful 
in  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi. The  day  will  come  when  some  more 
potent  man  will  get  fame  and  riches  for  my 
invention  "  — when  this  man,  we  say,  will  be 
t  honored  as  he  should  be  by  the  millions  who 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  genius;  when  our 
school-books  will  place  his  name  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  Fulton,  and  his  biography 
will  be  found  in  every  library;  when  his 
grave  and  the  tomb  of  Washington  will  not 
bring  a  blush  to  the  American  cheek. 

And  are  you  not  to  blame,  reader  ?  Have 
you  ever  read  the  life  of  John  Fitch,  the 
American  Watt — a  life  that  remained  sealed 
for  thirty  years  by  his  own  request,  and  now 
teaches  a  lesson  of  perseverance,  under  trials 
that  few  ever  have  to  encounter  ?  If  not,  it 
is  a  duty  you  owe  your  country  and  yourself 
to  read  it  at  once,  and  thus  add  another 
name  to  the  tablets  of  your  memory,  already 
inscribed  with  those  of  Franklin,  Fulton, 
and  Morse. 

The  extent  to  which  steam  navigation  has 
improved  our  country,  is  scarcely  realized 
even  by  those  who  have  travelled  over  it  the 


most.  The  Hudson  river,  from  the  first 
voyage  of  the  North  lliver,  Fulton's  steam- 
boat, up  to  the  present  time,,  has  re- 
mained at  the  head  of  all  competitors  in 
river  navigation.  We  had  then  two  trips 
per  week,  each  consuming  from  thirty  to 
thirty-six  hours ;  we  have  now  four  passen- 
ger boats  per  day  over  the  entire  route,  and 
many  making  short  trips,  besides  those  used 
for  towing  barges  and  canal  boats  ;  the  pas- 
senger boats  making  the  entire  trip  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  from  ten  to  twelve 
hours.  The  increased  prosperity  of  New 
York,  growing  out  of  this  immense  traffic 
by  steamboats  alone,  is  very  great,  but 
even  this  is  small  when  compared  with  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  other 
western  rivers.  In  1856  there  were  over 
one  thousand  steamboats  and  propellers  on 
the  western  waters,  costing  not  less  than 
nineteen  millions  of  dollars,  and  of  a  carry- 
ing capacity  of  four  hundred  and  forty-three 
thousand  tons.  Of  these  boats,  the  smallest 
was  the  Major  Darien,  of  ten  tons,  built  at 
Freedom  in  1852  ;  and  the  largest  was  the 
Eclipse,  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  tons,  built  at  New  Albany  the 
same  year.  Thus,  on  the  western  waters,  in 
the  short  space  of  forty-five  years,  steam 
created  a  business  that  absorbed  nineteen 
millions  of  dollars  in  steamboats  alone. 

Up  to  the  year  1811,  the  only  regular  meth- 
od of  transportation  had  been  by  means  of 
flat  boats,  which  consumed  three  or  four 
months  in  the  passage  from  New  Orleans  to 
Pittsburg.  The  price  of  passage  was  then  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars ;  freight,  six  dol- 
lars and  seventy -five  cents  per  hundred 
pounds.  The  introduction  of  steam  has  re- 
duced the  price  of  passage  between  these 
two  cities  to  thirty  dollars,  and  merchandise 
is  carried  the  whole  distance  for  a  price 
which  may  be  regarded  as  merely  nominal. 
Besides  this  great  saving  of  time  and  money 
effected  by  steam  navigation  on  these  waters, 
the  comparative  safety  of  steam  conveyance 
is  an  item  which  especially  deserves  our 
notice.  Before  the  steam  dispensation  be- 
gan, travellers  and  merchants  were  obliged 
to  trust  their  lives  and  property  to  the  barge- 
men, many  of  whom  were  suspected,  with 
very  good  reason,  to  be  in  confederacy  with 
the  land  robbers  who  infested  the  shores  of 
the  Ohio,  and  the  pirates  who  resorted  to 
the  islands  of  the  Mississippi.  These  partic- 
ulars being  understood,  we  arc  prepared  to 
estimate  the  value  and  importance  of  the 


THE  FIRST  PROPELLER  EVER  BUILT. 

Constructed  by  John  Fitch,  and  experimented  with  by  him  on  the  Collect  pond,  New  York  city. 
The  boiler  was  a  twelve  gallon  pot,  with  a  bit  of  truck-plank  fastened  by  an  iron  bar  placed  transversely. 
This  was  in  the  year  1796. 


OLIVER  EVANS'  ORUKTER  AMPHIBOLOS. 

Thirty  feet  long  and  twelve  broad.    Cylinder  five  inches  in  diameter  with  a  nineteen  inch  stroke. 
Constructed  by  Oliver  Evans  about  the  year  1804. 


THE  MACHINEEY  OF  FULTON'S  FIKST  STEAMBOAT. 

Imported  from  England  where  it  -was  constructed  in  1805.    Wheels  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  cylinder 
twenty-four  inches  in  diameter,  four  feet  stroke. 


THE  NORTH   RIVER,  OF   CLERMONT. 

Robert  Fulton's  first  steamboat  as  she  appeared  after  being  lengthened  in  1808.  She  was  launched 
In  1807,  and  was  run  as  a  regular  packet  between  New  York  and  Albany.  Speed  four  miles  per  hour, 
length  133  feet,  beam  18  feet,  depth  8  feet,  tonnage  160. 


STEAMBOATS. 


239 


services  which  the  steam  engine  has  rendered 
to  the  commerce  and  prosperity  of  the  west- 
ern states. 

In  1811,  Messrs.  Fulton  and  Livingston, 
having  established  a  ship-yard  at  Pittsburg 
for  the  purpose  of  introducing  steam  navi- 
gation on  the  western  waters,  built  an  exper- 
imental boat  for  this  service — and  this  was 
the  first  steamboat  that  ever  floated  on  the 
western  rivers.  It  was  furnished  with  a  stern 
wheel  and  two  masts — for  Mr.  Fulton  be- 
lieved, at  that  time,  that  the  occasional  use 
of  sails  would  be  indispensable.  This  first 
western  steamboat  was  called  the  Orleans ; 
her  capacity  was  one  hundred  tons.  In  the 
winter  of  1812,  she  made  her  first  trip  from 
Pittsburg  to  New  Orleans  in  fourteen  days. 

The  first  appearance  of  this  vessel  on  the 
Ohio  river  produced,  as  the  reader  may  sup- 
pose, not  a  little  excitement  and  admiration. 
A  steamboat  at  that  day  was,  to  common 
observers,  as  great  a  wonder  as  a  navigable 
balloon  would  be  at  the  present.  The  banks 
of  the  river,  in  some  places,  were  thronged 
with  spectators,  gazing  in  speechless  aston- 
ishment at  the  puffing  and  smoking  phe- 
nomenon. The  average  speed  of  this  boat 
was  only  about  three  miles  per  hour.  Be- 
fore her  ability  to  move  through  the  water 
without  the  assistance  of  sails  or  oars  had 
been  fully  exemplified,  comparatively  few 
persons  believed  that  she  could  possibly  be 
made  to  answer  any  purpose  of  real  utility. 
In  fact,  she  had  made  several  voyages  before 
the  general  prejudice  began  to  subside,  and 
for  some  months,  many  of  the  river  mer- 
chants preferred  the  old  mode  of  transporta- 
tion, with  all  its  risks,  delays,  and  extra  ex- 
pense, rather  than  make  use  of  such  a  con- 
trivance as  a  steamboat,  which,  to  their  ap- 
prehensions, appeared  too  marvellous  and 
miraculous  for  the  business  of  every-day 
life.  How  slow  are  the  masses  of  mankind 
to  adopt  improvements,  even  when  they  ap- 
pear to  be  most  obvious  and  unquestionable ! 

The  second  steamboat  of  the  west,  was 
a  diminutive  vessel  called  the  Comet. 
She  was  rated  at  twenty-five  tons.  Daniel 
D.  Smith  Avas  the  owner,  and  D.  French  the 
builder  of  this  boat.  Her  machinery  was 
on  a  plan  for  which  French  had  obtained  a 
patent  in  1809.  She  went  to  Louisville  in 
the  summer  of  1813,  and  descended  to  New 
Orleans  in  the  spring  of  1814.  She  after- 
ward made  two  voyages  to  Natchez,  and 
was  then  sold,  taken  to  pieces,  and  the  en- 
gine was  put  up  in  a  cotton  factory.  The 

15 


Vesuvius  was  the  next;  she  was  built  by 
Mr.  Fulton,  at  Pittsburg,  for  a  company, 
the  several  members  of  which  resided  at 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  New  Orleans. 
She  sailed  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Frank  Ogden,  for  New  Orleans,  in  the  spring 
of  1814.  From  New  Orleans,  she  started 
for  Louisville,  in  July  of  the  same  year,  but 
was  grounded  on  a  sand-bar,  seven  hundred 
miles  up  the  Mississippi,  where  she  remain- 
ed until  the  3d  of  December  following, 
when,  being  floated  off  by  the  tide,  she  re- 
turned to  New  Orleans.  In  1815-16,  she  made 
regular  trips  for  several  months,  from  New 
Orleans  to  Natchez,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Clement.  This  gentleman  was  soon 
after  succeeded  by  Captain  John  D.  Hart, 
and  while  approaching  New  Orleans,  with  a 
valuable  cargo  on  board,  she  took  fire  and 
burned  to  the  water's  edge.  After  being 
submerged  for  several  months,  her  hulk 
was  raised  and  re-fitted.  She  was  afterward 
in  the  Louisville  trade,  and  was  condemned 
in  1819. 

In  1818,  the  first  steamboat  was  built  for 
Lake  Erie  and  the  upper  lakes,  at  Black 
Rock,  on  the  Niagara  river,  for  the  late  Dr. 
I.  B.  Stuart,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  by  Noah 
Brown,  of  New  York  city.  She  was  a  very 
handsome  vessel,  360  tons  burden,  brig  rig- 
ged, and  her  engine,  on  the  plan  of  a  Boulton 
and  Watt  square  engine,  was  made  by  Rob- 
ert McQueen,  at  the  corner  of  Centre  and 
Duane  streets,  New  York  city ;  her  cylinder 
was  40  inches  diameter,  4  feet  stroke.  The 
materials  for  making  the  boiler  were  sent 
from  New  York,  and  the  boiler  was  made  at 
Black  Rock — 9  feet  diameter,  24  feet  long 
— a  circular  boiler,  with  one  return  flue, 
called  a  kidney  flue,  seldom,  if  ever,  carry- 
ing more  than  nine  inches  of  steam.  This 
steamer  was  called  the  Walk-in-the-Watcr, 
after  a  celebrated  Indian  chief  in  Mich- 
igan. Her  engines  were  transported  from 
New  York  to  Albany  by  sloops,  and  from 
Albany  to  Buffalo  by  large  six  and  eight 
horse  Pennsylvania  teams.  Some  of  the 
engine  was  delivered  in  fifteen  days  time, 
and  some  was  on  the  road  about  twenty-five 
days. 

The  trip  from  Black  Rock,  or  Buffalo,  to 
Detroit,  consumed  about  forty  hours  in  good 
weather,  using  thirty-six  to  forty  cords  of 
wood  the  trip.  The  price  of  passage  in  the 
main  cabin  was  eighteen  dollars ;  from  Buf- 
falo to  Erie  (Penn.),  six  dollars;  to  Cleve- 
land, twelve  dollars;  to  Sandusky  (Ohio), 


240 


STEAM. 


fifteen  dollars;  to  Detroit,  eighteen  dollars. 
The  strength  of  the  rapids  at  the  head  of 
the  Niagara  river,  between  Buffalo  and 
Black  Rock,  was  so  great,  that  besides  the 
power  of  the  engine,  the  steamer  had  to 
have  the  aid  of  eight  yoke  of  oxen  to  get 
her  up  on  to  the  lake,  a  distance  of  about  two 
and  one-half  miles.  In  those  days,  the  pas- 
senger and  freighting  business  was  so  small, 
that  one  dividend  only  was  made  to  the 
owners  for  the  first  three  years  from  the 
earnings  of  the  steamer.  In  1821,  in  the 
fall,  the  steamer  was  totally  lost  in  a  terrible 
gale.  On  the  coming  winter,  a  new  steamer 
was  built  at  Buffalo,  by  Mr.  Noah  Brown  of 
New  York — a  very  strong,  brig-rigged  vessel. 
She  was  called  the  Superior,  flush  decks  fore 
and  aft ;  the  first  steamer,  the  Walk-in-the-Wa- 
ter,  having  had  a  high  quarter  or  poop  deck. 

Compare  the  time  and  expense  of  travel- 
ling in  those  days  with  the  present  time ! 
Mr.  Calhoun  (now  living),  the  engineer  of 
the  Walk-in-the- Water,  says,  "Every  two 
years  I  used  to  return  to  New  York  from 
Buffalo  in  the  fall,  and  in  the  spring  from 
New  York  to  Buffalo.  I  have  been  three 
and  four  days,  by  stage,  to  Albany;  never 
less  than  three  days,  and  sometimes  near 
five  days ;  the  stage  fare  was  ten  dollars  to 
Albany.  From  Albany  to  Buffalo,  I  have 
been  ten  days  in  getting  through ;  the  short- 
est time  was  eight  days ;  the  stage  fare 
through,  was  twenty-one  dollars.  How  is  it 
now  ?  My  usual  expense  in  going  to  Buf- 
falo from  Albany  was  thirty  dollars,  includ- 
ing meals  and  sleeping."  Such  facts  show 
the  advantages  we  have  obtained  from  the 
use  of  steam  in  our  river  navigation. 

The  boats  that  then  plied  upon  the  Hud- 
son river,  would  not  be  sufficient  to  carry 
the  passengers'  baggage  of  the  present  day. 
The  first  boat  was  only  160  tons,  while  the 
New  World,  built  in  1847,  was  of  1400. 
The  latter  has  made  the  trip  from  New  York 
to  Albany  in  seven  hours  and  fifteen  min- 
utes, including  nine  landings  of  say  five 
minutes  each ;  the  actual  running  time 
being  six  hours  and  twenty  minutes ;  dis- 
tance, one  hundred  and  fifty  miles — per- 
formed by  the  North  River  in  thirty-six 
hours. 

The  application  of  the  steam  engine  to 
navigation,  has  been  successful  by  three 
methods  only :  the  side  wheel,  the  stern 
wheel,  and  the  propeller.  The  side  wheel 
was  known  to  the  ancients,  and  was  used  in 
connection  with  a  windlass,  turned  by  men, 


as  a  means  of  propulsion,  by  the  Romans, 
in  their  war  galleys.  It  was  first  partially 
applied  to  steam  navigation  by  Robert  Ful- 
ton, but  since  his  day  it  has  undergone  vast 
improvement.  As  at  first  constructed,  it 
consisted  of  a  double-spoked  water-wheel, 
suspended  by  a  shaft  with  no  outside  bear- 
ing, which  shaft,  being  of  cast  iron,  was 
very  liable  to  break.  The  outside  bearing 
and  guard  were  subsequently  invented  by 
Fulton,  as  appears  from  his  specification  of 
patent.  The  wheels  being  totally  uncovered, 
were  found  to  throw  water  upon  deck,  and 
a  dash-board  was  puf  up  to  prevent  it,  which 
was  in  time  replaced  by  the  present  wheel- 
house.  The  paddle  was  next  surrounded 
with  a  circular  brace,  or  rim,  as  at  present  in 
use.  In  Fulton's  first  boat,  the  wheels 
could,  at  will,  be  disconnected  from  the  en- 
gine, but  this  plan  went  out  of  use  in  order 
to  simplify  the  machinery,  after  the  crank 
shaft  was  adopted,  connected  directly  with 
the  engine.  Various  side  wheels  have  been 
patented,  that  are  so  constructed  as  to  prevent 
the  lift  of  water  as  the  bucket  rises  there- 
from. One  on  the  Richard  Stockton  ap- 
pears to  work  well,  but  their  complication, 
cost,  and  liability  to  get  out  of  repair,  have 
prevented  their  general  introduction. 

The  stern  wheel  was  first  thought  of  by 
Jonathan  Hull,  of  England,  in  1736,  as  suf- 
ficiently appears  from  drawings  thereof  pub- 
lished by  him;  but  it  certainly  was  first 
practically  applied  by  Robert  Fulton,  in  the 
steamboat  Orleans,  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready spoken.  This  wheel  is  now  in  almost 
universal  use  on  our  western  rivers,  as  it  is 
peculiarly  adapted  to  boats  drawing  but  lit- 
tle water.  The  wheel  is  suspended  at  the 
stern,  and  is  sometimes  covered  with  a 
wheel-house,  but  more  frequently  entirely 
exposed. 

The  propeller  was  first  applied  to  a  small 
steamboat  built  by  John  Fitch,  and  experi- 
mented with  by  him  under  the  patronage  of 
Chancellor  Livingston,  on  the  Collect  Pond 
in  New  York.  The  propeller  was  a  screw 
or  worm.  Great  improvements  have,  how- 
.ever,  been  made  in  the  screw,  and  to  the 
English  we  are  indebted  for  some  of  the 
most  important.  Captain  Ericsson  deserves 
great  credit  for  his  improvements  in  this 
respect.  Among  the  finest  of  our  propellers 
may  be  named  the  R.  R.  Cuyler  and  the 
Matanzas ;  the  former  is  of  wood,  her  total 
length  is  240  feet;  she  is  33  feet  wide,  and 
has  24  feet  depth  of  hold.  She  is  furnished 


STEAMBOATS. 


241 


with  one  direct-acting  inverted  condensing 
engine,  the  largest  single  engine  as  yet  built 
for  a  propeller.  Her  cylinder  has  a  diameter 
of  70  inches  and  48  inches  stroke.  She  is 
furnished  with  two  return  tubular  boilers 
13£  feet  wide,  17  feet  long,  and  14  feet  4 
inches  high,  with  separate  chimneys  and 
separate  connections  to  each  boiler. 

The  Matanzas  is  the  first  steamer,  whose 
hull  is  entirely  of  iron,  that  has  ever  been  con- 
structed in  the  United  States.  Her  frame  is  of 
angle  iron,  with  reverse  bars  also  of  iron ;  her 
keel  is  of  solid  iron,  3  by  9  inches,  as  are  her 
beams  and  deck  knees.  She  is  clipper  built, 
900  tons  burden ;  her  dimensions  are — 
length  210  feet,  keel  200  feet,  30  feet  beam, 
depth  20£  feet.  This  beautiful  propeller,  as 
all  her  visitors  have  unanimously  called  her, 
was  built  at  the  Delamater  Iron  Works,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Caper,  and  is  the  first 
iron  ship  constructed  at  that  shop.  Her  en- 
gine is  an  inverted  cylinder,  56  by  44  inches, 
of  the  same  pattern,  although  smaller,  as  that 
of  the  R.  R.  Cuyler,  and  was  designed  by 
the  same  engineer,  Mr.  John  Baird,  chief 
engineer  of  Cromwell's  line. 

The  chief  advantage  claimed  for  the  pro- 
peller over  the  side  wheel,  is  the  fact  that 
in  sea-going  vessels  the  latter  rarely  possess 
an  equal  immersion,  and  consequently  are 
constantly  varying  their  purchase  upon  the 
water,  whereas  the  propeller  is  always  acting, 
or  nearly  so.  The  disadvantage  of  the  pro- 
peller is  the  increased  speed  of  the  engine ; 
this  was  at  first  overcome  by  gearing,  but 
the  plan  is  objectionable  on  account  of  break- 
age and  friction.  The  true  form  of  a  pro- 
peller is  not  yet  decided,  and  probably  we 
shall  soon  see  many  vast  improvements  both 
in  its  construction  and  the  application  of  the 
engine  that  drives  it.  In  war  vessels,  the 
propeller  is  less  liable  to  be  damaged  by  shot 
than  the  side  wheel,  and  as  an  auxiliary  for 
the  sailing  vessel,  it  is  far  preferable  to  the 
latter.  Various  devices  have  been  adopted 
to  disconnect  and  take  in  the  propeller  when 
using  sails,  but  the  use  of  two  arms  instead 
of  four  has  in  a  great  measure  obviated  the 
necessity  so  to  do.  Propellers  have  been 
tried  with  success  on  the  Raritan  canal,  and 
are  now  extensively  used  there ;  their  cheap- 
ness, as  compared  with  the  side  wheel,  will 
always  recommend  them  for  small  vessels. 
Whether  the  propeller  will  ever  entirely  su- 
persede the  side  wheel  is  still  a  question ; 
that  they  are  cheaper  in  connection  with  sails 
as  freighters  no  one  questions,  and  it  is  pos- 


sible that  they  may  eventually  be  so  im- 
proved as  to  eclipse  the  side  wheel  in  speed  ; 
but  this  we  very  much  doubt.  They  are, 
however,  as  yet  comparatively  in  their  in- 
fancy, and  time  alone  will  prove  them. 

Among  sea-going  side  wheel  steamers,  the 
Americans  may  point  with  pride  to  the 
Adriatic,  the  largest  steamer  afloat  except 
the  Great  Eastern ;  she  measures  350  feet  in 
length,  50  feet  beam,  and  is  about  5,000  tons 
burden.  She  was  modelled  and  built  by 
the  late  George  Steers,  and  is  a  perfect  ves- 
sel in  appearance,  appointments,  speed,  and 
every  other  respect.  Her  engines  were  built 
at  the  Novelty  Works ;  her  total  cost  was 
over  a  million  of  dollars.  She  has  two  oscil- 
lating engines,  101  inches  in  diameter  by  12 
feet  stroke,  and  carries  25  Ibs.  of  steam ;  her 
paddles  are  40  feet  diameter,  floats,  3  by  12 
feet ;  she  has  eight  vertical  tubular  boilers, 
with  30,758  square  feet  of  headng  surface. 
She  is  truly  a  magnificent  ship,  and  will 
compare  favorably  with  any  steamer  in  the 
world,  not  excepting  the  Great  Eastern,  that 
mammoth — we  had  almost  said  blunder. 

Of  our  steam  navy,  the  first  commence- 
ment of  which  was  the  steam  battery  Ful- 
ton the  first,  built  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  Robert  Fulton,  we  can  only  say 
that  it  is  small  but  efficient ;  steam  in  the 
navy  is  now  a  positive  need,  and  we  hope  to 
see  our  force  largely  increased.  The  steam 
.engineers  in  the  United  States  navy  are  sec- 
ond to  none  in  the  world. 

The  use  of  the  donkey  engine  or  auxiliary 
pump,  has  been  adopted  in  nearly  all  of  our 
steam  vessels,  and  is  a  decided  improvement 
over  the  old  method  of  filling  the  boilers  by 
the  main  engine,  as  it  obviates  the  difficulty 
of  working  the  wheels  while  lying  at  the 
wharf,  or  stopping  from  any  cause.  The 
sages  who  managed  the  Great  Eastern  have 
thrown  out  the  "  donkeys,"  probably  because 
they  think  there  are  sufficient  for  all  pur- 
poses among  the  directors. 

The  use  of  coal  in  our  steamers  is  now 
universal  upon  the  Atlantic  coast  and  rivers. 
John  E.  Mowatt,  the  first  to  establish  the 
tow-boat  business,  was  also  among  the  first  to 
burn  coal.  His  boat,  the  Henry  Eckford, 
was  fitted  up  for  that  purpose,  but  the  want 
of  a  sufficient  draft  was  the  cause  of  its 
abandonment  after  several  trials;  this  was  in 
1825.  A  few  years  after,  Robert  L.  Stevens 
tried  a  blower  on  his  crank  boat,  the  North 
America.  His  first  blower  was  of  rude  con- 
struction, being  made  of  planks,  and  placed 


242 


STEAM. 


directly  in  front  of  the  furnace,  under  the 
doors.  After  his  success,  the  blower  came 
into  general  use  both  for  coal  and  wood ;  but 
improvements  in  furnaces  have  now,  in  a 
measure,  superseded  its  use.  Mr.  Stevens 
tried  several  expensive  experiments,  and  many 
of  them  proved  of  value  only  as  lessons  to 
the  engineer.  While  experimenting  upon 
the  blower,  he  caused  to  be  constructed  a 
spiral  fan  in  the  chimney,  but  abandoned  it 
after  one  or  two  trials.  Placing  the  boilers 
on  deck  Avas  his  invention,  as  also  the  false 
bow  that  made  so  great  an  improvement  in 
speed.  The  present  open  work  walking- 
beam  is  also  ascribed  to  him ;  in  fact  we 
may  safely  say  that  Kobert  L.  Stevens  did 
more  than  any  other  man  toward  the  im- 
provement of  the  steam  engine. 

When  steam  was  first  used,  great  fears 
were  entertained  of  explosions,  and  dangers 
by  fire;  this  was  increased  by  the  explosion 
of  the  steamboat  Washington.  This  hap- 
pened June  9th,  1816.  She  was  the  largest 
and  finest  boat  that  floated  on  the  western 
waters.  Her  commander,  Capt.  Shreve,  was 
skilled  and  experienced  in  all  the  duties  of 
his  calling ;  her  machinery  was  all  presumed 
to  be  in  the  best  possible  order,  and  no  hu- 
man foresight  could  have  anticipated  the 
fatal  event.  The  boat  left  Marietta,  Ohio,  on 
Monday,  June  7th,  and  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  following  day  came  safely  to  anchor  off 
Point  Harmar,  where  she  remained  until 
Wednesday  morning.  The  fires  were  now 
kindled,  and  other  preparations  made  for 
continuing  the  voyage  down  the  Ohio  ;  but 
a  difficulty  occurred  in  getting  the  boat  into 
a  proper  position  to  start  the  machinery. 
While  laboring  to  effect  this  object  (the 
boat  having,  in  the  meantime,  been  carried 
by  the  force  of  the  current  near  the  Vir- 
ginia shore),  it  became  necessary  to  throw 
out  a  kedge  anchor  at  the  stern.  Shortly 
after,  all  hands  were  called  to  haul  in  the 
kedge,  and  while  there  collected  together, 
the  end  of  the  boiler  nearest  the  stern  was 
suddenly  blown  off,  and  a  column  of  min- 
gled water  and  steam  was  thrown  among  the 
crowd,  killing  a  number  upon  the  spot,  and 
inflicting  the  most  frightful  injuries  on  the 
remainder.  The  captain,  mate,  and  several 
others,  were  blown  overboard,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  one  man,  were  afterward  res- 
cued from  the  water,  and  found  to  be  more 
or  less  injured  by  the  scalding  water  and 
the  scattered  fragments  of  the  boiler. 

At  Harmar,  a  neighboring  town,  the  in- 


habitants were  alarmed  by  the  sound  of  the 
explosion,  appearing,  as  it  did,  to  shake  the 
earth.  A  number  of  citizens — among  whom 
were  several  physicians — rushed  to  the  boat 
to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  calamity.  Lan- 
guage is  but  feeble  to  explain  the  misery  and 
torture  which  presented  itself  to  their  view. 
Strewn  about  the  deck  were  the  mangled 
and  writhing  forms  of  human  beings,  filling 
the  air  with  screams  and  groans,  while 
others,  more  fortunate,  had  ended  their  suf- 
ferings in  death.  Those  who  experienced 
the  greatest  pain,  apparently,  were  injured 
by  inhaling  the  scalding  steam,  which  is 
agonizing,  beyond  all  the  powers  of  imagina- 
tion to  conceive.  The  cause  of  this  explo- 
sion is  not  exactly  known,  but  it  is  supposed 
to  have  been  from  over-pressure,  owing  to 
the  displacement  of  the  valve  weight,  which 
had  accidentally  slipped  to  the  end  of  the 
lever. 

This  accident,  as  we  said  before,  added  to 
the  general  prejudice  against  steamboating, 
and  caused  a  great  excitement  among  the 
inhabitants  of  that  region ;  people  being 
oblivious  of  the  fact  that  in  proportion  to 
the  passengers  carried  by  steamboats  up  to 
that  date,  there  had  been  much  less  accident 
and  danger  than  by  the  original  conveyance 
of  barges  and  flat  boats.  Still,  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  mismanagement,  resulting  from 
ignorance,  in  our  first  steam  vessels,  and  the 
general  introduction  of  high-pressure  en- 
gines, without  the  proper  increase  of  strength 
in  the  boilers,  caused  many  serious  acci- 
dents, that  in  time  drew  the  attention  of 
Congress  to  the  subject.  Several  laws  were 
passed ;  but  it  was  not  until  quite  a  late 
period  that  the  present  comparatively  per- 
fect system  of  inspection  was  matured  by 
our  government. 

In  the  year  1852,  an  act  was  passed  by 
Congress,  containing  provisions  against  fire, 
regarding  pumps,  boats,  life  preservers,  the 
transportation  of  dangerous  articles,  etc. 
This  act  also  provided  for  an  inspector  of 
boilers  in  each  district,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
test  all  the  boilers  in  his  district,  used  on 
board  of  vessels  carrying  passengers,  once 
when  first  constructed,  and  at  least  once  a 
year  thereafter.  The  Board  of  Inspectors 
were  also  empowered  with  the  examination 
of  engineers,  which  duty  is  set  forth  in  the 
following  section :  "  Whenever  any  person 
claiming  to  be  qualified  to  perform  the 
duty  of  engineer  'upon  steamers  carrying 
passengers,  shall  apply  for  a  certificate,  the 


LOCOMOTIVES. 


243 


Board  of  Inspectors  shall  examine  the  appli- 
cant, and  the  proofs  which  he  produces  in 
support  of  his  claim ;  and  if,  upon  full  con- 
sideration, they  are  satisfied  that  his  char- 
acter, habits  of  life,  knowledge,  and  experi- 
ence in  the  duties  of  an  engineer  are  all  such 
as  to  authorize  the  belief  that  the  applicant  is 
a  suitable  and  safe  person  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  powers  and  duties  of  such  a  station, 
they  shall  give  him  a  certificate  to  such  effect, 
for  one  year,  signed  by  them,  in  which  cer- 
tificate they  shall  state  the  time  of  the  exami- 
nation, and  shall  assign  the  appointee  to  the 
appropriate  class  of  engineers." 

It  was  also  provided  that  nine  super- 
vising inspectors  should  be  appointed  by  the 
executive,  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the 
act.  Since  the  passage  of  this  law,  steam- 
boat explosions  on  the  Atlantic  coast  have 
become  almost  unknown,  and  have  greatly 
decreased  in  the  west.  With  competent 
inspectors  this  law  is  invaluable,  and  we 
hope  to  hail  the  day  when  a  similar  act  is 
passed  in  every  legislature,  touching  loco- 
motive and  stationary  boilers. 

No  one  who  looks  at  the  immense  amount 
of  business  dene  by  steam  vessels,  will  ques- 
tion the  advantages  obtained  by  the  appli- 
cation of  steam  to  navigation,  still  this 
branch  of  commerce  is  as  yet  in  its  infancy, 
and  it  is  our  belief  that  not  only  will  steam 
supersede  sails  entirely,  but  also  that  the  la- 
borious occupation  of  rowing  will  eventually 
be  mainly  done  by  steam.  It  is  unques- 
tionable that  boats  requiring  four  men  to  pull 
them  can,  even  now,  be  much  more  economi- 
cally worked  by  machinery,  and  certainly 
run  much  faster.  Their  cost  need  not  ex- 
ceed five  hundred  dollars.  For  such  small 
craft  the  propeller  is  better  fitted  than  the 
side  wheel.  There  is  a  boat  of  this  descrip- 
tion now  running  in  the  harbor  of  Norfolk, 
Virginia,  and  capable  of  carrying  twelve  pas- 
sengers at  eight  miles  per  hour,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  seventy-five  cents  per  day  for  fuel, 
and  the  wages  of  one  man,  who  can  easily 
do  the  work  and  steer  the  boat.  This  boat 
carried  passengers  to  the  Great  Eastern, 
when  she  lay  off  Old  Point  Comfort,  and  ap- 
peared like  the  minnow  beside  the  whale. 

We  have  already  stated  that  John  E. 
Mowatt  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  tug 
business  on  the  North  River.  This  was 
Jonathan  Hull's  idea;  he  never  dreaming 
that  large  vessels  could  be  provided  with 
propelling  power,  both  on  account  of  its 
weight,  the  weight  of  fuel  for  a  voyage,  and 


the  danger  from  fire.  This  branch  of  steam 
navigation  has  proved  very  lucrative.  With- 
in the  past  few  years  the  propeller  has  here 
also  been  substituted.  Philadelphia,  we  be- 
lieve, was  the  pioneer  in  this  enterprise,  and 
most  of  the  propeller-tugs  were  built  in  that 
place.  We  will  conclude  this  chapter  with 
the  following  statement  of  the  tonnage  of 
steam  vessels  belonging  to  the  several  ports 
of  the  United  States  in  1859,  as  published 
in  the  "Report  on  Commerce  and  Navi- 
gation":— 

New  York 120,598.09 

New  Orleans 75,789.91 

St.  Louis 54,51 5.64 

Pittsburg 40,550.08 

Buffalo 42,464.04 

Detroit 33,005.12 

Louisville 29,626.72 

Cincinnati 25,668.31 

Mobile 28,898.52 

Philadelphia 22,238.50 

Cleveland 21,720.73 

Baltimore 19,260.83 

San  Francisco , 10,214.94 

Boston 9,998.52 

Chicago 7,651.45 

The  total  steam  tonnage  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  year  ending  30th  of  June, 
1859,  was  676,004  83-95  tons. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LOCOMOTIVES. 

OUR  second  chapter  referred  more  partic- 
ularly to  the  application  of  steam  to  naviga- 
tion. In  this,  we  shall  endeavor  to  set  forth 
its  advantages  in  land  transportation.  Among 
the  earliest  experiments  upon  this  subject  in 
America,  were  those  by  Oliver  Evans,  of 
Philadelphia.  The  following  is  his  account, 
published  in  1804  : — 

"  I  constructed  for  the  Board  of  Health  of 
Philadelphia  a  machine  for  cleaning  docks, 
called  the  Orukter  Amphibolos  or  Amphib- 
ious Digger.  It  consisted  of  a  heavy  flat- 
bottomed  boat,  thirty  feet  long,  and  twelve 
feet  broad,  with  a  chain  of  buckets  to  bring 
up  the  mud,  and  hooks  to  clear  away  sticks, 
stones,  and  other  obstacles.  These  buckets 
are  wrought  by  a  small  steam  engine  set  in 
the  boat,  the  cylinder  of  which  is  five  inches 
diameter,  and  the  length  of  stroke  nine- 
teen inches.  This  machine  was  constructed 
at  my  shop,  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
river  Schuylkill,  where  she  was  launched. 


244 


STEAM. 


She  sunk  nineteen  inches,  displacing  five 
hundred  and  fifty-one  cubic  feet  of  water, 
which,  at  62. 5  pounds,  the  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot,  gives  the  weight  of  the  boat  thirty -four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
pounds,  which,  divided  by  two  hundred  and 
thirteen,  the  weight  of  a  barrel  of  flour,  gives 
the  weight  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-one 
barrels  of  flour  that  the  boat  and  engine  is 
equal  to.  Add  to  this  the  heavy  pieces  of 
timber  and  wheels  used  in  transporting  her, 
and  the  number  of  persons  generally  in  her, 
will  make  the  whole  burden  equal  to  at  least 
two  hundred  barrels  of  flour.  Yet  this 
small  engine  moved  so  great  a  burden,  with 
a  gentle  motion,  up  Market  street  and  around 
the  Centre  Square,  and  we  concluded  from 
the  experiment  that  the  engine  was  able  to 
rise  any  ascent  allowed  by  law  on  turnpike 
roads,  which  is  not  more  than  four  degrees." 

After  giving  a  comparison  of  the  merits 
of  steam  and  horse  power,  for  moving  car- 
riages on  common  roads,  Evans  says :  "Add 
to  all  this  that  the  steam  wagon  consumes 
nothing  while  standing,  will  roll  and  mend 
the  roads,  while  the  horse  wagons  will  cut 
them  up.  Upon  the  whole  it  appears  that 
no  competition  could  exist  between  the  two. 
The  steam  wagons  would  take  all  the  busi- 
ness on  the  turnpike  roads.  I  have  no 
doubt  but  you  will  duly  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  such  an  improvement,  and  con- 
ceive it  to  be  your  interest  to  appropriate 
the  sum  necessary  to  put  it  in  operation.  I 
have  invented  the  only  engine  that  will 
answer  that  great  purpose,  as  well  as  many 
others  for  which  power  may  be  wanted.  It 
is  too  much  for  an  individual  to  put  in 
operation  every  improvement  which  he  may 
be  able  to  conceive  or  invent.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  my  engines  will  propel  boats 
against  the  current  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
wagons  on  turnpike  roads  with  great  profit. 
I  now  call  upon  those  whose  interest  it  is,  to 
cany  this  invention  into  effect.  All  which 
I  respectfully  submit  to  your  consideration." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Evans  not 
only  practically  applied  steam  to  locomotion, 
but  fully  realized  the  advantages  of  his  in- 
vention. The  introduction  of  the  railroad 
prevented  the  improvements  that  would 
naturally  have  followed  so  great  an  inven- 
tion, and  but  little  has  since  been  done,  until 
within  the  past  three  or  four  years. 

Mr.  Fisher  has  been  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful in  his  improvements  ;  his  first  experiment 
was  in  1853,  when  he  built  a  small  carriage 


for  four  persons,  which  weighed,  empty, 
about  one  thousand  four  hundred  pounds. 
The  cylinders  Avere  ten  by  four ;  boiler, 
thirty  feet  of  surface,  only  twenty  feet  of 
which  could  be  reckoned  effective,  or  one 
foot  of  surface  to  about  one  hundred  and 
ten  pounds  of  total  weight.  It  outran 
horses,  in  night  races,  on  the  Broadway 
pavement,  and  ran  at  a  moderate  speed  on 
cobble  pavements,  but  had  not  steam  enough 
for  common  roads. 

The  next  trial  was  in  1858,  on  two  steam 
fire  engines,  the  J.  C.  Gary  and  J.  G.  Storm, 
the  carriages  and  engines  of  which  were 
built  from  his  design,  the  boilers  and  pumps 
being  designed  by  others.  These  engines 
had  heavy  boilers  and  apparatus,  and  could 
not  be  regarded  as  steam  carriages,  but  only 
as  a  demonstration  of  the  practicability  of 
working  by  steam.  Their  cylinders  are 
fourteen  by  seven  and  a  half  inches ;  wheels, 
five  feet ;  the  Gary  boiler  four  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  of  heating  surface ;  that  of  the 
Storm  three  hundred  and  eighty ;  weight  of 
the  Gary,  empty,  fifteen  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  pounds ;  the  Storm  some- 
what lighter.  These  engines  ran  well  on 
pavements,  and  when  fairly  in  motion  could 
run  on  soft  ground  at  six  or  seven  miles  per 
hour.  The  next  experiment  was  by  Mr. 
Fisher  in  1859,  when  a  carriage  was  built, 
which  is  not  yet  finished.  Its  cylinders  are 
fourteen  by  seven  inches ;  wheels,  five  feet ; 
boiler,  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  of  surface  ; 
weight,  with  water  and  eleven  men,  estimated 
at  twelve  thousand  pounds,  or  seventy-five 
pounds  to  one  foot  of  heating  surface.  Two 
gentlemen  timed  it  on  an  evening  trial  trip ; 
one  reported  that  it  ran  between  two  mile 
stones  in  two  minutes  and  forty  seconds; 
the  other  reported  it  within  three  minutes. 
The  road  was  gravel,  rather  loose  and  soft 
on  the  surface. 

As  we  have  before  stated,  the  introduction 
of  railroads  turned  the  attention  of  our 
mechanics  to  them,  and  steam  carriages 
were  abandoned.  The  railway  itself  does 
not  come  within  the  compass  of  our  article ; 
we  will  state,  however,  that  its  origin  is  un- 
known, as  the  remains  of  a  stone  tram-road 
have  been  found  among  the  ruins  of  Thebes. 

Thirty  years  ago  they  were  still  discussing 
the  advantages  of  canals  as  compared  with 
railroads  in  this  country ;  it  is,  however, 
somewhat  singular  that,  with  the  exception 
of  a  mile  or  two  of  canal  near  Cambridge, 
constructed  by  the  Romans,  England  had  in- 


LOCOMOTIVES. 


245 


troduced  the  entire  principle  of  railroads 
long  before  she  took  up  canals.  As  long 
ago  as  1776,  and  possibly  thirty  years  prior 
to  that  time,  England  had  wooden  rails  in 
some  of  her  collieries.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  the  year  1825  that  the  subject  was 
prominently  brought  forward.  The  railway 
project  from  Manchester  to  Liverpool  was 
the  cause  of  this  new  impulse.  The  rails, 
prior  to  1776,  were  of  wood,  placed  about 
four  feet  apart  on  sleepers ;  these  wooden 
rails  were  then  covered  with  iron  plates, 
and  cast  iron  wheels  were  adopted  instead 
of  the  wooden  ones  that  had  been  used  up 
to  this  time.  In  1790,  the  edge  rail  was 
invented.  From  1802  to  1806,  the  first 
effective  experiments  were  made  with  the 
locomotive  engine.  It  was  not,  however, 
supposed  possible  that  the  friction  or  ad- 
herence of  the  plain  wheels  of  such  car- 
riages upon  the  rail  could  be  sufficient  to 
allow  any  great  weight  to  be  drawn  after 
them,  and,  therefore,  the  cumbersome  ap- 
pendage of  cog  wheels  and  ratchet  wheels, 
continuous  and  endless  chains,  propelling 
levers,  etc.,  etc.,  continued  to  perplex  the 
minds  of  engineers  until  about  1814,  when 
it  was  first  discovered  that  the  adhesion  of 
the  locomotive  carriage,  with  its  plain  cast 
iron  wheels,  was  adequate  for  every  purpose 
on  ordinary  railways.  The  improvement 
consequent  upon  this  was  effected  by  Mr. 
Stephenson  in  the  north  of  England,  and  for 
a  long  time  his  engines,  with  unimportant 
alterations,  were  used  where  fuel  was  cheap. 
Those  locomotives  drew  about  one  hundred 
tons  on  a  level,  at  four  miles  the  hour,  per- 
forming the  work  of  about  sixteen  horses. 
Their  weight  was  about  ten  tons,  and  cost 
about  sixteen  thousand  dollars. 

The  first  railway  in  the  United  States  was 
built  from  Milton  to  Quincy,  Mass.,  a  dis- 
tance of  two  miles,  in  1826.  The  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  was  the  first  passenger  railroad ; 
it  was  opened  in  1830,  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles,  with  horse  power.  Next  in  the  order 
of  time  came  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson,  from 
Albany  to  Schenectady,  sixteen  miles ;  opened 
for  travel  also  with  horse  power.  The  first 
locomotive  engine  upon  a  railway  in  this 
country,  was  built  at  Stourbridge,  England, 
for  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Com- 
pany, and  imported  by  Mr.  Horatio  Allen. 
This  engine  was  called  the  Lion.  Mr. 
Allen,  in  a  speech  not  long  since,  gives  a 
graphic  account  of  the  first  trip :  "  It  was 
in  the  year  1828,  on  the  banks  of  the  Lack- 


awaxen,  at  the  commencement  of  the  rail- 
roads connecting  the  canal  of  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  Company  with  their  coal 
mines ;  and  he  who  addresses  you  was  the 
only  person  on  that  locomotive.  The  circum- 
stances which  led  to  my  being  alone  on  the 
engine  were  these :  the  road  had  been  built 
in  the  summer;  the  structure  was  of  hem- 
lock timber;  the  rails  of  large  dimensions, 
notched  on  caps  placed  far  apart;  the  tim- 
ber had  cracked  and  warped  from  exposure 
to  the  sun.  After  about  three  hundred  feet 
of  straight  line,  the  road  crossed  the  Lacka- 
waxen  creek  on  trestle-work,  about  thirty  feet 
high,  with  a  curve  of  from  three  hundred  and 
fifty-six  to  four  hundred  feet  radius.  The 
impression  was  very  general  that  the  iron 
monster  would  break  down  the  road,  or  it 
would  leave  the  track  at  the  curve  and  plunge 
into  the  creek.  My  reply  to  such  appre- 
hensions was,  that  it  was  too  late  to  consider 
the  probability  of  such  occurrences;  that 
there  was  no  other  course  than  to  have  a 
trial  made  of  the  strange  animal,  which  had 
been  brought  here  at  great  expense ;  but 
that  it  was  not  necessary  that  more  than  one 
should  be  involved  in  its  fate  ;  that  I  would 
take  the  first  ride  alone,  and  the  time  would 
come  when  I  should  look  back  to  the  inci- 
dent with  great  interest.  As  I  placed  my 
hand  on  the  throttle-valve  handle,  I  was  un- 
decided whether  I  would  move  slowly  or 
with  a  fair  degree  of  speed ;  but  believing 
that  the  road  would  prove  safe,  and  prefer- 
ring, if  I  did  go  down,  to  go  handsomely, 
and  without  any  evidence  of  timidity,  I 
started  with  considerable  velocity,  passed  the 
curve  over  the  creek  safely,  and  was  soon 
out  of  hearing  of  the  vast  assemblage.  At 
the  end  of  two  or  three  miles  I  reversed  the 
valve,  and  returned  without  accident ;  having 
thus  made  the  first  railroad  trip  by  locomo- 
tive on  the  western  hemisphere." 

The  first  locomotive  engine  ever  built  in 
the  United  States,  was  built  at  the  West 
Point  foundry,  New  York,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Samuel  Hall,  for  the  South  Carolina 
railroad.  This  engine  blew  up  shortly  after 
it  commenced  running,  and  another  was 
built  to  replace  it.  In  1831,  the  De  Witt 
Clinton  was  built  at  the  same  foundry  for 
the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  (New  York  Cen- 
tral) railroad ;  this  engine  weighed  four  tons ; 
it  was  run  without  load  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  per  hour.  Cylinders,  five  and  a  half 
inches  in  diameter — stroke,  sixteen  inches; 
four  coupled  wheels,  four  and  a  half  feet  in 


246 


STEAM. 


diameter.  The  boiler  was  cylindrical,  with 
a  large  dome  in  the  centre,  and  contained 
some  thirty  flues.  In  January  of  the  same 
year,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  offered 
four  thousand  dollars  for  the  best  anthracite 
coal-burning  locomotive,  weighing  three  and 
one  half  tons,  and  capable  of  drawing  fifteen 
tons,  fifteen  miles  per  hour  on  a  level,  with 
a  steam  pressure  of  not  more  than  a  hundred 
pounds  to  the  square  inch.  The  conditions 
were  filled  by  an  engine  built  by  Phineas 
Davis,  of  York,  Pa.,  in  June,  1831.  This 
engine  had  an  upright  boiler  and  cylinder. 
William  T.  James,  of  New  York,  who  had 
already  constructed  a  steam  carriage  in  1829, 
finished  a  locomotive  in  1832;  this  engine 
was  employed  on  the  Harlem  railroad,  with 
success,  for  a  time,  but  was  eventually  sold 
to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road,  where  it 
exploded  in  1834.  This  engine  was  pro- 
vided with  a  "  spark  arrester."  In  January, 
1833,  M.  W.  Baldwin,  of  Philadelphia,  still 
one  of  our  best  locomotive  builders,  built 
the  Old  Ironsides,  for  the  Philadelphia 
and  G^rmantown  Railroad  Company.  This 
engine  weighed  five  tons,  and  was  said 
to  have  been  run  at  the  rate  of  sixty- 
two  miles  per  hour.  Mr.  Baldwin  intro- 
duced the  outside  connection  engine,  thus 
doing  away  with  the  crank  axle,  and  plac- 
ing the  cylinder  more  under  the  eye  of 
the  engineer. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  the  con- 
struction and  alterations  in  the  various  loco- 
motives that  were  built  by  different  manu- 
facturers in  the  United  States.  We  will, 
however,  mention  the  most  important  im- 
provements. 

The  truck  frame,  in  front  of  the  engine, 
was  first  used  by  Adam  Hall,  of  the  West 
Point  foundry,  in  1832,  on  an  engine  called 
the  Experiment.  The  four  eccentrics  were 
first  used  by  William  T.  James,  on  his  steam 
carriage ;  they  were,  however,  patented  by 
S.  H.  Long,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1830,  and 
first  used  on  a  locomotive  in  1833  ;  this  was 
the  Black  Hawk,  built  by  Long  and  Norris, 
of  Philadelphia,  the  founders  of  the  present 
locomotive  shop  known  as  Norris'  works. 
The  Norris  engines  were  the  first  ever  ex- 
ported ;  this  was  brought  about  by  the,  at 
that  time,  extraordinary  fact  of  drawing 
19,200  pounds  up  an  incline  of  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-nine  feet  to  the  mile,  the  en- 
gine weighing  but  14,370  pounds ;  on  hear- 
ing of  which,  the  Birmingham  and  Glouces- 
ter Railway  Company  ordered  several  engines 


for  an  incline  upon  their  road,  where  they 
performed  successfully.  Since  that  time, 
engines  have  been  exported  to.  England, 
France,  Russia,  Germany,  Egypt,  and  Chili. 
In  the  latter  country  there  are  eight  American 
locomotives.  The  engines  forwarded  to 
Egypt,  were  built  by  William  Mason,  of 
Taunton ;  and  for  excellence  of  workman- 
ship, style,  and  finish,  will  compare  favor- 
ably with  any  in  the  world.  There  are,  at 
present,  twenty-nine  American  locomotives 
on  German  roads.  Messrs.  Winans,  of  Bal- 
timore, furnished  the  majority  of  the  loco- 
motives sent  to  Russia.  There  arc  now  some 
twenty-three  locomotive  shops  in  the  United 
States.  Most  of  the  engines  are,  however, 
built  in  Philadelphia,  and  Paterson,  N.  J. 
Hinckley  and  Drury's,  afterward  called  the 
Boston  Locomotive  Works,  was  established 
in  1840.  The  Lowell  shop  began  to  build 
engines  in  1835.  Rogers,  Ketchum  &  Gros- 
venor,  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  commenced 
building  in  1837.  This  shop  is  still  in  full 
operation,  under  the  name  of  the  Rogers 
Locomotive  Works.  This  shop  made  sev- 
eral material  alterations  upon  the  English 
type ;  they  enlarged  the  boiler  in  proportion 
to  the  cylinder,  established  the  link  motion, 
and  covered  more  effectually  the  cylinders 
and  valve  chests,  to  prevent  radiation.  Rog- 
ers, also,  was  among  the  first  to  adopt 
the  full-stroke  pump.  The  locomotives  built 
at  this  shop  have  always  found  a  ready 
market.  Next  in  order  was  the  Taunton  Lo- 
comotive Company,  established  in  1847,  by 
W.  W.  Fairbanks,  a  marine  boiler  maker  from 
Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Then  John  Sou- 
ther, formerly  of  Hinckley's  shop,  started 
his  works  in  South  Boston,  in  1848.  In 
1849,  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany entered  the  lists  with  some  important 
improvements ;  they  were  followed  by  the 
Portland,  Lawrence,  and  Wilmarth  shops, 
and  a  few  years  after,  by  Mason,  of  Taunton, 
the  East  Bridgewater,  and  the  Manchester 
locomotive  works.  But  since  1857,  the 
New  England  locomotive  shops  have  done 
but  little  of  this  kind  of  work ;  the  Boston, 
Lawrence,  and  Manchester  locomotive  works 
have  failed;  the  Amoskeag,  Lowell,  and 
Mason's  shop  at  Taunton,  have  turned  their 
attention  to  cotton  and  woollen  machinery ; 
and  the  business  has  gone  almost  entirely 
into  the  hands  of  the  Paterson  and  Phila- 
delphia shops.  The  causes  of  this  change 
are  various :  prominent  among  them  may 
be  mentioned  the  manufacture  of  locomo- 


LOCOMOTIVES. 


249 


tives  by  railroad  companies  themselves,  at 
their  repair  shops. 

The  manufacture  of  the  locomotive  engine 
had  a  good  effect  upon  our  machine  shops, 
independent  of  the  work  it  furnished ;  as  in 
order  to  construct  them  a  variety  of  improved 
tools  were  made,  that  have  greatly  added  to 
the  facility  for  turning  out  other  machinery. 
These  improvements  are  so  marked  that  no 
one  who  is  familiar  with  the  machine  shop 
can  help  noticing  them. 

Coal  is  now  rapidly  superseding  wood  as 
fuel  for  the  locomotive.  It  is  true  that  some 
of  our  first  engines  were  coal-burners,  but 
wood  has  been  for  years  the  principal  fuel 
used.  The  American  engine  has  sevei-al 
marked  distinctions  from  the  English ;  what 
most  strikes  the  eye  of  the  common  observer 
is  the  ra&,  or  house  for  the  protection  of  the 
engineer ;  this  is  peculiar  to  our  locomo- 
tive. The  smoke  stack  is  also  very  different 
in  the  wood-burning  engine  from  that  in  use 
on  coal-burners.  The  auxiliary  pump  is  used 
on  some  of  our  engines,  but  not  to  so  great 
an  extent  as  it  should  be. 

A  first-class  locomotive  engine  costs  about 
ten  thousand  dollars,  and  an  average  taken 
from  one  of  our  largest  roads  shows  a  cost 
of  about  eleven  hundred  dollars  per  year  for 
repairs.  Locomotives  in  this  country  are 
built  much  too  large  for  the  work  they  have 
to  accomplish,  and  the  attention  of  our 
master  machinists  having  lately  been  much 
attracted  to  this  subject,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  some  improvements  in  the  weight  will 
be  made.  A  locomotive  too  heavy  for  the 
work  it  has  to  do,  is  not  only  more  expen- 
sive in  first  cost,  but  in  the  greater  wear  of 
the  road.  A  good  locomotive  can  draw  thirty 
times  its  own  weight  on  a  level,  and  a  paying 
load  should  not  exceed  twenty-five  tons ; 
bearing  this  in  mind,  why  build  twenty-six 
ton  engines?  There  are  many  parts  of  an 
engine  now  built  much  too  heavy ;  the  bell, 
dome-casings,  and  cabs,  for  instance.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  greatly  lessen  the  weight  of 
the  running  gear,  although  in  some  instan- 
ces this  is  much  too  heavy.  Wrought  iron 
in  place  of  cast  in  some  cases  would  be 
lighter  and  much  better,  and  steel  should  be 
substituted  for  iron  wherever  possible.  The 
speed  over  the  American  roads  is  not  so 
great  as  in  England,  from  the  fact  that  the 
former  have  more  and  steeper  grades,  and 
have,  besides,  shorter  curves,  to  say  nothing 
about  their  construction  being  much  less 
expensive.  Sixty  miles  per  hour  has  been 


made  upon  our  roads,  however,  but  thirty  is 
nearer  an  average,  while  in  England  seventy 
miles  has  frequently  been  attained. 

Dr.  Lardner,  in  his  lately  published  "Econ- 
omy of  Railroads,"  thus  endeavors  to  convey 
to  the  unpractised  reader  the  enormous  speed 
of  a  locomotive  going  at  the  rate  of  seventy- 
miles  an  hour  :  "  Seventy  miles  an  hour  is, 
in  round  numbers,  one  hundred  and  five  feet 
per  second,  that  is  a  motion  in  virtue  of 
which  a  passenger  is  carried  over  thirty-five 
yards  between  the  beats  of  a  common  clock. 
Two  objects  near  him,  a  yard  asunder,  pass 
by  his  eye  in  the  thirty-fifth  part  of  a  sec- 
ond ;  and  if  thirty-five  stakes  were  erected 
by  the  side  of  the  road,  one  yard  asunder, 
the  whole  would  pass  his  eye  between  two 
beats  of  a  clock ;  if  they  had  any  strong 
color,  such  as  red,  they  would  appear  a  con- 
tinuous flash  of  red.  At  such  a  speed, 
therefore,  the  objects  on  the  side  of  the  road 
are  not  distinguishable.  When  two  trains, 
having  this  speed,  pass  each  other,  the  rela- 
tive velocity  will  be  double  this,  or  seventy 
yards  per  second ;  and  if  one  of  the  trains 
were  seventy  yards  long,  it  would  flash  by  in 
a  single  second.  To  accomplish  this,  suppo- 
sing the  driving  wheels  seven  feet  in  dia,me- 
ter,  the  piston  must  change  its  direction  in 
the  cylinder  ten  times  in  a  second.  But 
there  are  two  cylinders,  and  the  mechanism 
is  so  regulated  that  the  discharges  of  steam 
are  alternate.  There  are,  therefore,  twenty 
discharges  of  steam  per  second,  at  equal  in- 
tervals ;  and  thus  these  twenty  puffs  divide 
a  second  into  twenty  equal  parts,  each  puff 
having  the  twentieth  of  a  second  between 
it  and  that  which  precedes  and  follows  it. 
The  ear,  like  the  eye,  is  limited  in  the  rapid- 
ity of  its  sensations,  and  sensitive  as  that 
organ  is,  it  is  not  capable  of  distinguishing 
monotonous  sounds  which  succeed  each 
other  at  intervals  of  the  twentieth  part  of  a 
second.  According  to  the  experiments  of 
Dr.  Hutton,  the  flight  of  a  cannon  ball  was 
six  thousand  seven  hundred  feet  in  one 
quarter  of  a  minute,  equal  to  five  miles  per 
minute,  or  three  hundred  miles  per  hour. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  a  railway  train, 
going  at  the  rate  of  seventy-five  miles  per 
hour,  has  the  velocity  of  one-fourth  that  of 
a  cannon  ball ;  and  the  momentum  of  such 
a  mass,  moving  at  such  a  speed,  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  aggregate  force  of  a  number  of 
cannon  balls  equal  to  one-fourth  of  its  own 
weight." 

Some   years   ago   a   curious   calculation^ 


250 


STEAM. 


showing  one  of  the  advantages  of  the  steam 
locomotive,  was  made  in  England.  "  In  1 853, 
111,000,000  passengers  were  conveyed,  each 
passenger  travelling  an  average  of  twelve 
miles.  Twelve  miles  of  railroad  are  accom- 
plished in  half  an  hour,  whereas  the  old 
stage  coach  required  an  hour  and  a  half  to 
get  through  the  distance.  The  aggregate 
time  thus  saved  for  the  above  number  of 
passengers  is  equal  to  thirty-eight  thousand 
years."  This  was  seven  years  ago,  since 
which  time  the  number  of  passengers  carried 
has  been  nearly  doubled. 

Mr.  Fleming,  on  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  rail- 
road, and  some  other  master  mechanics,  have 
adopted  the  plan  of  paying  the  engineers  a 
certain  fixed  salary,  and  then  giving  prizes 
to  those  who  save  the  most  fuel  to  the  mile 
run.  It  is  also  customary  to  place  the  in- 
spection of  wood  to  be  used  under  the  en- 
gineer's care,  he  having  the  choice  of  the 
stations  at  which  he  will  take  in  wood. 
With  these  two  regulations  the  company  get 
better  wood  at  the  same  price,  as  it  is  di- 
rectly to  the  engineer's  interest  to  carefully 
examine  the  quality,  quantity,  and  price  of 
every  load  of  wood  he  takes  on.  So  great 
has  been  the  economy  of  this  plan,  that 
it  is  strange  that  every  one  does  not 
adopt  it. 

Another  important  item  in  the  running 
expenses  of  the  locomotive  is  the  oil  and 
waste.  The  latter  is  used  to  wipe  the 
machinery,  not  only  on  account  of  the  looks, 
but  to  prevent  its  gumming  up  with  oil  and 
dirt.  The  average  cost  of  oil,  waste,  and 
tallow,  taken  from  some  of  our  largest  roads, 
is  seventy-five  hundredths  of  a  cent  per 
mile  run ;  and  as  engines  average  some  fif- 
teen thousand  miles  per  year,  we  have  a 
total  cost,  in  three  small  items,  of  one  mill- 
ion dollars  per  year  in  the  United  States 
alone. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  steam  loco- 
motives, we  wish  to  speak  of  the  Dummy 
engine,  or  steam  car  for  city  railroads.  We 
know  that  this  use  of  steam  has  met  with 
great  opposition  from  all  classes  of  men ; 
but  what  are  the  arguments  ?  In  the  first 
place  they  say  :  "  Oh !  the  steam  car  is 
much  more  dangerous  than  horses."  Why  ? 
"  Because  it  is  more  difficult  to  stop,  and  it 
goes  so  much  faster."  What  is  the  truth  ? 
It  is  much  easier  to  stop  a  steam  car  than 
one  drawn  by  horses,  inasmuch  as  we  have 
not  only  the  same  brakes,  but  the  power  of 
reversing  the  engine  in  an  emergency.  As 


to  the  cars  being  run  faster,  our  laws  against 
fast  driving  are  as  potent  in  the  one  case  as 
in  the  other ;  and  by  Barker's  arrangement, 
it  is  impossible  for  the  car  to  go  over  a  given 
speed — the  governor  being  attached  to  the 
brake.  The  second  argument  against  steam 
cars  is  that  the  noise  and  smoke  will  frighten 
horses.  The  noise  and  smoke  can  both  be 
avoided,  and  it  has  been  proved  that  horses 
are  not  more  liable  to  start  than  at  the  sight 
of  a  buffalo  robe.  The  argument  as  to  ex- 
pense has  been  entirely  thrown  aside ;  still, 
but  few  know  the  great  advantage  in  this 
respect  that  steam  has  over  horse  power.  A 
number  of  our  lines  average  seven  horses  to 
a  car  (in  Boston  they  average  eight),  in 
order  to  have  the  necessary  relays;  seven 
good  horses  for  this  purpose  are  worth,  say, 
eight  hundred  dollars ;  the  feed,  care,  and 
stable-room  of  each  horse  averages,  say  three 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  week ;  so  that  a  line 
with  forty  cars  is  under  the  enormous  annual 
expense,  for  horse-care  and  keep  alone,  of 
$50,960  !  Now  then  for  steam.  The  first  cost 
of  an  engine  and  steam  generator,  with  all  the 
necessary  appurtenances,  will  be  no  more,  if  as 
much,  as  the  seven  horses  to  each  car.  Keep- 
ing the  engine  in  repair  would  incur  no  more 
expense  than  shoeing  horses,  renewing  har- 
ness, etc.  It  would  cost  no  more  to  replace 
them  than  to  replace  worn-out  horses.  The 
engines,  to  be  of  sufficient  capacity  to  over- 
come our  steepest  grades,  will  consume  eight 
bushels  of  coke  per  day  (a  high  estimate), 
running  sixteen  hours,  the  price  of  which  at 
present  is  five  cents  per  bushel ;  but,  suppo- 
sing the  extra  demand  to  cause  an  advance 
of  a  hundred  per  cent. — which  is  hardly 
likely,  for  even  a  less  increase  in  price  would 
cause  many  private  families  and  others  to 
cease  using  it — the  fuel  expense  in  one  year, 
to  a  company  with  forty  cars,  would  be 
$9,984 ;  making  the  difference  in  cost, 
in  one  year,  between  steam  and  horses, 
of  $40,976.  Think  of  it!  $40,976  saved 
to  a  company  with  forty  cars,  in  one  year 
(over  $1,000  per  car),  after  putting  down 
the  fuel  at  double  its  present  price.  Coke 
is  preferable,  because  it  is  clean  to  handle, 
ignites  quick,  emits  no  smoke,  is  light  and 
cheap,  and  requires  a  much  less  draught  than 
coai.  To  save  cumbrous  and  useless  weight 
as  much  as  possible,  it  is  proposed  to  oarry 
very  little  fuel,  except  what  is  on  the  fire, 
nor  unnecessary  extra  water  either,  the  tank 
and  bin  to  be  replenished  at  the  depot  each 
trip,  while  waiting  its  time. 


LOCOMOTIVES. 


251 


Were  the  different  companies  to  offer,  as 
an  inducement,  to  reduce  the  fare  to  three 
cents,  on  condition  that  the  community  would 
permit  the  use  of  steam,  they  would  anni- 
hilate all  groundless  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  masses,  which  is  every  thing  with  us ; 
and  the  enormous  increase  of  "  short  rides," 
occasioned  by  the  reduction  of  fare,  would 
make  the  receipts  greater  than  at  present; 
and  as  the  saving  in  favor  of  steam  is  quite 
$1,000  a  year  per  car,  the  value  of  the  stock 
would  be  increased  prodigiously.  If  there 
could  be  any  serious  objection  urged  against 
using  steam,  in  this  age  of  improvements, 
with  the  plans  of  safety  here  laid  down, 
other  than  those  suggested  by  "old  fogy- 
ism,"  all  the  advantages  we  have  enumerated 
would  weigh  little  in  its  favor ;  but  when  it 
can  be  so  arranged  as  to  be  actually  safer 
than  horse  power,  we  think  the  time  has 
come  to  put  it  thoroughly  to  the  test,  at  all 
events. 

Among  the  plans  for  city  cars  that  have 
been  suggested  and  built,  we  may  mention 
those  of  Latta,  of  Cincinnati ;  Baldwin ; 
Grice  &  Long ;  and  Darker,  of  Philadelphia. 
Latta' s  engine  is  in  a  separate  car  from  the 
passengers  ;  Baldwin's  has  its  machinery  be- 
neath the  car,  and  its  boiler  in  front;  and 
Darker  places  his  entire  engine  and  boiler 
upon  the  roof,  connecting  with  the  wheels 
on  the  outside,  near  the  centre.  Grice  & 
Long's  car  is  thus  fitted :  the  engines  and 
boiler  are  on  the  front  platform ;  the  engines 
slightly  inclined,  and  graded  to  the  front 
axle ;  the  axle  being  placed  at  the  extreme 
end  of  the  car,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
the  connection,  and  increasing  the  stability 
of  the  wheels.  The  boiler  is  of  the  ordinary 
vertical,  tubular  type  ;  the  after  part  of  the 
car  is  finished  with  a  self-adjusting,  vibrating 
truck,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the  short 
curves  of  city  roads.  The  running  of  this 
car  has  afforded  the  utmost  satisfaction. 
With  a  full  complement  of  passengers,  it  has 
ascended  the  heaviest  railway  grades  in 
Philadelphia  county ;  some  of  which  exceed 
three  hundred  and  seventy  feet  to  the  mile, 
embracing  sharp  curves.  The  whole  ar- 
rangement is  simple  and  compact ;  can  be 
applied  to  the  horse  cars  now  in  use,  and 
will  give  them  a  greater  number  of  seats 
than  they  now  afford.  These  steam  cars 
burn  anthracite  coal,  and  have  open  ex- 
hausts ;  thus  avoiding  the  two  most  promi- 
nent objections  urged  against  street  locomo- 
tives, smoke  and  noise.  The  American  and 


Gazette,  of  Philadelphia,  describes  a  trip 
made  last  March  in  this  car,  from  which  we 
extract  the  following : — 

"The  road  traversed  is  a  very  rough  one, 
built  cheaply  of  cast  iron  rails,  which  are 
shorter  than  those  of  wrought  iron  used  in 
the  city  streets ;  and  as  the  material  is  less 
durable,  the  joints  are  well  worn,  and  the 
travelling  good  for  dyspeptics.  There  are 
also  some  sharp  curves  and  steep  grades, 
which  are  calculated  to  test  the  power  of  a 
locomotive.  But  with  all  these  difficulties 
the  car  made  its  trip  in  thirty  minutes,  against 
forty-five  usually  taken  by  the  horse  cars. 
It  was  really  agreeable  travelling,  too,  for  the 
car  was  heated  by  steam  pipes,  so  that  it  was 
as  comfortable  inside  as  in  a  parlor.  There 
is  no  escape  of  smoke,  as  the  engine  con- 
sumes only  anthracite,  and  uses  up  its  own 
gas ;  nor  is  there  escape  steam,  that  be- 
ing carefully  provided  against.  Thus,  when 
the  locomotive  is  under  full  headway,  there 
is  no  puffing  or  blowing,  no  wheezing  to  be 
heard  outside,  and,  in  fact,  nothing  to  frighten 
a  horse.  On  the  road,  all  sorts  of  vehicles 
were  encountered,  drawn  by  every  descrip- 
tion of  horse,  from  the  thorough-bred  to  the 
common  draught  horse;  they  were  passed 
at  the  ordinary  pace  and  without  stopping, 
but  none  of  them  took  fright;  and  this 
settles  clearly  enough  that  the  steamer  will 
not  frighten  horses.  The  car  is  warmed  in 
winter  by  steam  pipes  along  the  floor.  Yes- 
terday was  a  raw,  disagreeable  day,  and  we 
had  occasion  to  observe  that  the  car  was 
comfortably  warmed  by  these  pipes.  The 
temperature,  too,  may  be  increased  or  di- 
minished, at  the  will  of  the  engineer,  an  im- 
portant consideration  in  our  variable  climate. 
In  summer  the  steam  car  may  also  be  kept 
cool  by  the  same  agency  which  heats  it,  by 
simply  attaching  a  steam  fan  to  the  engine, 
the  fan  to  be  stationed  in  the  centre  of  the 
roof  of  the  car." 

Thus  much  for  the  first  experiment  of  any 
note  that  has  been  tried  upon  the  street  rail- 
road. It  was,  in  our  opinion,  a  decided  suc- 
cess, and  should  wake  up  our  city  railroad 
companies  to  action ;  this  old  war  between 
horses  and  steam  is  renewed,  but  we  hope  it 
will  soon  have  its  final  quietus. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  an 
anecdote  of  the  first  engine  introduced  upon 
the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  railroad. 
This  road  was  built  to  run  with  horses,  and 
in  some  of  the  first  circulars  issued  by  the 
company,  the  road  was  spoken  of  as  being 


252 


STEAM. 


delightfully  picturesque,  winding  among 
beautiful  scenery,  and  forming  a  most  inter- 
esting ride — rather  different  from  the  em- 
peror of  Russia's  idea  of  a  railroad,  which 
he  laid  out  with  a  ruler,  by  describing  a 
straight  line  from  Moscow  to  St.  Petersburg. 
Against  the  wish  of  the  president  of  the 
company  an  engine  was  imported  from  Eng- 
land in  the  brig  Herald,  about  the  year  1830, 
and  was  put  upon  the  road  under  the  man- 
agement of  an  English  engineer.  While 
standing  upon  the  track  one  day,  fired  up 
and  ready  to  start,  the  president,  who  was 
absent  on  her  arrival,  came  down  to  look  at 
the  strange  animal.  He  was  accompanied 
by  one  of  the  directors,  who  had  already  ex- 
amined the  iron  steed  and  was  desirous  of 
exhibiting  it  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
engineer  being  temporarily  absent,  the  two 
mounted  upon  the  platform.  "  Thee  sees, 
friend,"  said  the  director,  "  this  lever ;  well, 
by  drawing  it  toward  thee  (suiting  the  action 
to  the  word ),  the  machine  will  retreat,  and 
by  pushing  it  from  thee,  it  will  advance ; 
thus  the  competent  man  can  handle  it  as 
readily  as  thee  can  drive  a  horse.  If  thee 
turns  this  little  crank  the  steam  will  com- 
mence working,  and  the  engine  will  start." 
And  sure  enough  the  engine  did  start,  for 
the  honest  Quaker,  in  order  fully  to  explain 
its  action,  had  opened  the  throttle.  Away 
went  the  iron  horse,  affrighting  them  out  of 
all  presence  of  mind,  and  increasing  in  ve- 
locity at  each  stroke  of  the  piston,  until  it 
reached  one  of  the  picturesque  curves  that 
had  so  much  delighted  the  president,  where, 
with  one  bound,  it  left  the  track  and  turned 
a  summersault  down  the  embankment.  Both 
parties  were  hurt,  but  most  fortunately  es- 
caped with  their  lives. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

STATIONARY   ENGINES. 

THIS  is  the  oldest  form,  being  but  a  modi- 
fication of  the  first  steam  pumping  engines ;' 
not  being  confined  to  space  as  in  the  loco- 
motive and  marine  engine,  these  machines 
have  admitted  of  a  greater  variation  of  form, 
and  a  better  chance  of  artistic  display  than 
any  other,  consequently  we  have  many  in- 
stances of  elaborate  workmanship  and  a 
great  variety  of  design.  The  majority  of 
stationary  engines  in  use  may  be  divided  as 
follows :  the  beam,  the  horizontal,  the  steeple, 


the  oscillating,  and  the  rotary  engine.  The 
beam  engines  are  commonly  low-pressure  or 
condensing,  and  are  mainly  used  for  pump- 
ing, or  where  great  power  is  required ;  the 
motion  of  the  piston  is  communicated  by 
the  working-beam  to  the  pump  or  crank- 
shaft at  the  opposite  side  of  the  machine. 
The  horizontal  engine  is  probably  the  most 
used  at  a  high  pressure  in  this  country  ;  its 
advantage  is  the  facility  with  which  it  is 
put  up,  and  its  steady  working ;  every  part 
being  firmly  attached  to  a  solid  bed,  requir- 
ing but  little  bracing  to  keep  it  in  place. 
The  disadvantage  of  a  horizontal  engine  is 
the  unequal  wear  of  the  cylinder,  due  to  the 
gravity  of  the  piston.  The  steeple  or  verti- 
cal engine  has,  like  the  beam  engine,  an  up- 
right cylinder,  but  is  connected  directly  to 
the  main  shaft  above  or  below.  In  all  the 
above-named  engines  the  cylinder  is  station- 
ary, and  the  reciprocating  motion  is  changed 
into  rotary  by  means  of  a  cross-head,  slides, 
and  connecting-rod ;  in  the  oscillating  engine 
the  cylinder  vibrates  upon  trunions,  placed 
sometimes  at  its  centre,  and  sometimes  at  its 
end  ;  thus  allowing  the  piston  to  be  coupled 
to  the  crank,  and  doing  away  with  the  cross- 
head  and  slides.  The  advantages  of  this  en- 
gine are  its  reduced  size  and  expense.  In  the 
horizontal  and  other  engines  the  steam  valve 
is  moved  by  an  eccentric,  but  in  some  oscil- 
lators the  truriion  box  forms  a  self-working 
valve  both  for  induction  at  the  one  side  and 
eduction  at  the  other.  The  disadvantages  of 
an  oscillator  are  the  liability  to  overheat  its 
trunions  and  the  difficulty  of  keeping  them 
tight.  An  oscillator  costs  less  at  the  start, 
but  requires  more  oil,  and  is  of  doubtful 
economy. 

The  change  of  the  reciprocating  into  the 
rotary  motion  was  a  problem  for  many  years, 
and  the  idea  that  there  was  a  great  loss  of 
momentum  in  the  constant  stopping  and 
starting  of  the  piston  at  each  end  of  the 
stroke  induced  many  mechanics  to  study 
some  method  of  obtaining  a  direct  rotary 
motion,  or,  in  other  words,  to  produce  a  ro- 
tary piston.  It  was  at  once  evident  to  the 
merest  novice  that  a  rotary  engine  would  be 
in  reality  a  rotary  pump  reversed,  and  con- 
sequently the  rotary  engines  bear  so  strong 
a  resemblance  to  the  oldest  rotary  pump  as 
to  instantly  strike  the  eye  of  any  one  who 
has  seen  the  two.  One  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful rotary  engines  of  to-day  is  that  of 
Holly,  of  Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  and  this 
is  only  a  modification  of  Murdoch's  rotary 


STATIONARY     ENGINES. 


253 


engine,  which  is,  in  turn,  a  perfect  copy  of  an 
old  pump  taken  from  Serviere's  collection. 
It  may  be  thus  described :  two  cog-wheels 
fitted  accurately  to  each  other  are  inclosed 
in  a  case ;  each  cog  is  grooved  and  fitted 
with  packing,  bringing  it  into  steam-tight 
contact  with  the  circumference  and  sides  of 
the  case.  The  axles  of  the  cog-wheels  are 
continued  through  the  sides  of  the  case,  and 
geared  together  at  each  end  to  prevent 
friction  upon  the  centre  cogs ;  now,  if  re- 
volved, each  cog  will  act  as  a  piston,  but  as 
the  cogs  in  contact  in  the  centre  lap  each 
other,  the  piston  surface  at  each  extreme  of 
the  case  will  be  just  double  that  of  the 
centre,  and  this  surplus  of  force  gives  mo- 
tion to  the  two  axles.  The  pump  of  which 
this  engine  is  a  copy  was  invented  as  long 
ago  as  the  sixteenth  century. 

A  patent  was  obtained  in  England  in  1825 
by  Mr.  J.  Eve,  an  American.  Within  a 
cylindrical  case  a  hollow  drum  was  so  con- 
structed as  to  fit  closely  to  the  case ;  floats, 
or  pistons,  were  cast  upon  its  periphery,  and 
packed  to  fit  the  cylinder ;  on  one  side  of 
the  main  cylinder  was  a  small  recess  filled 
with  a  small  drum,  that  revolved  in  contact 
with  the  main  drum,  this  small  drum  having 
a  segment  removed  to  receive  each  piston  as 
it  passed,  and  having  its  diameter  so  pro- 
portioned to  the  main  drum  as  to  revolve 
once  between  the  passage  of  each  piston  or 
float.  Other  rotary  engines,  on  a  plan  anal- 
ogous to  the  above,  differing  only  in  the 
manner  of  opening  the  valve,  have  been  in- 
vented, and  copied  from  the  ancients,  some 
of  which  are  exceedingly  complicated,  but 
they  have  always  been  unsuccessful  in  prac- 
tice, principally  from  the  fact  that  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  pack  them.  If  they 
could  overcome  this  fault  without  adding 
friction,  the  rotary  engine  would  be  very 
valuable  on  account  of  the  small  space  it 
occupies. 

The  demand  for  stationary  engines,  from 
one  horse  power  upward,  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  has  been  so  great  that  now 
almost  any  machine  shop  is  prepared  to  build 
them,  and  of  course,  while  such  is  the  case, 
thousands  of  engines  are  annually  built  that 
would  better  bear  the  name  of  steam  eaters 
than  steam  engines.  In  some  of  the  small 
engines  that  flood  the  market,  the  first 
principles  of  steam  are  practically  ignored, 
and  there  are  at  this  moment  running  in  the 
United  States  engines  that  consume  more 
coal  to  do  the  work  of  ten  horses  than  a 


properly-constructed  one  would  use  to  do 
the  work  of  twenty.  As  an  instance  of  the 
truth  of  this  statement,  we  will  take  the 
engines  built  by  Messrs.  Corliss  &  Nighten- 
gale, of  Providence,  over  an  engine  that 
was  working  to  good  advantage  in  the 
James  Mills,  Newburyport,  but  was  re- 
moved on  the  representation  of  the  build- 
ers of  the  new  machine,  that  they  would 
take  five  times  the  saving  of  the  first  year's 
fuel  as  sole  payment  of  their  engine.  The 
James  Steam  Mills  contained  17,024  spin- 
dles, and,  including  the  weaving  and  all 
the  preparations  for  making  sheeting  and 
shirtings,  required  a  hundred  and  ninety 
horse  power  ;  their  engines  were  condensers ; 
cylinders,  twenty-four  inches  by  four  feet 
length  of  stroke.  Ten  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three  pounds  of  coal  per  day 
was  the  average  amount  used  during  five 
years  previous  to  the  contract  for  the  new 
engines  ;  this  included  the  coal  used  for 
dressing,  heating,  and  all  other  purposes  for 
which  steam  is  used  in  such  an  establish- 
ment. The  new  engines  were  high-pressure 
cylinders,  eighteen  inches  by  four  feet  stroke. 
By  the  terms  of  contract  under  which  the 
change  of  engines  was  made,  it  was  at  the 
option  of  the  company  to  pay  for  the  new 
arrangement  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  cash  in  lieu  of  the  saving 
of  coal ;  but  the  choice  was  to  be  made  be- 
fore the  new  engines  were  put  in  operation. 
In  view  of  the  favorable  results  obtained  by 
the  former  engines,  they  decided  to  pay  in 
the  saving  of  fuel.  The  new  engines  were 
run  one  year  from  December  3d,  1855,  and 
the  average  amount  of  coal  used  per  day 
was  found  to  be  five  thousand  six  hundred 
and  ninety  pounds.  The  coal  being  reck- 
oned at  six  dollars  per  ton,  Messrs.  Corliss 
&  Nightengale  received  nineteen  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty -four  dollars  and 
twenty-two  cents.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  builders  received  nearly  double  price 
for  their  engine,  and  yet  it  cost  the  owners 
of  the  mill  nothing  for  a  machine  that  was 
destined  to  be  a  source  of  great  saving  in 
their  future  expenses. 

The  singular  character  of  Mr.  Corliss'  bar- 
gains attracted  much  attention  to  his  en- 
gines, as  they  showed  conclusively  the  ad- 
vantages thereof  over  the  old  plans.  The 
above  experiment  was  a  comparison  between 
his  engine  and  what  had  been  considered 
a  good  machine  ;  in  the  following,  however, 
we  see  its  great  advantages  over  a  more  or- 


254 


STEAM. 


dinary  engine.  In  March,  1852,  Mr.  Corliss 
contracted  with,  Crocker  Brothers  &  Co., 
of  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  to  furnish  them 
with  an  engine  that  would  do  the  same  work 
they  were  then  doing  with  five  tons  of  coal 
per  day,  and  yet  only  consume  two ;  agree- 
ing to  forfeit  one  dollar  per  pound,  for  every 
pound  per  day  used  above  that  amount. 
This  contract  was  successfully  filled  without 
taking  out  the  old  boilers. 

Mr.  Corliss'  engines  possessed,  as  may  be 
readily  supposed,  several  important  improve- 
ments, one  of  which  was  the  manner  by 
which  its  speed  was  regulated.  Watt 
regulated  by  connecting  the  governor  with 
the  throttle-valve ;  Corliss  used  no  throttle- 
valve,  but  connected  the  governor  direct  to 
the  cut-off.  This  connection  of  the  gover- 
nor was  not  of  itself  the  improvement  of 
Mr.  Corliss,  as  that  had  already  been  done 
by  others ;  but  it  was  the  manner  by  which 
this  connection  was  made,  which  was  at  once 
simple  and  efficacious,  for  which  he  deserves 
credit.  The  use  of  the  throttle-valve  was 
always  attended  with  a  wire-drawing  of  the 
steam.  This  wire-drawing  is.  a  reduction  of 
the  expansive  force  of  the  steam,  and  is  al- 
ways attended  with  more  or  less  condensa- 
tion; so  that  every  form  of  cut-off,  used 
with  a  throttle,  is  more  or  less  imperfect. 
By  thus  dispensing  with  the  throttle-valve 
altogether,  and  opening  the  steam-valve  sud- 
denly, the  pressure  of  steam  in  the  cylinder 
approximates  very  closely  to  the  boiler  pres- 
sure. The  valves  in  the  Corliss  engine  are 
circular;  and  by  his  automatic  method  of 
varying  the  point  of  cut-off,  he  gains  a  great 
advantage,  as  he  cuts  off  suddenly  without 
danger  of  slamming,  as  in  the  use  of  the 
puppet-valve. 

We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  to  say 
that  the  Corliss  engines  are  the  best  in  the 
market ;  they  are  among  the  best ;  and  we 
have  dwelt  thus  long  on  some  of  their  merits 
in  order  to  contrast  them  with  others. 
When  we  add  the  fact  that  one-half  of  the 
stationary  engines  in  the  United  States  are 
run  by  boys  or  men  not  capable  of  manag- 
ing a  modern  cooking-stove,  the  reader  can 
realize  to  some  extent  the  economy  of  cheap 
(?)  engines  and  cheap  (?)  engineers.  Steam 
is  a  good  slave  but  a  bad  master ;  and  the 
fearful  loss  of  life  in  the  United  States 
during  the  past  forty  years,  from  the  explo- 
sion of  steam  boilers,  is  mainly  due  to  bad 
management.  Boilers  are  in  constant  use 
all  over  the  country,  carrying  a  pressure 


double — nay,  triple — that  for  which  they 
were  intended;  the  safety  (?)  valve  weight- 
ed down  by  old  pieces  of  iron,  stones,  etc., 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  runner  no  more 
knows  what  pressure  he  is  using,  than  does 
the  stranger  who  is  passing  his  door.  In 
thousands  of  cases  the  steam-gauge,  which, 
at  least,  gives  the  pressure  when  in  order, 
is  not  used,  or  never  tested ;  and  what  was 
intended  as  a  preventive,  becomes,  by  a  stop- 
page in  the  connecting  pipe  or  a  derange- 
ment of  its  machinery,  a  source  of  treach- 
erous security.  Many  a  man,  on  being  asked 
why  he  does  not  use  a  steam-gauge,  will  re- 
ply that  they  are  not  reliable,  or  that  the 
safety-valve  is  good  enough;  and  yet  that 
same  man  is  perhaps  employing  an  engineer 
that  could  not  calculate,  to  save  his  life,  the 
amount  of  pressure  he  was  carrying,  or,  the 
size  of  his  safety-valve  being  given,  tell  its 
area  in  square  inches.  "We  can  point  out 
places  where  the  engines,  beautifully  de- 
signed and  executed  in  their  details,  are 
nothing  but  a  mass  of  slime  and  grease  from 
bed-plate  to  cylinder-head,  the  deposit  of 
no  one  knows  how  many  weeks  of  inatten- 
tion and  neglect,  while  a  stolid  runner  sits 
calmly  by,  as  though  rather  admiring  the 
state  of  things  than  otherwise.  When  such 
is  the  case  where  every  thing  is  visible,  where 
is  the  necessity  of  looking  among  the  usual- 
ly unsearched  portions  of  the  machine  for 
safety  and  economy." 

A  steam  boiler  blew  up  in  Brooklyn  a 
few  months  ago,  and  we  went  over  to  exam- 
ine it ;  we  were  told  the  engineer  had  run 
an  engine  for  some  time.  Whether  this 
was  true  or  not,  the  man  was  one  who  did 
not  understand  his  business,  as  is  sufficiently 
evident  from  the  following  reasons :  his 
pump  was  small,  but  sufficiently  large  if  in 
good  order — which  it  certainly  was  not ;  we 
took  out  the  piston  with  ease,  and  put  it  back 
again  readily,  although  it  was  entirely  cov- 
ered with  the  coarse  gravel  and  sand  thrown 
about  by  the  explosion.  The  safety-valve 
was  held  in  its  place  by  a  rod  passing  through 
a  plate ;  this  rod,  originally  a  good  fit,  was 
so  firmly  rusted  in  its  place,  that  all  the  force 
we  could  exert  on  the  end  of  the  lever  was 
not  sufficient  to  move  it.  We  unscrewed 
this  plate,  and  it  required  two  or  three  smart 
blows  of  the  hammer  to  drive  the  rod  out. 
In  our  opinion,  it  would  have  taken  not  less 
than  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  the  boiler  to 
have  started  that  valve,  allowing  that  it  had 
the  weight  upon  it  that  we  saw.  The  owner 


STATIONARY     ENGINES. 


255 


stated  that  the  valve  always  leaked  more  or 
less  ;  but  on  looking  at  it  we  were  convinced 
that  if  it  rested  upon  its  seat,  it  never  could 
have  leaked,  as  it  was  a  ground  joint  and  a 
good  one.  We  consequently  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  valve  was  not  held  in  its 
place  by  the  weight  on  the  lever,  but  simply 
by  the  rust  on  the  valve-rod  or  stem,  the 
weight  at  the  end  having  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  The  safety-valve  was  bolted  on  to  the 
steam  dome  with  four  5-8  bolts,  and  was 
evidently  blown  off  at  the  same  instant  as 
the  flue  collapsed,  as  it  was  found  in  the 
shop  near  the  engine,  while  the  boiler  was 
thrown  at  least  seventy-five  feet  against  a 
house. 

We  might  name  scores  of  other  accidents 
resulting  from  similar  causes,  of  which  the 
above  is  a  fair  sample ;  but  it  is  evident 
enough,  from  what  we  have  already  said,  that 
there  is  a  want  in  the  community  yet  un- 
filled— one  that  should  receive  the  careful 
attention  of  every  public  man.  What  we 
need  is  a  law  compelling  the  owners  of  steam 
boilers  to  have  them  inspected  at  least  once 
a  year,  and  properly  provided  with  safety- 
valves  and  other  trustworthy  appliances ;  it 
also  should  be  imperatively  their  duty  to 
employ  engineers,  and  not  mere  runners.  A 
law  framed  upon  the  United  States  steam- 
boat inspection  plan  would  be  of  incalcula- 
ble benefit  to  the  owners  themselves,  as  well 
as  the  community  at  large. 

The  gradual  introduction  of  the  station- 
ary engine  has  been  of  infinite  value  to  our 
country  as  it  is,  but  if  rendered  safe  as  it 
might  be,  its  value  would  be  increased  four- 
fold. It  is  now  no  longer  necessary  that 
the  manufacturer  should  locate  beside  a 
waterfall,  and  transport  his  manufactured 
goods  for  miles  to  a  market;  he  can  estab- 
lish himself  beside  the  railroad,  the  steam- 
boat, nay,  in  the  city  itself,  where  his  cus- 
tomers dwell.  Thus,  the  stationary  engine 
tends  to  centralize  manufactures,  while  the 
locomotive  and  steamboat  lengthen  the  arms 
of  trade. 

The  portable  engine  has  lately  come  into 
general  use,  and,  like  the  stationary,  is  made 
of  various  forms,  in  all  of  which  it  resembles 
the  latter,  with  the  exception  of  placing  the 
engine  directly  upon,  or  against  the  boiler. 
These  engines  are  used  wherever  it  is  neces- 
sary to  do  work  sufficiently  great  to  pay  for 
them,  but  not  for  permanent  business,  such 
as  pile  driving,  excavating,  etc.  Among  the 
simplest  of  this  class  of  engines,  may  be 


mentioned  Reed's  oscillator,  and  Hittinger, 
Cook  &  Co.'s.  A  portable  engine  manufac- 
tured at  the  Washington  Iron  Works,  con- 
tains all  the  safety  and  economic  appliances 
of  the  best  stationary  engines ;  a  description 
of  these  portable  engines  will  answer  for 
this  class  of  machines.  The  boiler  is  tubu- 
lar, commonly  called  a  locomotive  boiler, 
and  is  mounted  upon  two  large  wheels  at  the 
fire-box  end,  and  two  small  wheels  at  the 
smoke-box  end,  so  fitted  as  to  turn  beneath 
the  barrel.  The  steam  dome  is  over  the  fire- 
box, and  is  fitted  with  safety-valve  and  steam 
gauge.  The  cylinder  is  fastened  to  a  hollow 
frame  that  serves  as  a  feed-water  heater,  and 
is  placed  very  near  the  steam  dome,  thereby 
preventing  radiation  in  the  steam  pipe. 
Upon  the  top  of  the  steam  chest  is  placed 
the  governor.  On  the  front  of  the  boiler 
we  find  the  smoke  pipe,  and,  directly  behind 
it,  the  main  shaft  and  a  pair  of  balance 
wheels.  The  next  matter  of  interest  is  the 
arrangement  of  the  main  slide-valve  of  the 
engine,  which  is  well  known  to  cause  much 
loss  of  power,  in  the  ordinary  construction, 
by  the  friction  caused  by  the  pressure  of 
steam  on  its  back.  This  is  entirely  relieved 
by  a  very  simple  method  in  this  engine. 
The  valve,  which  is  an  ordinary  one,  has  a 
solid  protection  at  each  end,  which  rests  on 
a  roller.  These  rollers  are  made  at  first 
slightly  too  small,  but  the  grinding  away  of 
the  valve  on  its  seat  soon  causes  the  projec- 
tions to  rest  on  the  rollers,  when  all  the  slid- 
ing friction  at  once  ceases,  and  the  valve 
works  free  from  friction  except  that  caused 
by  the  stuffing-box  around  its  rod.  It  is  ev- 
ident that  this  arrangement  will  not  readily 
get  out  of  order,  for  when  the  rollers  wear, 
it  brings  the  valve  on  the  seat,  which  at  once 
begins  to  wear,  and  the  pressure  once  more 
is  brought  on  the  rollers ;  hence,  it  is  self- 
adjusting.  The  rollers  being  removed,  re- 
duces it  to  the  usual  slide-valve. 

The  force  pump  has  been  a  fruitful  source 
of  trouble  to  all  those  who  have  ever  had 
charge  of  a  small  steam  engine  having  a 
quick  motion;  indeed,  it  frequently  gives 
trouble  in  larger  engines,  from  the  accumu- 
lation of  air  in  the  chamber,  which  prevents 
its  suction.  It  is  usual  to  have  attached  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  pump,  or  valve  cham- 
ber, a  small  air-cock,  and,  when  the  pump  is 
to  start,  the  attendant  places  his  finger  on  its 
extremity  as  soon  as  the  plunger  reaches  the 
bottom  of  the  pump,  thus  expelling  the  air ; 
then,  on  the  rise  of  the  plunger,  a  vacuum  is 


256 


STEAM. 


formed,  and  the  pump  fills  with  water;  the 
cock  is  then  closed,  and  the  pump  left  to  it- 
self. As  soon,  however,  as  air  collects  from 
any  defect  of  packing,  or  otherwise,  the 
pump  ceases  to  work,  and  has  to  be  again 
started  as  before.  This  difficulty  is  entirely 
got  rid  of  by  the  simple  contrivance  of  an 
air-trap,  whose  valve,  opening  outward  at 
each  downward  stroke  of  the  pump,  allows 
the  air  to  escape,  accompanied  with  a  little 
water,  and  closes  by  the  atmospheric  pres- 
sure as  the  plunger  rises. 

Within  the  last  five  years,  the  labor  of 
loading  and  unloading  vessels  at  our  wharves 
has  been  performed  by  hoisting  engines. 
These  are  all  run  at  high  pressure,  and  do 
the  work  with  economy  and  dispatch.  One 
of  the  best  of  these  machines  is  made  at 
the  shop  of  Hittinger  &  Cook.  The  steam- 
er Matanzas  carries  one  on  board,  to  use  at 
the  other  end  of  the  route.  The  hoisting  so 
much  resembles  the  portable  engine,  as  not 
to  require  especial  explanation. 

In  most  of  the  steam  sawmills  in  the 
United  States,  the  fuel  consists  of  the  saw- 
dust made  at  the  mills,  and  thus  the  cost  of 
running  is  greatly  reduced;  in  other  en- 
gines, coal  is  almost  exclusively  used.  In 
fact,  the  enormous  amount  of  wood  con- 
sumed by  steam  engines  throughout  the 
United  States,  has  so  called  the  attention  of 
mechanics  to  coal-burning  engines,  that  it  is 
not  probable  we  shall  use  wood  as  fuel 
many  years  longer.  One  of  the  greatest 
fields  for  economy  in  the  use  of  steam,  now 
open,  is  the  waste  of  combustible  gases  by 
the  chimney,  commonly  spoken  of  under  the 
term  smoke,  but  often  consisting  of  the  best 
part  of  the  fuel,  unconsumed  from  the  lack  of 
oxygen,  and,  in  some  cases,  lack  of  caloric. 
Tubes,  to  conduct  atmospheric  air  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  fire,  have  been  in  use  some  time, 
also  the  perforation  of  the  fire  door ;  but 
the  tubes  being  exposed  to  an  intense  heat, 
soon  become  of  no  value,  and  the  openings 
at  the  door  and  sides  of  the  fire-box  only 
partially  supply  the  oxygen.  A  Mr.  Pierce, 
of  Troy,  has  patented  a  plan  for  surrounding 
the  air  tubes  with  water,  thus  protecting  a 
passage  direct  to  the  middle  of  the  fire ;  we 
have  not  seen  this  plan  tried,  but  think  it 
would  be  a  source  of  economy. 

Stationary  engines  being  the  most  plenty, 
it  is  upon  them  that  are  tried  nearly  all  the 
new  experiments.  At  the  present  time,  the 
use  of  super-heated  steam  is  attracting  a 
great  deal  of  attention.  In  order  to  under- 


stand this  subject,  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  look  closely  into  the  nature  of  steam 
itself.  It  would  defeat  the  purpose  of  this 
article  if  we  were  to  go  into  a  lengthy  argu- 
ment upon  the  relative  merits  of  the  various 
theories  that  have  been  advanced  by  scien- 
tific men  upon  steam,  and,  consequently,  we 
shall  merely  give  our  own  opinions  upon  the 
subject — opinions  at  which  we  have  arrived 
by  careful  study  and  experience,  it  being 
understood  that  the  laws  of  steam  are  at 
best  comparatively  unknown.  The  analyza- 
tion  of  simple  steam  is  yet  to  be  made  ;  we 
will,  however,  call  it  water  converted  into 
an  aeriform  state  by  the  electrization  of  its 
particles  by  caloric.  Simple  steam  does  not-, 
however,  in  the  present  construction  of  boil- 
ers, come  into  use  as  a  motor,  from  the  follow- 
ing reason :  steam  has  the  same  affinity  for 
liquids  that  all  fluids  have,  forming  an  elec- 
tro-magnetic combination  to  which  there  is 
no  barrier ;  it  will  then  absorb  and  hold  in 
suspension  particles  of  water  whenever  in 
direct  contact  therewith,  and,  consequently, 
all  steam  formed  in  the  boiler  will  hold  in 
suspension  a  portion  of  water,  and  become, 
in  lieu  of  simple,  surcharged  steam.  Thus, 
steam  at  20  Ibs.  to  the  square  inch  holds 
in  suspension  nearly  double  its  weight  of 
water.  What  is  the  effect  of  this  ?  First, 
the  water  thus  carried  off  in  suspension  is 
at  the  maximum,  temperature,  or  equal  to 
that  of  the  steam  containing  it,  and  the  in- 
vested heat  of  this  water  is  not  only  wasted 
to  a  great  extent,  but  these  water  particles 
become  a  very  serious  tax  upon  the  real 
steam  with  which  they  are  admixed,  as  fol- 
lows :  having  been  heated  under  the  maxi- 
mum pressure  of  the  steam  with  which  they 
are  incorporated,  they  have  a  corresponding 
temperature,  and  as  the  latter,  the  steam, 
expands  in  the  steam  pipes,  on  its  way  to 
the  cylinder,  and  in  the  cylinder  itself,  the 
pressure  becoming  correspondingly  less, 
these  particles  flash  partially  into  steam,  but 
not  containing  the  total  amount  of  heat  neces- 
sary to  their  constitution  as  elastic  vapor,  they 
absorb  into  the  "latent"  form  a  quota  of 
heat  from  the  surrounding  particles  of  true 
steam,  thus  condensing  them ;  for  steam,  be 
it  remembered,  can  part  with  no  portion  of 
its  legitimate  heat  without  condensation 
(unless  it  be  super-heat,  of  which  presently), 
it  being  understood  that  the  absorption  of 
sensible  heat  (temperature)  into  the  "  latent" 
form,  and  which  is  the  exact  measure  of  the 
force  exerted  by  steam  under  all  circum- 


STATIONARY    ENGINES. 


257 


stances,  whether  usefully  realized  or  not,  is 
not  here  meant  as  a  loss  of  heat.  That 
there  is  a  loss  by  direct  condensation  because 
of  the  presence  and  action  of  these  water 
particles  as  explained,  may  seem  to  some  at 
the  first  glance  a  paradox,  but  there  is  in  the 
case  of  steam,  and  between  the  particles  of 
all  matter,  a  certain  impetus  and  momentum 
in  the  transference  of  that  unknown  some- 
thing, which  is  their  " vis  viva"  or  cause  of 
elasticity.  The  electrician  knows  this  well ; 
vide  the  "lateral  discharge"  and  return  stroke. 
Again,  for  more  common  place  example, 
fasten  by  one  extremity  a  straight  spring,  bend 
it,  release  it,  it  flies  back,  not  to  its  original 
position  of  rest  or  neutral  point,  but  far 
beyond,  though  finally  it  will  settle  there. 
And  so  it  might  be  held  that  the  particles 
of  steam  would  make  "  reprisal,"  so  to  speak, 
of  the  heat  stolen  by  the  particles  of  water 
flashing  into  steam,  as  set  forth ;  and  so  they 
do,  but  meantime  the  piston  is  moving  on, 
and  this  heat,  the  source  of  the  elastic  force 
of  the  steam,  cannot,  it  will  be  evident,  be 
acting  efficiently  in  two  or  more  directions 
at  the  same  time ;  but  this  is  not  all,  the 
more  watery  particles  in  the  steam,  the  more 
heat  wasted  by  conduction  to,  and  radiation 
from,  the  steam  pipes,  cylinders,  etc. 

Water  is  classed  as  a  non-conductor  of 
heat  to  a  high  degree,  but  it  is  a  medium 
radiator,  and  it  vastly  exceeds  steam  and 
other  aeriform  fluids  in  both  these  respects. 
This,  to  a  great  extent,  accounts  for  the  sud- 
den falling  off  of  power  during  "  priming," 
so  well  known.  But  there  is  still  another, 
as  it  were,  negative  loss  due  to  this  water 
carried  off  in  the  steam,  because,  by  its 
minute  subdivision,  it  exposes  an  immense 
surface  to  heat,  particularly  radiated  heat, 
that  might  be  brought  to  act  upon  it, 
and  thus  quickly  transform  it  into  perfect 
steam,  much  augmenting  the  volume  of  the 
whole,  and  being  generated  at  less  cost  than 
the  first  portion  which  held  it  in  suspension  ; 
and  it  is  through  the  avoidance  of  the  evils 
before  mentioned  as  due  to  these  water 
particles,  and  the  gain  produced  by  their 
conversion  into  elastic  steam,  that  so  much 
economy  is  found  in  the  use  of  super-heated 
steam,  which  is  steam  that  has  received  an 
excess  of  heat  (temperature)  beyond  that 
normally  due  to  its  pressure  when  in  direct 
contact  with  the  water  from  whence  it  em- 
anated. The  system,  however,  is  fallacious, 
because  pure  steam,  and  all  other  known 
aeriform  fluids,  expand  only  about  l-540th 

16 


part  of  their  volume,  at  the  ordinary  atmos- 
pheric temperature,  for  each  degree  of  Fah. 
additional  forced  upon  them.  Pure  steam 
thus,  say  at  twenty  pounds  to  the  square 
inch,  would  require  to  be  elevated  to  a  tem- 
perature of  about  eight  hundred  Fahrenheit 
to  double  its  volume  if  under  a  constant 
pressure,  or  to  double  its  pressure  if  under  a 
constant  volume  (the  quantity  of  heat  being, 
however,  very  different  in  the  two  cases) ; 
whereas  the  mere  added  temperature  in  this 
case  would  correspond  to  that  of  simple 
steam  at  a  pressure  of  about  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  not  to 
mention  that  such,  and  far  less  temperatures, 
would  destroy  all  packings,  prevent  lubrica- 
tion, cause  "  cutting,"  warp  valves,  etc. 
There  are  other  practical  defects.  Although 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  super-heating  the 
steam  to  any  desired  extent  according  to  the 
size  of  the  super-heating  vessel  and  the  part 
of  the  smoke  or  fire  space  in  which  it  may 
be  located,  yet  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  im- 
practicable, to  maintain  a  proper  average  un- 
der the  influence  of  fluctuating  fires — at  one 
time  in  full  glow,  at  another  freshly  trimmed, 
and  an  uneven  draft,  damp  or  dry,  weak  or 
strong ;  the  engine  at  one  time  under  full 
motion,  and  a  rapid  flow  of  steam  passing 
through  the  super-heater,  and  at  another 
time  the  engine  stopped,  and  there  being 
little  or  no  flow  of  moist  steam  through  it 
to  protect  it  from  being  overheated  and 
"burnt  out,"  or  rendered  brittle  and  insecure. 
Hence,  if  super-heating  be  attempted  at  all, 
it  should  be  to  the  minimum  degree,  and 
not  with  the  expectation  of  an  important 
access  of  power  that  no  degree  will  afford, 
but  only  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  supply 
radiation  from  the  various  parts  of  the  en- 
gine, etc.,  during  the  travel  and  action  of 
the  steam,  thus  preventing  its  condensation, 
which,  to  a  given  extent,  involves  not  only 
that  much  immediate  loss,  but  the  more  im- 
portant coactive  evils  due  to  the  presence 
of  watery  particles.  The  great  and  main 
object,  then,  is  accomplished  by  the  produc- 
tion and  use  of  simple  (dry)  steam  ;  any 
modicum  of  water  present  possessing  but 
the  negative  advantage  of  supplying  lubrica- 
tion, and  any  "  super"  heat,  that  of  supplying 
radiation. 

We  have  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the 
laws  of  steam,  but  at  best  we  can  do  but 
little  justice  to  the  subject,  and,  as  we  have 
already  said,  this  article  is  intended  mainly 
as  a  statement  of  the  effects  rather  than  the 


258 


STEAM. 


causes,  still  we  could  not  refrain  from  touch- 
ing upon  a  subject  that  has  already  and  is 
destined  still  to  attract  so  much  attention  as 
this. 

We  cannot  leave  this  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject without  alluding  to  the  new  pumping 
engine  lately  erected  at  the  Brooklyn  Water 
Works.  The  impression  is  still  generally 
prevalent  that  gravitation  supplies  of  water 
for  cities  are  cheaper  and  better  in  all  cases 
where  it  is  even  possible  to  have  them.  It 
is  plain,  however,  from  numerous  results 
throughout  Europe  and  America,  that  the 
annual  cost  represented  by  the  interest  on 
the  capital  expended  for  gravitation  supplies, 
except  in  special  instances,  far  exceeds  the 
annual  cost  of  interest  and  maintenance  in- 
curred by  properly  arranged  steam  supplies, 
and  that  the  quality  of  the  water  obtained  is 
generally  superior.  In  this  respect,  the 
contrast  between  New  York  and  Brooklyn, 
which  cannot  be  detailed  here,  is  conclusive. 
This  engine  was  built  at  Hartford,  Conn., 
by  Messrs.  Woodruff  <fe  Beach,  R.  W. 
Hamilton,  Esq.,  being  their  superintending 
engineer.  It  is  a  double-acting  Cornish  en- 
gine, with  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  single- 
acting  English  engine,  very  much  modified 
and  improved.  It  has  three  return  drop- 
flue  boilers,  thirty  feet  long,  eight  feet  diam- 
eter, using  about  fifteen  tons  of  coal  per 
day.  The  engine  has  a  cylinder  of  ninety 
inches  bore  and  ten  feet  stroke,  working  a 
lifting  pump  at  each  end  of  the  beam,  of 
thirty-six  inches  bore  and  ten  feet  stroke. 
The  lower  pump  under  the  cylinder  works 
through  it,  and  each  is  provided  with  an 
annular  barrel,  fifty-four  inches  diameter,  with 
double-beat  covers.  The  working  buckets 
have  double-beat  valves.  In  smoothness  of 
action,  light  friction,  and  pumping  power, 
this  engine  takes  the  first  rank  among  the 
pumping  machinery  of  the  world.  It  is 
more  powerful  by  sixteen  per  cent,  than  the 
celebrated  Leeghwater  engine  at  work  in  the 
Harlem  Meer.  This  result  is  highly  credit- 
able to  Messrs.  McElroy  &  Wright,  under 
whose  careful  study  and  mechanical  skill  its 
several  improvements  were  jointly  devel- 
oped. 

The  contract  required  the  engine  to  lift 
six  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  water,  one 
foot  with  one  pound  of  coal,  with  a  delivery 
of  ten  million  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours ; 
and  to  be  further  capable  of  delivering  ten 
million  gallons  in  sixteen  hours.  But  this 
engine  has  done  even  better  than  this — 


14,500,000  gallons  being  its  ordinary  work. 
Although  the  most  powerful,  this  engine  is 
not  the  largest  in  the  world,  the  .Leeghwater 
engine  bearing  the  palm  in  that  respect.  The 
Cornish  engines,  of  which  this  is  in  most  re- 
spects a  type,  are  generally  favorites  among 
engineers.  This  system  rejects  the  use  of 
cranks  and  fly-wheels,  gearing,  or  any  other 
absorbents  of  power,  and  independent  reg- 
ulators of  action — three  essential  elements 
of  economy.  The  abundant  records  on  file 
of  the  actual  results  in  practice,  go  to  show 
conclusively,  that  in  the  facility  for  carrying 
high  steam,  for  great  expansion,  and  in 
lightness  of  friction,  the  Cornish  engines 
have  the  precedence  of  all  others.  No  en- 
gines carry  higher  boiler  pressure  in  pump- 
ing— a  feature  in  itself  of  vital  importance 
to  economy;  no  engines  habitually  work 
under  greater  expansion ;  and  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  improve  on  their  simplicity  of  motion 
in  the  working  parts.  These  are  three  con- 
clusive distinctions ;  and  the  results  obtained 
in  the  Brooklyn  engine,  which  belongs  to 
this  school,  are  remarkable.  Here  is  the 
most  powerful  pumping  engine  on  the  globe, 
with  a  frictional  loss  between  the  cylinder 
and  pumps  of  only  seven  and  a  half  per  cent. 
Here  is  an  engine  Avhich  has  doubled  its 
boiler  pressure  by  the  simple  addition  of  a 
few  tons  of  counter-weight  to  its  inertia,  in- 
creasing its  duty  thirty-three  per  cent.,  and 
which  only  requires  a  greater  addition  of 
weight  to  carry  its  steam  gauge,  its  expan- 
sion, and  its  duty,  to  the  highest  range  of 
the  European  school. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  results  ob- 
tained with  this  engine  on  so  magnificent  a 
scale,  have  a  very  important  bearing  on  two 
prominent  engineering  questions.  First,  in 
demonstrating  the  economy  and  value  of  a 
steam  pumping  supply ;  and  second,  in  sus- 
taining the  Cornish  school  of  practice  in  the 
construction  of  pumping  engines.  And  more 
than  this,  the  Brooklyn  pumping  engine  has 
demonstrated  that,  however  good  the  origi- 
nal Cornish  engines  may  be,  American  me- 
chanics can  produce  as  good,  if  not  better, 
at  home. 


CHAPTER  V. 

STEAM  PUMPS. 


THE  great  desideratum  in  a  machine  for 
extinguishing  fires,  is  the  rapidity  with  which 


STEAM    PUMPS. 


259 


it  can  be  set  to  work,  and  next  to  this  the 
quantity  of  water  it  will  throw  to  a  given 
height  or  distance.  The  machines  that  best 
filled  these  conditions  were  doubtless  the 
American  hand  fire  engines;  but  steam  has 
now  turned  fireman,  and  in  the  contest 
between  his  iron  arms  and  human  muscle, 
we  can  readily  determine  the  result.  At 
first,  time  was  the  all-important  item ;  all 
were  ready  to  acknowledge  that  after  the  fire 
had  attained  full  headway ,the  untiring  efforts 
of  steam  were  all-powerful,  but  as  the  major- 
ity of  our  fires  were  nipped  in  the  bud  by 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  hand  engines 
were  brought  to  bear,  it  was  not  believed 
that  steam  would  ever  become  economical, 
and  rarely  efficacious.  An  engine  was  con- 
structed for  the  insurance  companies  of 
New  York  some  twenty  years  since,  but 
abandoned  as  too  expensive ;  it  was  located 
in  a  house  containing  a  boiler, wherein  steam 
was  constantly  kept  up  at  a  low  pressure, 
and  so  arranged  as  to  discharge  its  water 
into  the  engine  on  an  alarm  of  fire  being 
given ;  beneath  the  boiler  of  the  engine,  sha- 
vings and  light  fuel  were  kept  constantly 
laid,  so  that  by  the  time  the  machine  reached 
the  fire  it  would  have  steam  up  and  be  ready 
for  use.  This  was  planned  by  Ericsson,  who 
also  planned  the  Braithwaites  engine,  used 
in  England.  The  latter  had  two  cylinders 
of  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  one  for 
steam  and  the  other  as  a  pump ;  they  were 
placed  horizontally.  This  engine  would  de- 
liver nine  thousand  gallons  of  water  per 
hour  to  the  height  of  ninety  feet.  The  time 
consumed  in  getting  to  work  from  cold  water 
was  eighteen  minutes.  An  engine  built  for 
the  Prussian  government  in  1832  had  two 
steam  cylinders  of  twelve  inches  in  diameter, 
with  fourteen  inch  stroke,  and  two  pumping 
cylinders  of  ten  inches  diameter.  With  a 
steam  pressure  of  seventy  pounds  per  square 
inch,  this  engine  threw  an  inch  and  one 
quarter  stream  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
perpendicular ;  and  an  average  duty  was 
called  ninety  tons  per  hour.  She  consumed 
three  bushels  of  coke  per  hour. 

Such  were  the  first  steam  fire  engines. 
Experiments  were  frequently  tried  in  the 
United  States,  but  the  whole  subject  re- 
mained in  doubt  until  the  year-  1852,  when 
the  first  public  trial  was  made  in  Cincinnati. 
A  steam  generator,  or  boiler,  which  had  been 
made  for  the  purpose,was  placed  in  connection 
with  a  steam  cylinder  and  the  puinp  of  a  fire  en- 
gine belonging  to  the  city,  the  whole  mounted 


on  suitable  wheels  and  frame.  A  committee  of 
the  city  council  witnessed  the  experiment. 
From  their  report  it  appears  that  steam  was 
raised  from  cold  water,  the  engine  started, 
and  water  discharged  from  the  nozzle  to  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet, 
through  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  hose, 
in  four  minutes  and  ten  seconds  from  the 
time  that  smoke  was  seen  to  issue  from  the 
chimney.  The  demonstration  was  convinc- 
ing, and  did  convince.  The  city  council 
contracted  for  a  steam  engine  to  be  built  on 
the  same  plan,  and  this  engine,  when  com- 
pleted, was  placed  in  service  under  the 
charge  of  a  company  organized  and  put  un- 
der pay  by  the  city.  Thus  the  first  paid  fire 
company,  to  operate  with  the  untiring  energy 
of  steam,  was  brought  into  existence — the 
first  of  the  kind  in  any  age  or  country. 
Steam,  whose  resistless  power  had  been  so 
extensively  used  in  the  fabrication,  develop- 
ment, and  transportation  of  property,  was  at 
last  compelled  to  aid  in  its  preservation  from 
fire.  Its  superiority  over  muscular  power, 
acknowledged  for  other  purposes  so  numer- 
ous, was  to  be  asserted  against  conflagration ; 
and  a  city  not  a  century  old,  west  of  the 
Alleghanies,  attracts  the  applause  of  intelli- 
gent men  everywhere,  and  the  pride  of 
western  men,  as  the  scene  of  this  achieve- 
ment. 

After  this  successful  experiment  and  the 
organization  of  the  paid  department,  Miles 
Greenwood  was  appointed  chief  engineer, 
and  it  is  to  his  energy  and  perseverance  that 
we  owe  the  success  of  the  steam  fire  engine. 
These  steamers  were  constructed  by  Messrs. 
A.  &  B.  Latta ;  the  first  in  service  was  called 
the  "  Uncle  Joe  Ross."  The  circulation  in 
the  boiler  is  kept  up  by  pumping,  and  thus 
steam  is  generated  in  a  very  short  space  of 
time;  it  is  not,  however,  unattended  with 
danger.  After  the  success  of  Latta's  en- 
gines, several  manufacturers  went  into  the 
business.  Reaney  &  Neafy,  of  Philadelphia ; 
Lee  &  Larned,  of  New  York;  Silsby  & 
Mynderse,  of  Seneca  Falls  ;  the  Amoskeag 
Manufacturing  Company ;  the  Boston  Loco- 
motive Works,  and  several  others.  Reaney  & 
Neafy  used  what  is  commonly  called  the 
locomotive  boiler ;  their  engines  gave  good 
satisfaction,  and  at  a  trial  in  Boston,  in  1858, 
they  received  the  prize  over  three  competi- 
tors. Of  the  Lee  &  Larned  self-propeller 
we  have  already  spoken  (J.  C.  Gary  and 
J.  G.  Storm) ;  they,  however,  build  a  light 
hand  engine,  and  have  heretofore  furnished 


260 


STEAM. 


all  the  steamers  for  New  York  city.  Their 
boiler  is  of  the  upright  annular  form,  Gary's 
patent,  and  their  pump  is  rotary,  patented  by 
the  same  man. 

The  Amoskeag  steam  fire  engine  has  some 
peculiar  features,  among  which  maybe  named 
the  vertical  cylinders  and  pumps,  by  the  use 
of  which  they  avoid  to  a  certain  extent  the 
shaking  that  is  so  objectionable  in  some  of 
the  other  machines ;  also  the  arrangement  of 
their  gauge  cocks  so  as  to  cover  the  whole 
side  of  the  boiler  and  show  at  once  the 
height  of  the  water,  which  is  used  in  this 
boiler  at  a  very  low  point  in  commencing, 
thereby  enabling  them  to  get  up  steam  very 
rapidly.  At  a  trial  in  New  York  in  Septem- 
ber, 1860,  they  obtained  a  working  pressure 
from  water  at  90°  Fahrenheit  in  three  and 
one-half  minutes.  These  machines  have 
thrown  a  one  and  three-quarter  inch  stream 
two  hundred  and  twenty -five  feet  high.  They 
weigh  about  six  thousand  pounds,  and  are 
intended  to  be  drawn  by  horses.  The  Selsby 
&  Mynderse  engines  are  entirely  different 
from  any  other  in  their  construction  and 
operation;  the  engine  and  pump  are  both 
rotary,  and  are  built  after  Holly's  patent; 
we  have  already  spoken  of  this  engine  under 
the  head  of  Stationaries.  The  weight  of 
these  machines  is  as  follows :  to  be  drawn 
by  men — four  thousand  five  hundred  pounds 
light;  five  thousand  one  hundred  pounds  with 
fuel,  water,  suction  hose  etc.,  all  ready  for  ser- 
vice ;  this  size  is  warranted  to  force  a  one  and 
one-eighth  inch  stream  two  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five feet,  or  two,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet,  with  a  steam  pressure  of  from  forty  to 
sixty  pounds.  To  be  drawn  by  horses — five 
thousand  six  hundred  pounds  light ;  six  thou- 
sand three  hundred  ready  for  service ;  forces 
a  one  and  one  half  inch  stream  two  hundred 
and  twenty  feet,  or  two  one  inch  streams  the 
same  distance.  These  machines  will  get  to 
work  in  from  four  to  six  minutes.  The  best 
work  ever  done  by  this  style  engine  was  in 
Providence,  R.  L,  where  an  engine  weighing 
six  thousand  two  hundred  pounds,  threw  a 
one  and  a  quarter  inch  stream  two  hundred 
and  fifty-five  feet  horizontal.  One  great 
advantage  of  the  Holly  pump  is  that  it  runs 
steadily,  no  chocking  being  required  to  keep 
the  engine  in  place  while  on  duty,  as  is  the 
case  with  all  engines  having  reciprocating 
pumps. 

Other  steam  fire  engines,  for  the  use  of 
factories  and  large  buildings,  not  intended 
to  be  transported,  have  been  in  existence 


for  a  greater  length  of  time  ;  these  machines 
are  also  used  as  auxiliary  pumps  for  supply- 
ing Avater  to  the  boilers  of  larger  engines, 
and  are  generally  called  "  doctors,"  or 
"  donkeys."  Among  the  best  of  these 
are  Worthington's  and  Woodward's  steam 
pumps.  The  importance  of  an  auxiliary 
pump,  in  all  cases,  cannot  be  too  much 
dwelt  upon.  If  the  pump  be  attached  to 
the  main  engine,  it  is  evident  tliat  on  the 
lack  of  water  in  the  boiler,  the  main  engine 
must  be  started.  This  is  not  always  possi- 
ble. A  sudden  break  down  in  a  mill 
would  necessitate  the  uncoupling  of  the 
shafting  before  the  boiler  could  be  fed.  The 
lack  of  water  at  a  station  when  waiting  for 
a  train,  obliges  the  engineer  to  run  back  and 
forth  upon  the  road  ;  and  if  a  boat  stops  at 
a  wharf,  or  is  enveloped  in  a  fog,  the  power 
that  works  the  pump  ceases  with  the  engine. 
But  how  is  it  when  the  engine  itself  breaks 
down,  or  the  locomotive  is  embedded  in  a 
snow  bank,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  ?  Why, 
the  engineer  must  draw  his  fires  to  avoid 
ruining  his  boiler.  Bearing  these  facts  in 
mind,  the  advantages  of  an  extra  steam 
pump  are  obvious. 

The  Worthington  pump  is  exceedingly 
simple  in  its  construction ;  as  the  reciprocating 
motion  in  the  steam  and  water  cylinder  is 
the  exact  motion  required,  the  cross-head, 
slides,  and  balance  wheel  are  dispensed  with 
as  useless.  In  the  Woodward,  however, 
the  connecting-rod,  crank,  and  wheel  are 
retained  to  give  motion  to  the  valve,  Avhich 
in  Worthington's  pump  is  moved  by  an  arm 
attached  to  the  piston  rod.  Both  of  these 
pumps  are  favorites,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
judge  which  is  best.  The  importance  of 
these  steam  pumps  as  auxiliaries  is  not,  how- 
ever, their  only  advantage.  On  board  of 
our  steamboats,  such  pumps  as  are  provided 
in  case  of  fire  are  often  rendered  of  no  avail 
by  the  necessity  that  exists  of  stopping  the 
progress  of  the  boat  in  order  to  check  the 
current  of  air,  which  otherwise  would  in- 
crease the  flames.  And  let  a  fire  engine  be 
kept  on  board  for  the  single  purpose  of  ex- 
tinguishing fires  if  they  happen — does  not 
our  common  experience  teach  us  that  in  so 
imminent  a  danger,  when  all  are  seeking 
personal  safety,  and  unwilling  to  await  the 
issue  of  a  doubtful  effort  for  the  general 
preservation,  such  a  machine  will  be  found  :i 
very  questionable  dependence  ?  Will  they 
not  be  difficult  of  access  at  the  moment,  or 
out  of  order,  from  rust  or  disuse,  when  most 


CALOBIO  ENGINE  rEOM  THE  WAREHOUSE  OP  0.  V.  MJLPBS,  N.  T. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


263 


needed  ?  And  does  the  confusion,  which  is 
always  attendant  upon  such  an  occasion,  al- 
low of  reasonable  hope  that  they  will  be 
found  and  repaired  in  time  to  be  of  use  ? 

These  are  questions  which  can,  perhaps, 
be  be'st  answered  by  those  who  have  wit- 
nessed the  scene  of  a  steamboat  on  fire. 
But  with  the  "  donkey"  engine,  the  case  is 
quite  different ;  being  constantly  in  use,  it  is 
always  in  order,  and  in  case  of  fire  it  can  at 
ouce  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  flames ;  it 
is  also  always  at  hand  in  case  of  a  leak  that 
overpowers  all  other  available  pumps ;  and,  in 
fact,  its  advantages'  are  so  great  that  no  boat, 
locomotive,  or  stationary  engine  should  ever 
be  run  without  one.  For  large  pumping 
operations,  also,  it  is  believed  that  the 
Worthington  pump  has  many  advantages. 
The  power  is  direct,  all  the  motions  are 
rectilinear,  the  friction  is  not  great,  nor  is  the 
wear  excessive.  A  steam  and  a  pump  cylin- 
der attached  to  one  frame,  with  two  pistons, 
two  valves,  and  two  rods,  comprise  the  whole 
machine.  The  economy  of  the  donkey 
engines  is  obvious  where  steam  is  only  em- 
ployed for  boiling,  or  for  warming  buildings, 
and  where  the  large  and  costly  engines  usu- 
ally provided  in  such  cases,  are  used  solely 
for  driving  a  pump  to  supply  the  boiler. 
The  steam  used  to  drive  it,  whether  of  high 
or  low  pressure,  is,  of  course,  just  adequate 
to  the  required  work  of  fo/cing  water  into 
the  boiler  against  the  same  pressure. 

The  Worthington  pumps  are  made  of  a 
great  variety  of  s.izes,  from  the  miniature 
ones  used  as  feeders  on  the  Lee  &  Lamed 
fire  engines,  up  to  the  huge  pumping  engines 
for  water  works.  The  only  fault  we  have 
ever  heard  found  with  them  is  the  trouble  of 
starting;  this  cannot,  however,  be  very  great, 
inasmuch  as  a  pump,  to  be  efficacious  as  a 
feeder  for  a  fire  engine,  must  be  readily 
started  or  it  would  be  almost  valueless.  The 
Woodward  pump  has  much  more  brass 
used  in  its  construction  than  any  other,  and 
is  therefore  not  so  liable  to  rust.  The  Holly 
pump  has  been  constructed  as  an  auxiliary 
engine,  and,  in  fact,  on  some  of  their  larger 
machines  a  small  one  is  used  as  a  feeder ;  it 
occupies  but  very  little  space,  and  is  well 
spoken  of  by  those  who  have  used  it.  A 
pumping  engine  manufactured  by  Messrs. 
Carpenter  &  Plass,  of  New  York,  has  been 
lately  introduced,  and  has  the  advantage 
over  the  Worthington  of  starting  at  once  on 
opening  the  throttle  ;  it  being  fully  as  simple. 
Other  pumps  of  this  class  are  manufactured 


all  over  the  country,  but  none  are  so  well 
known  as  the  ones  we  have  named.  On 
some  of  the  western  steamboats  they  use 
small  engines  of  the  ordinary  construction 
attached  to  the  common  force  pump,  but  in 
no  case  are  they  so  compact,  easy  of  repair, 
or  durable  as  the  above-named  steam  pumps. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

IN  the  former  chapters  we  have  set  forth 
the  various  forms  in  which  the  adaptation 
of  steam  is  most  familiar  to  the  community  ; 
in  all  of  which  steam  was  used  as  a  motor 
only  ;  and  before  dismissing  this  portion  of 
the  labor  of  steam,  we  will  allude  briefly  to 
some  other  machines,  destined,  perhaps,  to 
effect  as  great  a  revolution  in  other  branches 
of  industry,  as  the  locomotive  and  steam- 
boat have  in  transportation,  and  the  sta- 
tionary in  manufactures.  Agriculture — that 
wide  extended  base,  upon  which  we  have 
built  up  this  great  fabric  of  commerce, 
manufacture,  and  trade — has  been  the  last  to 
experience  a  direct  benefit  from  steam. 
The  farmer  is  pre-eminently  conservative,  to 
which  the  monotonous  routine  of  his  business 
predisposes  him  ;  but  the  course  of  the  giant 
worker,  steam,  is  irresistible,  aad  he,  too,  at 
last'  accepts  its  aid.  For  some  time  past  the 
portable  engine  has  been  introduced  to  as- 
sist the  farmer  in  the  laborious  duties  of  his 
calling,  and  soon  will  the  iron  horse  be 
chained  to  the  plough,  swing  the  gleaming 
scythe,  SOAV,  reap,  thresh,  and  winnow,  while 
the  husbandman  will  guide  and  direct  the 
iron  arms  which  do  his  bidding  uncom- 
plainingly. Already  has  the  shriek  of  our 
new  friend  been  heard  upon  the  western 
prairie  field,  and  the  smooth-turned  furrow 
attested  his  strength,  but  as  yet  he  takes 
not  kindly  to  his  new-found  toil,  and  the 
brains  of  a  score  of  inventors  are  at  work  to 
teach  him  this  new  duty.  "  God  speed  the 
(steam)  plough,"  say  we. 

But  this  great  problem,  the  education  of 
steam  to  its  new  duty,  presents  many  diffi- 
culties. There  are  three  kinds  of  engines — 
the  locomotive,  the  portable,  and  the  sta- 
tionary— capable  of  being  employed  in  steam 
cultivation ;  and  there  may,  consequently, 
be  three  kinds  of  steam  cultivators  invented, 
each  characterized,  in  its  general  features, 
by  the  kind  of  engine  employed;  though 


264 


under  each  class  there  may  be  many  modi- 
fications of  parts,  rendering  the  members  of 
the  same  class  as  widely  different  as  those 
of  different  classes.  These  varieties  would 
be  determined  by  the  structure,  form,  or 
size  of  the  engine  itself;  by  the  mode  of 
conveying  the  power  to  the  tools  or  imple- 
ments with  which  it  works ;  and  by  the  na- 
ture of  the  tools  or  implements  it  uses. 
First,  then,  the  locomotive  steam  plough ;  this 
may  be  employed  to  draw  a  gang  of  ploughs 
after  it,  or  by  a  series  of  knives,  cutters,  or 
some  form  of  cultivator,  turn  up  the  ground 
as  it  passes.  The  moving  of  this  great  mass, 
however,  consumes  much  of  the  power,  and 
the  difficulty  presented  by  steep  grades  is 
very  great.  The  mere  sinking  of  the  wheels 
may  be  obviated,  as  it  is  in  the  Fawkes 
engine,  by  broad  wheels,  but  even  these 
sometimes  slip.  In  Boydell's  engines  the 
machine  lays  and  takes  up  alternately  a  suc- 
cession of  rails,  upon  which  to  roll.  Hacket 
proposed  to  lay  a  temporary  rail,  but  found 
it  very  expensive.  The  use  of  legs,  or 
pushers,  has  also  been  tried  in  England,  but 
was  not  successful. 

The  portable  engine  has  been  used  in 
several  ways.  As  a  cultivator  it  was  mount- 
ed upon  a  wagon  drawn  by  horses.  As  a 
plough  it  has  been  placed  by  the  side  of  the 
field,  working  a  gang  of  ploughs  by  chains 
and  cables ;  and  after  finishing  one  field, 
easily  transported  to  another ;  this  was  called 
in  England  the  Wolston  system,  but  is  at 
best  very  slow.  The  portable  engine  has 
also  been  used  with  anchors,  and  to  warp, 
or  draw  itself  along  by  stretched  ropes. 
Each  of  the  above  methods  of  employing 
steam  has  its  peculiar  difficulties*  and  de- 
fects. In  the  first  one,  two  horses  would  be 
required  to  draw  an  engine  of  the  lightest 
construction  over  safe  ground,  and  up  and 
down  hill;  and  the  advantage  of  the  ma- 
chine over  animal  power  alone,  would  be 
only  the  difference  between  its  work  and 
what  the  team  would  do  without  it.  The 
inventor,  however,  calculates  that  with  an 
engine  of  two  horse  power,  and  of  suitable 
construction,  working  a  revolving  axle,  carry- 
ing tires  armed  with  a  kind  of  short  spade 
toward  their  points,  he  can  do  the  work  of 
twelve  horses,  giving  the  work  of  ten  horses 
and  their  attendants  for  the  cost  of  feed  and 
repairs,  pay  of  attendants,  interest  of  capital, 
etc.  In  the  Wolston  method  the  mode  of 
transferring  the  power  is  indirect,  the  ap- 
paratus is  complex  and  clumsy,  and  its  suc- 


cess, thus  far,  has  been  but  small.  In  the 
third  plan,  or  that  of  the  warping  engine, 
the  inventor  asserts  that  he  requires  an  en- 
gine of  less  than  one-half  the  Aveight,  power, 
or  cost  of  any  locomotive;  that  he  avoids 
all  indirect  strain  upon  his  cable,  by  getting 
the  engine  to  warp  itself  from  one  side  of 
the  field  to  the  other,  by  means  of  a  single 
rope  passing  a  couple  of  times  round  a 
drum  ;  that  the  anchor  at  either  side  can  be 
removed  and  passed  forward  six  or  eight 
feet,  by  one  man,  while  the  engine  is  trav- 
elling across  the  field ;  that,  when  using 
rotary  cultivators,  he  has  but  little  strain 
upon  his  cable ;  and,  .lastly,  that  when  he  is 
drawing  ploughs,  etc.,  he  has  the  whole  trac- 
tion power  of  his  cable  to  prevent  his  being 
brought  to  a  stand  by  his  wheels  slipping. 
The  stationary  engine  has  been  used  to 
some  extent,  but  we  do  not  think  it  has 
sufficient  merit  ever  to  come  into  practical 
use. 

As  a  motor  for  a  dredging  machine  for 
deepening  our  rivers  and  harbors,  steam  has 
been  in  use  since  the  time  of  Oliver  Evans  ; 
and  as  an  excavator  it  has  long  ago  dis- 
tanced human  opposition.  The  millions  of 
dollars  that  are  annually  expended  in  exca- 
vating earth,  have  attracted  the  attention  of 
inventors  to  devise  modes  of  aiding  the 
operation  by  machinery,  and  large  and 
costly  machines  have  been  made  for  this  pur- 
pose in  certain  situations,  especially  in  deep 
cuts  of  soft  sand,  which  work  well,  and  per- 
form the  labor  of  many  men.  Among  many 
others,  Messrs.  Goodale  <fe  Marsh  patented 
last  year  a  machine  that  not  only  acts  as  an 
excavator,  but  transports  the  earth  to  the 
desired  place  of  deposit,  it  being  intended 
to  work  in  ground  free  from  large  stones,  or 
nearly  so,  and  where  the  hills  are  not  too 
steep  for  the  ascent  and  descent  of  a  loco- 
motive running  on  broad  wheels  on  the 
ground.  This  machine  will  prove  particu- 
larly useful  in  the  west. 

Steam  has  always  benefited  the  farmer 
by  bringing  him  nearer  to  a  market,  and  in- 
asmuch as  it  reduces  the  expense  thereof, 
it  necessarily  adds  to  his  profit.  The  hand- 
ling of  the  large  amount  of  grain  that  an- 
nually passes  through  the  large  warehouses 
of  our  western  cities,  is  of  itself  no  small 
item,  and  here,  too,  steam  lends  its  assistance, 
being  adapted  to  the  large  steam  elevators 
of  Chicago.  It  has  benefited  the  black- 
smith indirectly  by  blowing  his  furnaces 
and  driving  the  trip  hammers,  and  directly 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


265 


within  the  past  ten  years  in  the  immense 
steam  hammers,  where  it  is  so  much  under 
control  as  to  give  a  blow  of  several  tons 
weight,  or  crack  a  walnut  in  the  attendant's 
fingers  without  harming  him.  For  this  ad- 
vantage we  were  at  first  indebted  to  Eng- 
land ;  but  we  are  improving  upon  the  model, 
and  steam  hammers  will  soon  come  into 
general  use,  of  American  manufacture  alone. 
An  enormous  steam  hammer  on  Naylor's 
principle  was  lately  sent  to  Australia.  The 
hammer  is  not  only  lifted  by  the  pressure  of 
steam  from  below,  but  the  gravity  of  the 
falling  hammer  is  assisted  by  the  pressure 
of  steam  from  above.  The  work  is  finished 
at  one  heat,  saving  both  the  fuel  and  time 
of  second  heats,  also  consequent  deteriora- 
tion and  waste  of  iron.  The  effect  of  the 
blow  of  this  hammer  will  be  equal  to  the 
momentum  acquired  by  sixteen  tons  making 
forty  blows  per  minute.  The  hammer  can 
be  made  to  work  double  or  single,  acting 
instantaneously ;  and  by  the  adjusting  valve 
gearing,  the  length  of  stroke  and  force  of 
blow  can  be  changed  instantly.  In  all 
gravity  hammers  the  effect  of  the  blow  is 
dependent  on  the  weight  of  the  hammer, 
multiplied  by  the  height  of  its  fall,  and  con- 
sequently, the  greater  the  distance  it  falls, 
the  greater  the  force  of  the  blow,  and  the 
slower  is  the  speed  of  working.  In  the 
double-action  hammer,  thrice  the  force  of 
blow  can  be  given  at  double  the  speed.  The 
principal  dimensions  and  weights  are :  timber 
foundation,  twenty-six  feet  by  twenty-four 
feet  six  inches,  depth,  thirteen  feet ;  cast 
iron  anvil  block,  base  eleven  feet  six  inches 
by  nine  feet  six  inches,  thirty  tons  weight ; 
base  plate  to  receive  standards,  nineteen  feet 
six  inches  by  fifteen  feet  six  inches,  fourteen 
tons  weight ;  standards,  ten  feet  six  inches 
apart,  weight  fifteen  tons ;  height  from 
ground  to  top  of  steam  cylinder,  twenty-one 
feet  six  inches  ;  weight  of  all,  about  seventy- 
five  tons.  Steam  to  work  this  hammer  is 
generated  from  the  furnace  in  which  the 
work  to  be  operated  upon  is  heated,  the 
boiler  forming  the  chimney,  and  the  heat 
passing  up  four  flues  in  the  same,  thus 
economizing  fuel  and  avoiding  the  expense 
of  a  brick  chimney.  The  boiler  is  six  feet 
six  inches  in  diameter,  and  thirty  feet  long ; 
weight,  fifteen  tons.  The  weight  of  the 
whole  apparatus,  including  boiler  and  mount- 
ings, is  about  one  hundred  tons.  This  ap- 
paratus was  constructed  in  England. 

Steam  has  also  been  applied  to  cranes 


with  great  success.  One  of  Morrison's  steam 
cranes  was  recently  loaded  with  forty-five 
cwt.,  the  steam  cut  off  from  the  boiler,  and 
the  load  left  to  hang  from  the  crane  by  the 
power  of  the  steam  already  in  the  crane 
cylinder.  After  hanging  for  half  an  hour, 
the  weight  had  descended  only  four  inches. 
Many  other  applications  of  steam  as  a  motor 
might  be  enumerated  if  space  would  allow, 
but  we  must  now  turn  to  the  multifarious 
duties  of  steam  in  the  useful  arts.  One  of 
the  most  important  of  its  applications  is  its 
use  as  a  vehicle  for  transferring  and  uniform- 
ly distributing  heat.  Its  large  capacity  for 
caloric  gives  it  great  efficiency  for  this 
purpose,  as  it  holds  and  will  communicate  as 
much  heat  as  a  mass  of  red-hot  iron,  and 
will  transmit  this  heat  to  a  great  distance, 
which  iron  will  not  do,  for  the  heat  will  re- 
main latent  until  the  steam  reaches  its  desti- 
nation and  becomes  condensed.  In  order  to 
apply  steam  to  the  warming  of  buildings,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  use  a  close  boiler,  from 
the  top  of  which  a  steam  pipe  can  be  carried 
to  the  top  of  the  building  ;  the  boiler  being 
placed  as  low  as  possible.  This  steam  pipe 
is  at  the  top  connected  with  a  series  of  larger 
ones,  placed  with  a  slight  inclination  near  the 
floor  of  each  room,  connected  each  with  the 
one  above  it,  at  its  highest  end ;  thus  giving 
facility  to  the  descent  of  the  condensed  water, 
which  is  so  directed  as  to  re-enter  the  boiler 
near  the  bottom.  By  such  an  arrangement, 
properly  constructed,  the  entire  caloric  pro- 
duced by  the  furnace  will  be  distributed  over 
the  building.  The  small,  or  steam  pipe 
should  be  made  quite  strong,  and  should 
have  at  least  an  area  of  one  square  inch  for 
every  six  gallons  of  water  evaporated  per 
hour  in  the  boiler.  It  will  require  occa- 
sionally an  addition  of  water  to  supply  acci- 
dental waste,  and  a  ball-cock  connected  to 
the  feed  pipe  would  be  useful ;  but  by  all 
means  have  a  safety-valve  upon  the  boiler. 

The  extent  to  which  buildings  are  now 
heated  by  steam  in  this  country  is  very 
great,  and  since  the  introduction  of  Gold's 
apparatus,  and  some  others  whose  names  we 
do  not  remember,  steam  heaters  have  been 
added  with  great  advantage  to  private  dwell- 
ings. They  are  certainly  much  more  healthy 
than  hot  air,  and,  properly  arranged  and 
managed,  need  not  be  more  expensive.  The 
pressure  is  merely  nominal,  and  therefore  not 
a  source  of  danger;  the  only  disadvantage, 
that  of  leakage,  is  no  greater  than  in  the  use 
of  gas  pipes.  For  large  factories,  steam  as  a 


266 


STEAM. 


heater  is  invaluable ;  and  for  warming  hot- 
houses, nothing  can  supply  its  place.  It 
gives  an  equal  heat,  and  is  devoid  of  that 
dryness  so  injurious  to  plants.  To  warm  a 
greenhouse  by  steam,  there  is  required  the 
*  boiler  of  a  steam  engine,  reckoned  at  one 
horse  power  for  every  thousand  feet  of  glass. 
It  is  advisable,  when  heating  a  hothouse  by 
steam,  to  surround  the  pipes  with  stones ; 
these  stones  absorb  the  heat,  and  if  from 
carelessness  or  inattention  the  steam  goes 
down,  they  will  continue  to  radiate  heat  for 
some  time,  thus  preventing  the  sudden  cool- 
ing of  the  place. 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  boil  liquids 
in  vessels  of  wood,  as  in  brewing,  etc.,  and  to 
use  heat  in  evaporating  thickened  liquids, 
strong  solutions,  etc.,  where  the  direct  appli- 
cation of  fire  would  be  destructive ;  there, 
also,  we  see  the  utility  of  steam.  The  com- 
mon manner  of  making  glue  is  an  instance 
of  this  ;  elevate  the  bottom  of  the  glue-pot 
and  cover  the  receptacle  for  boiling  water, 
and  you  have  at  once  a  steam  oven.  This 
plan  has  been  extensively  used  in  making 
salt.  Or,  introduce  a  pipe  in  the  form  of 
the  worm  of  a  still  into  the  vat  containing 
the  solution,  and  allow  the  steam  to  pass 
through  the  pipe.  The  steam  pipe  can  then 
be  of  iron,  copper,  lead,  or  tin,  as  the  nature 
of  the  solution  may  require;  copper  is  in 
all  cases  the  best  where  it  can  be  used. 
Another  process  of  a  similar  nature  was  in- 
vented by  Mr.  Goodlet,  of  Leith  ;  it  consists 
of  pumping  the  solution  through  a  spiral 
pipe  passing  through  the  boiler,  thus  bringing 
the  solution  to  the  steam,  instead  of  the 
steam  to  the  solution.  Steam  kilns  for  dry- 
ing grain  have  also  been  used  upon  the  same 
principle.  Dry  houses,  for  lumber  to  be  used 
in  the  pattern  room,  are  added  to  our  ma- 
chine shops.  The  process  of  drying  printed 
cloths  and  fabrics  of  various  kinds,  also  the 
warp  after  it  is  sized,  is  in  use  in  all  our 
principal  manufactories,  and  adds  materially 
to  the  economy  and  expedition  of  their  pro- 
duction. The  process  of  drying  cloths  illus- 
trates this.  Steam  is  conducted  through  the 
axis  of  a  cylinder,  which  is  revolved  by 
suitable  machinery ;  the  cloth  is  then  made  to 
pass  over  it  in  contact  with  its  periphery ;  if 
necessary,  several  cylinders  are  placed  in  a 
line,  and  the  cloth  passes  over  the  first,  under 
the  second,  and  so  on.  Paper  is  thus  dried : 
the  wet  pulp  laid  out  on  the  web  of  wire 
cloth  is  gradually  strained  as  it  approaches 
the  cylinders,  around  which  it  winds,  until  it 


comes  off   dry  and  ready  for  cutting;  this 
operation  is  singularly  interesting. 

Cooking  by  steam  was  the  invention  of 
Denis  Papin,  of  France,  as  long  ago  as  1680  ; 
the  most  important  of  whose  experiments 
were  the  extraction  of  gelatine  '  from  bones, 
and  the  manufacture  of  essence  of  meat, 
soups,  etc.,  suitable  for  long  sea  voyages. 
From  a  work  published  by  him  in  1681,  we 
extract  the  following  :  "  I  took,"  says  he, 
"beef  bones  that  had  never  been  boiled,  but 
kept  dry  a  long  time,  and  of  the  hardest 
part  of  the  leg  ;  these  being  put  into  a  little 
glass  pot  with  water,  I  included  in  the  en- 
gine, together  with  another  little  glass  pot 
full  with  bones  and  water  too,  but  in  this 
the  bones  were  ribs,  and  had  been  boiled 
already.  Having  prest  the  fire  till  the  drop 
of  water  would  dry  away  in  three  seconds, 
and  had  ten  pressures,  I  took  off  the  fire,  and 
the  vessels  being  cooled,  I  found  very  good 
jelly  in  both  my  pots  ;  but  that  which  had 
been  made  out  of  ribs  had  a  kind  of  a  red- 
dish color,  which  I  believe  might  proceed 
from  the  medullary  part;  the  other  jelly  was 
without  color,  like  hartshorn  jelly  ;  and  I 
may  say,  that  having  seasoned  it  with  sugar 
and  juice  of  lemon,  I  did  eat  it  with  as 
much  pleasure,  and  found  it  as  stomachi- 
cal,  as  if  it  had  been  jelly  of  hartshorn." 
Mutton  bones  are  better  than  beef  bones  ; 
and  he  infers,  first,  that  one  pound  of  beef 
bones  affords  about  two  pounds  of  jelly  ;  sec- 
ond, that  it  is  the  cement  (gelatine)  that 
unites  the  parts  of  the  bones,  which  is  dis- 
solved in  the  water  to  make  it  a  jelly,  since 
after  that,  the  bones  remain  brittle;  third, 
that  few  glutinous  parts  are  sufficient  to  con- 
geal much  water,  "  for  I  found  that  when 
the  jelly  was  dried,  I  had  very  little  glue  (glu- 
ten ?)  remaining  ;  fourth,  I  used  it  to  glue  a 
broken  glass,  which  did  since  that  time  hold 
very  well,  and  even  be  washed  as  well  as  if 
it  had  never  been  broken  ;  fifth,  it  is  heavier 
than  water,  and  sinks  to  the  bottom  ;  sixth, 
hartshorn  produces  five  times  its  weight  of 


From  all  these  experiments,  I  think  it 
very  likely  that  if  people  would  be  per- 
suaded to  lay  by  bones,  gristles,  tendons, 
feet,  and  other  parts  of  animals  that  are  solid 
enough  to  be  kept  without  salt,  whereof 
people  throw  away  more  than  would  be  nec- 
essary to  supply  all  the  ships  that  England 
has  at  sea,  the  ships  might  always  be  fur- 
nished with  better  and  cheaper  victuals  than 
they  use  to  have.  And  I  may  say  that  such 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


267 


victuals  would  take  up  less  room,  too,  be- 
cause they  have  a  great  deal  more  nourish- 
ment in  them  in  proportion  to  their  weight. 
They  would  also  be  more  wholesome  than 
salt  meat.  Vegetables,  such  as  dried  peas, 
may  also  be  cooked  by  the  steam  of  salt 
water  without  becoming  salt." 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  Denis 
Papin  invented  the  safety-valve ;  it  was  in 
the  construction  of  this  digester  that  he 
used  it;  he  thus  speaks  of  it:  "To  know 
the  quantity  of  the  inward  pressure,  you 
must  have  a  little  pipe  open  at  both  ends, 
this  being  soldered  to  a  hole  in  the  cover, 
is  to  be  stopped  at  the  top  with  a  little  valve, 
exactly  ground  to  it.  This  must  be  kept 
down  with  an  iron  rod,  one  end  of  which 
must  be  put  into  an  iron  staple,  fastened  to 
the  bar,  and  the  other  end  kept  down  by  a 
weight,  to  be  hung  upon  it  nearer  or  further 
from  the  valve,,  according  as  you  would 
keep  it  less  or  more  strong,  after  the  man- 
ner of  an  ordinary  Roman  balance  or  steel- 
yard." 

Papin's  method  of  determining  the  tem- 
perature is  somewhat  curious :  "  To  know 
the  degree  of  heat,  I  hang  a  weight  to  a 
thread  about  three  feet  long,  and  I  let  fall  a 
drop  of  water  into  a  little  cavity  made  for 
that  purpose  at  the  top  of  it,  and  I  tell  how 
many  times  the  hanging  weight  will  move 
to  and  fro  before  the  drop  of  water  is  quite 
evaporated  !"  As  nearly  all  that  we  at  pres- 
ent know  about  cooking,  and  extracting 
jellies  by  steam,  is  derived  from  the  experi- 
ments of  Denis  Papin,  we  will  close  this 
portion  of  the  subject  by  adding  his  descrip- 
tion of  one  of  them  :  "  Having  filled  my 
pot  with  a  piece  of  a  breast  of  mutton,  and 
weighed  five  ounces  of  coals,  I  lighted  my 
fire,  and  by  blowing  gave  such  a  heat  that 
a  drop  of  water  would  evaporate  in  four  sec- 
onds, the  inward  pressure  being  about  ten 
times  stronger  than  the  atmosphere.  I  let 
the  fire  go  out  of  itself,  and  the  mutton  was 
very  well  done,  the  bones  soft,  and  the  juice 
a  strong  jelly.  So  that,  having  had  occasion 
to  boil  mutton  several  times  since,  I  have 
always  observed  the  same  rule,  and  never 
have  missed  to  have  it  in  the  same  condi- 
tion, which  I  take  to  be  the  best  of  all. 

"  Beef  required  seven  ounces  of  coal  and 
the  same  heat,  and  the  beef  was  very  well 


boiled,  although  there  were  more  parts  of 
the  bones  not  quite  softened.  Lamb,  rab- 
bits, and  pigeons,  mackerel,  pike,  and  eel, 
Avere  subjected  to  the  same  process ;  whence 
I  infer  that  the  bones  of  young  beasts  re- 
quire almost  as  much  fire  as  those  of  old 
ones  to  be  boiled ;  that  rabbit  bones  are 
harder  than  those  of  mutton ;  that  tough 
old  rabbits  may  be  made  as  good  as  tender 
young  ones  by  this  means ;  that  pigeons  may 
be  best  boiled  with  a  heat  that  evaporates  a 
drop  of  water  in  five  seconds  ;  that  mackerel 
was  cooked  with  gooseberries,  in  a  digester, 
the  fish  being  good  and  firm,  and  the  bones 
so  soft  as  not  to  be  felt  in  eating.  I  par- 
ticularly recommend  as  an  excellent  dish 
cooked  in  this  manner,  cod  fish  and  green 
peas." 

Another  application  of  steam  that  has 
proved  very  valuable  on  ship-board,  is  its 
condensation  after  having  been  evaporated 
from  salt  water,  to  supply  the  wants  of  pas- 
sengers and  crews  when  from  accident  or  an 
unusually  long  voyage  the  regular  stores  are 
exhausted.  The  reader  is  probably  aware 
that  when  salt  water  is  evaporated,  the  steam 
therefrom  is  as  pure  as  if  taken  from  fresh, 
and  would  be  as  healthful  and  palatable  as 
any  other  were  it  not  from  the  fact  that  it 
does  not  contain  the  usual  quantity  of  at- 
mospheric air  which  has  been  expelled  by 
heat.  If,  however,  it  is  allowed  to  fall  in 
the  form  of  rain,  or  is  poured  from  one  vessel 
to  another,  it  very  soon  absorbs  a  sufficient 
quantity  and  becomes  as  good  as  rain  water, 
which,  in  fact,  it  is. 

The  application  of  steam  to  soften  wood, 
so  as  to  admit  of  its  being  bent  into  various 
shapes,  is  old ;  but  by  compressing  the  wood 
while  being  bent,  so  as  to  prevent  the  loosen- 
ing of  its  fibre,  great  improvement  has  been 
made,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture 
this  has  been  of  great  service.  There  is  also 
a  Ship  Timber  Bending  Company  in  Brook- 
lyn, L.  I.,  who  are  doing  a  large  business  in 
that  line  ;  the  timber  thus  bent  being  quite 
as  good  as  if  of  natural  growth. 

Steam  bakeries,  as  they  are  called,  show  no 
new  application  thereof,  as  they  simply  consist 
of  dough-raising  and  other  machines  driven 
by  a  stationary  engine ;  we  mention  them 
simply  to  show  how  extensive  are  the  uses 
of  steam. 


268 


STEAM. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONCLUSION. 

To  understand  fully  our  indebtedness  to 
the  inventors  and  improvers  of  the  steam  en- 
gine, we  must  compare  the  past  with  the 
present.  We  must  remember  the  North 
River  sloops,  the  slow  ocean  packet  ships,  the 
lumbering  coach ;  then  the  canal  boat,  the 
horse  boat,  the  horse  railroad ;  followed,  but 
not  yet  entirely  superseded,  by  the  steam- 
boats of  Fitch,  Fulton,  Stevens,  and  a  hun- 
dred others: — each  an  improvement  on  the 
last — until  months  are  crowded  into  weeks 
and  weeks  into  days.  If  it  is  true,  as  some 
have  said,  that  the  duration  of  human  life  is 
less  in  each  succeeding  generation,  it  is  in- 
contestable, on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
amount  possible  to  be  accomplished  by  each 
man  in  the  same  amount  of  time  is  increased 
many-fold.  We  have  shown  what  has  been 
done  by  steam ;  but  are  we  now  to  stop  and  fold 
our  hands  at  the  request  of  the  few  old  fogies 
who  have  been  hurried  along  against  their 
will,  and  now  wish  to  sit  down  and  take 
breath  when  the  great  work  has  but  just 
commenced  ?  No  !  American  genius  is  the 
engineer  of  this  locomotive,  "  Progress  ;"  his 
hand  is  on  the  throttle-lever,  which  he  opens 
wider  each  day.  Conservatism  may  act  as 
brakeman,  but  has  no  power  to  stop  the  train 
unless  the  engineer  aid  him.  His  bright, 
clear  eye  looks  out  upon  the  straight  track — 
for  the  path  of  progress  is  only  warped  by 
foolish  or  selfish  men — and  conservatism  may 
brake  up  and  retard,  but  not  stop  the  train. 
It  will,  it  is  true,  take  more  steam  to  draw  the 
load,  while  old  fogies  thus  act  as  a  drag,  and 
they  may  rest  assured  that  their  action  only 
renders  the  course  of  progress  more  danger- 
bus,  but  will  never  stop  it. 

Lay  down  this  vain  opposition,  then,  and 
add  your  voice  and  your  purse  to  aid  the 
advance  of  steam ;  send  your  horses  into  the 
country,  or  retain  them  only  for  pleasure 
rides  of  invalids ;  pave  your  streets  with  iron, 
and  harness  steam  to  your  drays  and  cars. 
We  may  not  live  to  see  it,  but  it  is  our  firm 
belief  that  the  time  will  come  when  the 
foolish  excuse  that  steam  will  frighten  horses 
in  our  cities  will  be  no  longer  urged,  for 
there  will  be  no  horses  to  frighten.  You 
say  that  we  are  enthusiastic ;  so  was  John 
Fitch ;  does  it  then  follow  that  he  was  wrong  1 
You  try  to  urge  that  there  is  more  danger 
in  steam  than  by  the  old  mode  of  travelling, 
but  this  has  long  ago  been  proved  false; 


and  if  there  still  are  accidents  from  boiler 
explosions,  it  is  your  fault  that  they  have 
not  long  since  ceased.  Pass  a  law  in  each 
state  providing  for  the  inspection  of  all 
steam  boilers,  and  the  examination  of  all 
engineers,  and  impose  a  heavy  fine  on  all 
who  hire  an  engineer  who  has  no  certificate. 
Do  not  make  this  a  political  movement, 
but  see  that  the  board  of  inspectors  is  com- 
posed of  experienced  engineers,  men  who 
can  themselves  pass  an  examination  of  the 
most  strict  nature ;  and  bear  in  mind  also  that 
steam  requires  close  attention,  and  that  there 
is  not  one  man  in  a  hundred  that  can  have 
the  care  of  it,  and  at  the  same  time  have  his 
mind  distracted  by  other  duties,  without 
endangering  the  whole  neighborhood.  Pow- 
der mills  are  always  located  apart  from  other 
buildings,  for  a  careless  act  would  scatter 
destruction  around ;  well,  some  of  the  boilers 
in  New  York  at  this  present  moment  are 
worse  than  pOAvder  magazines,  and  yet  they 
are  located  in  the  most  densely  populated 
parts  of  the  city,  and  beneath  sidewalks  trod 
hourly  by  thousands.  The  engineer  (?)  saws 
wood,  grooms  horses,  or  works  at  the  bench, 
while  his  pump  clogs,  and  the  water  gets 
low  in  the  boiler ;  or,  interested  in  other 
work,  he  forgets  to  put  the  pump  on,  and 
soon  after — longer,  perhaps,  than  he  is  aware 
— he  lets  in  the  water,  and  wakes  to  find  him- 
self in  a  neighboring  yard,  or  never  wakes  to 
seethe  effect  of  his  employer's  false  economy. 
Under  such  management,  who  can  wonder  at 
the  accidents  we  read  of  weekly ;  or,  rather, 
what  man  conversant  with  the  laws  of  steam 
does  not  wonder  that  there  are  no  more 
"  terrible  calamities"  to  be  recorded  ? 

It  is  comparatively  easy  to  understand  the 
great  advantages  that  have  accrued  to  naviga- 
tion and  land  transportation  from  the  use 
of  steam,  for  its  effects  are  constantly  before 
our  eyes ;  but  improvements  from,  the  use 
of  steam  in  stationary  engines  are  less  ap- 
parent, although  full  as  great.  Even  in  the 
immense  manufactories  of  Manchester  and 
Lowell,  where  the  water  power  seems  almost 
unlimited,  we  find  the  steam  engine  at  work  ; 
and  all  the  water  power  of  the  United  States 
combined  would  not  be  sufficient  to  carry 
out  one  branch  of  manufacture  in  all  its  de- 
tails. If  we  now  compete  with  foreigners  in 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  in  spite  of 
the  low  price  of  labor  abroad,  it  is  not  only 
owing  to  our  great  improvements  in  cotton 
machinery,  but  also  to  the  competition  of 
our  steam  mills.  And  the  steam  press  !  Tiny 


CONCLUSION. 


269 


jets  of  steam  puff  forth  from  the  offices  of 
our  smallest  job  printers,  and  ponderous  en- 
gines work  the  six,  eight,  and  ten  cylinder 
presses  of  our  large  dailies.  Ask  the  pro- 
prietors of  those  papers  what  they  could 
now  do  without  steam?  The  New  York 
Herald  has  two  engines  to  do  the  press- 
work  ;  one  built  by  Hoe  is  a  beam  engine  of 
twenty-five  horse  power,  the  other  is  an 
upright  engine  of  fifteen  horse  power, 
making  in  all  forty  horse.  With  these  two 
engines  they  consume  about  one  ton  of  coal 
per  day,  and  throw  off  an  average  of  75,000 
impressions.  The  office  is,  however,  capable 
of  doing  much  more  than  this,  its  utmost 
capacity  being  48,000  impressions  per  hour. 
The  engine  rooms  are  very  well  fitted,  and 
have  two  of  Woodworth's  donkey  pumps ; 
the  one  to  supply  the  boilers  with  water, 
and  the  other,  to  be  used  in  case  of  fire,  is 
connected  with  hose  in  every  room  of  the 
building. 

The  first  steam  mill  that  was  erected  in 
England  was  mobbed  by  the  populace.  They 
feared  this  giant  competitor ;  they  were  afraid 
it  would  take  food  from  their  mouths ;  and 
we  are  sorry  to  say  that  this  old  feeling  of 
the  laboring  classes  is  not  yet  entirely  erad- 
icated; educated  Americans,  who  should 
know  better,  can  yet  be  found  to  condemn 
machine  labor.  Last  year  Broadway  was 
swept  by  a  machine  that  would  in  time 
have  been  replaced  by  steam,  but  New  York 
has  taken  a  retrograde  step,  and  politics  have 
so  strong  a  hold  upon  her  citizens  that  prog- 
ress must  bide  her  time.  Has  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  hurt  the  laboring 
classes?  That  is  the  question!  Are  our 
laboring  men  worse  off  than  before  the  in- 
troduction of  steam  ?  Look  at  the  facts  and 
the  answer  is  plain.  A  few  coachmen  were 
thrown  out  of  employment  to  make  room  for 
hundreds  of  employees  upon  the  railroad,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  thousands  benefited  by 
their  construction,  and  that  of  the  cars,  loco- 
motives, station-houses,  etc.  A  handful  of 
weavers  and  spinners  have  been  temporarily 
removed,  to  be  reinstated,  with  thousands  of 
their  fellow  men  and  women,  at  full  as  good 
pay  as  before.  Head  has  aided  hands  every- 
where, and  those  who  have  kept  up  with  the 
age  of  improvements  have  been,  as  they 
should  be,  the  ones  to  profit  by  its  advan- 
tages. But  great  as  have  been  the  improve- 
ments in  our  stationary  engines,  there  is 
still  much  to  do ;  we  are  not,  in  fact,  living  up 
to  what  we  already  know.  The  ordinary 


average  of  duty  performed  by  our  best  sta- 
tionary condensing  engines  is  one  horse 
power  to  four  pounds  of  good  coal  consumed, 
while  in  marine  engines  it  requires  the  con- 
sumption of  four  and  a  half  pounds  to  the 
horse  power ;  and  yet  engines  are  running 
that  consume  but  two  pounds  to  the  same 
work.  With  these  facts  before  their  eyes,  men 
continue  to  purchase  the  former,  instead  of 
looking  for  an  improvement  upon  the  latter ; 
for  even  these  results  can  be  improved  upon, 
as  in  our  best  boilers  there  is  much  of  the 
combustible  gases  wasted,  and  much  of  the 
water  evaporated  into  steam  is  condensed 
before  it  reaches  the  cylinder ;  any  percepti- 
ble heat  from  the  engine  while  working  is,  of 
course,  so  much  loss  of  fuel.  Bearing  this  in 
mind,  enter  an  engine  or  fire  room,  and  you 
will  realize  the  loss  from  that  source  alone. 

The  first  difficulty  is  being  fast  overcome 
by  admitting  atmospheric  air  above  the  fire, 
which  unites  with  the  gases  as  they  rise,  and 
furnishes  the  oxygen  necessary  for  their  com- 
bustion; it  is  now  necessary  to  get  rid  of 
the  heavy,  incombustible  gases,  and  this  will 
soon  be  done.  The  radiation  of  heat  can 
be  prevented  almost  entirely  by  inclosing  the 
boiler,  cylinders,  steam-pipes,  etc.,  in  some 
non-conducting  substance  ;  this  is  technically 
called  "jacketing"  Other  improvements  in 
the  steam  engine  are  being  made  every  day, 
and  we  believe  that  the  consumption  of  only 
one  pound  of  coal  to  the  hors  epower  will 
soon  be  accomplished. 

In  view  of  all  the  facts  that  have  been 
adduced  to  prove  that  the  steam  engine 
is  the  best  of  all  motors,  can  it  be  pos- 
sible that  there  are  still  those  who  are 
sceptical  on  the  subject  of  its  utility  ? 
Alas,  yes !  You  will  find  them  among 
those  who  object  to  the  use  of  steam  in  our 
streets  to  replace  the  horse  cars ;  men  who 
believe  that  new  inventions  must  necessarily 
be  humbugs,  because  in  a  few  instances  they 
have  failed,  and  who  cannot  see  that  the 
greater  number  have  added  to  their  wealth, 
their  comfort,  and  their  pleasure.  The  greater 
number,  say  we  ?  We  might  have  said  all ; 
for  if  the  first  invention  fail,  it  paves  the  way 
for  another  and  better,  and  many  of  the  fail- 
ures of  inventors  stand  as  sign-boards  to 
show  the  false  paths.  You  will  find  these 
incredulous  men  in  the  same  position  to-day 
as  were  the  throng  of  spectators  who  stood 
in  Brown's  ship-yard  when  the  North  Riv- 
er was  fired  up  for  the  first  time,  loudly 
calling  it  "Fulton's  folly."  Its  great  success 


270 


STEAM. 


soon  quieted  them  for  the  time,  but  it  was 
for  a  time  only.  A  succession  of  surprises 
from  that  day  to  this  should,  it  would  be 
thought,  have  forever  quieted  them,  but  they 
"  still  live,"  and  will  only  accept  progress  as 
a  fact  after  repeated  successes  make  it  impos- 
sible to  doubt ;  meeting  each  new  plan  with 
the  same  incredulity. 

In  speaking  of  the  accessories  of  the 
steam  engine,  there  is  one  point  we  omitted: 
many  boilers  are  unprovided  with  steam 
gauges.  In  a  conversation  with  a  proprietor 
of  a  steam  engine  some  time  since,  we  asked 
him  why  he  did  not  have  a  gauge  upon  his 
boiler.  "Oh !"  said  he,  "  that  is  all  nonsense ; 
my  safety-valve  is  weighted  at  one  hundred, 
and  my  boiler  would  easily  carry  twice  that 
steam.  I  have  been  without  one  for  three 
years,  and  don't  need  it."  We  asked  him  if 
his  engine  was  always  competent  to  do  his 
work,  and  if  the  latter  was  always  constant. 
"Yes,"  he  replied,  "the  engine  will  always  do 
the  work,  but  it  is  just  all  it  will  do.  As  for 
the  work  being  constant,  it  is  far  from  that ; 
some  days  we  do  not  run  but  half  of  our 
machines,  and  then  the  safety-valve  tells  its  own 
story  by  'blowing  off.'"  "Yes,"  we  replied, 
"  and  it  tells  another  story,  which  is  k  loss  of 
fuel.'  Had  you  a  steam  gauge,  the  engineer 
would  know  how  to  fire,  and  in  less  than  three 
months  you  would  be  able  to  pay  for  a  gauge 
out  of  your  savings."  "Pooh !  nonsense,"  he 
replied.  Insisting  upon  the  truth  of  what  we 
said,  we  prevailed  upon  him  to  try  it  for  a 
month  with,  and  without  a  gauge,  and  so 
well  satisfied  was  he  with  the  result  that  he 
now  says  a  gauge  is  worth  two  hundred  dol- 
lars per  year  to  him.  This  may  have  been 
an  extreme  case,  for  the  engineer  always  knew 
when  he  came  in  the  morning  what  machines 
were  to  be  run,  and  he  soon  had  an  exact 
knowledge  of  the  amount  of  steam  required 
to  drive  them,  and,  therefore,  regulated  his 
fires  by  the  gauge.  Gauges  will  get  out  of 
order,  we  know,  but  they  must  be  tested  at 
least  every  three  months  by  some  standard, 
and  repaired  if  wrong.  Who  wonders  if  so 
delicate  an  instrument  should  get  out  of  or- 
der under  one  hundred  pounds  pressure  for 
two  or  three  years  ?  and  yet  we  can  point  to 
a  gauge  in  use  in  this  city  that  has  not 
been  tested  for  four.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  add,  the  proprietor  "  don't  believe  in 
gauges;"  he  probably  expected  it  to  last  a 
life-time. 

With  regard  to  low  water  detectors,  that 
whistle  when  the  water  is  dangerously  low, 


they  must  be  used  with  great  caution,  for  if 
out  of  order  they  would  be  a  source  of  pos- 
itive danger  by  the  fancied  security  of  the 
runner.  After  all,  the  only  safeguard  is  a 
boiler  in  good  order,  and  a  competent  engi- 
neer to  take  care  of  it ;  be  sure  on  these  two 
points,  and  nothing  is  better  than  steam  to 
do  your  work.  Those  owning  small  engines 
object  to  paying  the  price  of  such  men.  Is 
it  not  better  to  pay  more  per  day  for  abso- 
lute safety  than  to  risk  an  explosion  that  will 
destroy  all  your  property,  and  possibly  your 
life  and  the  lives  of  your  workmen  ?  If  your 
work  is  not  sufficiently  profitable  to  pay  a 
competent  man,  sell  your  engine  and  run 
your  mill  by  horse  power;  better  have  a  mule 
to  turn  the  driving  wheel  than  run  the  en- 
gine. But  it  will  afford  it ;  nay,  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  a  good  man  will  save  more  than 
his  salary  amounts  to  in  fuel  and  repairs 
alone. 

And  now  a  word  to  engineers.  You  who 
are  upon  our  steamships  and  locomotives 
think  that  such  a  law  would  be  of  no  bene- 
fit to  you ;  but  you  are  very  much  mistaken ; 
once  passed,  it  would  give  employment  to 
hundreds  that  are  now  competing  with  you 
for  a  position  that  is  only  sought  because  it 
offers  better  wages  than  stationaries  can 
under  the  present  system  ;  under  the  same 
pay,  men  would  prefer  to  run  land  engines, 
and  be  near  home.  Therefore,  it  is  a  duty 
you  owe  yourselves  to  insist,  wherever  you 
exercise  the  rights  of  suffrage,  that  your  rep- 
resentative shall  advocate  such  a  law  ;  make 
it  the  sine  qua  non  of  your  vote.  And  you, 
engineers  in  name  only,  if  you  wish  to  retain 
your  present  positions,  study  your  duty ;  learn 
why  you  do  what  you  now  mechanically  per- 
form ;  find  out  what  pressure  you  are  carry- 
ing, for  yourselves,  and  do  not  trust  to  the 
marks  on  your  safety-valves;  read  works  on 
steam,  and  satisfy  yourselves  if  they  are  true 
by,  as  far  as  in  your  power  lies,  testing  them, 
for  all  that  is  printed  is  not  necessarily  true, 
as  you  will  very  soon  discover.  Above  all 
things,  be  one  to  form  an  engineers'  society, 
and  discuss  with  men  of  experience  the 
knotty  points  which  will  rise  in  your  mind 
when  you  once  begin  the  study  of  this  po- 
tent vapor. 

We  cannot  finish  this  article  without  re- 
ferring briefly  to  another  motor,  which  has 
for  the  last  four  or  five  years  attracted  some 
attention  :  we  allude  to  the  caloric  engine. 
Mr.  Ericsson,  of  whom  we  have  already  spo- 
ken, is  the  inventor  of  this  machine.  The 


CONCLUSION. 


271 


power  made  use  of  is  the  expansive  force  of 
heated  air.  For  small  engines  this  motor  has 
been  used  with  success,  but  in  all  Mr.  Erics- 
son's experiments  on  a  large  scale  it  has 
failed.  As  there  is  no  danger  of  explosion 
from  the  lack  of  water,  the  caloric  engine 
has  been  of  value  on  the  southern  planta- 
tions, as  any  one  can  run  it,  it  being  only  nec- 
essary to  make  a  fire,  and  see  that  the  ma- 
chine is  oiled  and  kept  in  repair.  We  do  not 
believe,  however,  that  it  will  ever  supersede 
steam  as  a  motor,  even  for  small  engines. 
Since  Mr.  Ericsson's  invention,  others  have 
followed  with  various  improvements,  and 
much  ingenuity  has  been  displayed  upon  the 
subject ;  we  hear  occasionally  of  some  great 
success  of  a  caloric  engine,  but  it  never  re- 
sults in  any  thing  permanent.  The  details  of 
the  caloric  are  different  from  those  of  the 
steam  engine,  and  the  heavy  boiler  is  done 
away  with,  but  they  are  not  as  cheap  if  the 
cost  of  the  boiler  be  excepted,  and  are  much 
more  liable  to  get  out  of  repair  ;  still,  if  prop- 
erly taken  care  of  they  are  useful,  as  we  said 
before,  in  situations  where  but  little  power  is 
required,  and  water  scarce.  Mr.  Holly,  so 
well  known  as  "  Tubal  Cain  "  of  the  New 
York  Times,  says,  in  speaking  of  the  caloric 
engine :  "  We  only  wish  it  was  a  better 
rival  of  steam  in  every  particular,  that  it 
might  compel  the  makers  and  users  of  boil- 
ers to  employ  better  materials,  better  forms, 
and  greater  care  in  the  management  of  the 
subtle  motor — steam.  And  as  its  mechanism 
improves,  as  we  believe  it  will,  to  some  ex- 
tent, year  after  year,  it  will  better  serve  the 
public  by  compelling  us  to  improve  the 
smaller  varieties  of  the  steam  engine,  which, 
we  believe,  can  also  be  made  perfectly  safe. 
The  hot-air  engine  requires  no  constant  or 
professional  attendance,  and  for  this  reason 
is  a  valuable  motor  in  cases  where  an  occa- 
sional or  auxiliary  power  is  required.  And 
for  small  purposes,  the  saving  of  engineer's 
pay  more  than  balances  the  increased  cost 
of  fuel  and  repairs." 

Undoubtedly  small  steam  engines  and 
boilers  can  be  made  perfectly  safe  ;  in  fact, 
they  should  be  the  safest,  and  will  be  so, 
when  the  public  will  not  look  to  the  mere 
first  cost  alone,  but  will  only  buy  engines  of 
the  best  builders,  and  pay  a  fair  price  there- 
for ;  another  result  that  we  hope  to  see  brought 
about  by  an  inspection  law.  Nor  is  this  by 
any  means  a  small  matter,  for  the  unthinking 
man  would  be  astonished  at  the  amount  of 
small  stationaries  that  are  now  running 


throughout  the  country.  In  New  York 
there  are  engines  or  boilers  in  every  street ; 
at  our  hotels  and  public  buildings,  in  our 
printing  ofiices,  carpenter  shops,  as  well  as 
in  all  the  larger  manufactories  and  machine 
shops,  engines  of  from  two  to  five  hundred 
horse  power  are  daily  running.  Machinery 
of  all  kinds  is  driven  by  steam,  from  the 
large  lathes  and  planers  of  our  machine  shops 
to  the  sewing  machines  of  the  clothiers; 
manufacturing  crinoline  in  one  place,  and 
forging  huge  masses  of  iron  in  another,  the 
busy  hum  of  steam-driven  machinery  resounds 
on  every  side.  Stand  and  look  at  the  ten- 
cylinder  press,  and  think  of  Franklin  work- 
ing at  his  old  wooden  one.  Compare  the 
speed  of  the  former  with  the  country  press 
of  only  a  few  years  back,  if  you  would  realize 
this  great  improvement.  Has  this  hurt  the 
printers  as  a  class?  Figure  up  the  gross 
amount  now  paid  to  compositors,  and  com- 
pare it  with  the  amount  paid  fifty  years  ago 
before  you  answer.  Philadelphia  is  known 
as  a  manufacturing  city,  and  one  which  is 
probably  destined  to  be  the  greatest  in  this 
country.  To  what  does  she  owe  her  pros- 
perity ?  To  the  stationary  engine,  for  she 
has  no  water  power.  We  have  already  said, 
and  we  repeat,  that  imperfect  though  the 
steam  engine  may  still  be,  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  water  power  is  cheaper,  and 
there  is  one  disadvantage  in  the  latter  that 
is  often  overlooked,  it  is  that  of  monopoly. 
The  rich  company  who  own  the  water 
power  let  it  out  at  their  own  price,  for  there 
is  no  competition ;  but  with  the  steam  en- 
gine it  is  very  different ;  if  the  price  asked 
for  power  by  your  neighbor  be  too  great, 
you  can  readily  purchase  an  engine  of  just 
the  power  you  require,  and  run  it  in- 
dependently. But  the  greatest  advantage 
of  the  stationary  engine  is  that  it  can  be 
used  by  the  manufacturer  at  the  door 
of  the  consumer,  and  the  goods  produced 
will  be  thus  under  his  direct  inspection. 

Steam  enters  into  the  manufacture  of  every 
thing  around  us.  The  paper  we  write  upon 
was  dried  by  steam,  our  tin  paper-cutter 
was  rolled  by  steam,  the  chair  we  sit  upon 
was  turned  and  bent,  the  carpet  was  perhaps 
wove  or  at  least  dyed,  and  the  wood  work 
of  the  very  room  we  are  in,  were  all  done  by 
steam.  Steam  can  warm  our  dwellings,  and 
prepare  our  food.  It  tunnels  mountains, 
and  makes  pins,  cards,  spins  and  weaves, 
coins  our  money,  braids,  twists,  sews, 
washes,  irons,  and,  in  fact,  enters  into  every 


272 


STEAM. 


branch  of  industry.  It  has  added  more 
than  any  thing  else  to  the  wealth,  power, 
and  prosperity  of  our  country.  Think  of 
this  the  next  time  you  are  asked  to  aid  in 
any  steam  project,  and  as  Americans  have 
heretofore  been  among  the  first  to  perfect 
the  steam  engine,  may  they  ever  be  the  ones 
to  educate  it  to  new  branches  of  labor.  Be 
not  satisfied  with  past  improvement,  but 
look  forward  to  changes  as  great  for  the 
next  twenty-five  years,  as  there  have  been 
in  the  last  half  century. 


APPENDIX. 

EXPERIMENTS  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES 
GOVERNMENT. 

IN  our  introductory  chapter  we  spoke  of 
the  use  of  steam  expansively.  Soon  after 
the  article  was  written,  results  were  obtain- 
ed by  a  series  of  experiments  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  States  government, 
that  tend  to  the  material  alteration  of  en- 
gineering practice.  As  we  had  yet  time, 
before  this  work  went  to  press,  we  thought 
that  some  of  the  results,  together  with  their 
bearing  upon  steam  machinery,  would  prove 
acceptable. 

Chief  Engineer  B.  F.  Isherwood,  while  try- 
ing some  experiments  in  superheating  steam, 
found  that  the  result*  obtained  by  the  use 
of  steam  expansively  were  by  no  means 
even  an  approximation  to  those  theoreti- 
cally claimed,  and  that  a  sufficient  allowance 
was  never  made  in  calculating  the  increased 
loss  from  condensation.  His  experiments 
attracted  considerable  attention  from  engi- 
neers and  steam-engine  builders,  and  a  peti- 
tion, signed  by  some  of  the  most  prominent 
of  them,  was  sent  to  the  Hon.  Isaac  Toucey, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  early  in  the  fall 
of  1860.  In  reply  to  this  memorial  an  ex- 
perimental board  was  appointed,  consisting 
of  Chief  Engineers  Isherwood,  Long,  Zeller, 
and  Stimers ;  and  the  United  States  steamer 
Michigan,  then  lying  in  her  winter  quarters 
at  Erie,  Pa.,  was  placed  at  their  disposal. 
She  was  made  fast  to  the  wharf,  and  so 
loaded  as  always  to  remain  with  a  fixed 
draught  of  water,  the  coal  burned  being 
kept  upon  the  wharf  and  brought  on  board 
as  fast  as  used.  Each  bushel  of  coal  was 
weighed,  together  with  the  ashes,  clinkers, 
etc.  The  feed  water  was  accurately  meas- 


ured in  a  large  tank  prepared  expressly  for 
that  purpose.  Every  valve  upon  the  two 
engines  of  the  Michigan  was  carefully  tested 
and  proved  tight,  as  were  also  the  pistons, 
stuffing  boxes,  throttles,  etc.  The  steam 
gauges  consisted  of  two  spring  and  two 
syphons,  and  were  in  good  order.  Indi- 
cators were  placed  upon  each  end  of  both 
engines.  Thermometers  were  placed  in  the 
hot  well,  the  feed-water  tank,  the  engine 
room,  upon  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  and  in 
the  water  over  the  side.  Diagrams  were  taken 
from  each  end  of  the  cylinders  alternately 
every  half  hour,  and  the  average  height  of 
the  barometers  and  all  the  above-named  in- 
struments was  duly  noted  every  hour  by  the 
officer  on  duty.  A  large  number  of  exper- 
iments were  tried,  each  of  which  occupied 
seventy-two  hours.  The  fires  were  started 
and  steam  raised  to  a  certain  point  (20  Ibs. 
per  square  inch)  before  the  experiment  was 
commenced;  and  at  its  expiration  the  fires 
and  pressure  were  brought  to  as  nearly  a 
similar  condition  as  possible.  In  fact  every 
care  that  experience  and  scientific  ability 
could  suggest  was  used,  and  we  believe  that 
any  one  who  will  examine  the  tables  pre- 
pared by  this  board,  will  acknowledge  that 
the  nicest  possible  accuracy  marked  their 
entire  labor.  The  experiments  lasted  about 
three  months  ;  one  cylinder  was  tried  at  al- 
most every  point  of  cut-off  with  the  initial 
boiler  pressure  at  20  Ibs.,  and  also  with  the 
initial  cylinder  pressure  at  the  same  point. 

The  deductions  by  the  committee  were, 
that  at  seven  tenths  of  the  stroke  they  ob- 
tained the  maximum  results ;  that  cutting  off 
steam  at  any  shorter  point  than  this  is  a 
loss,  as  proved  both  by  the  water  and  coal 
consumed;  that  the  loss  by  condensation 
in  the  cylinder,  and  increased  friction  and 
back  pressure,  is  generally  greatly  under- 
rated ;  and  that  the  use  of  a  cut-off  is  no  ad- 
vantage over  the  common  throttle  valve  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  and  never  sufficiently 
so  to  pay  for  its  increased  expense  and  the 
trouble  attendant  upon  its  use.  These  are 
a  few  of  the  most  prominent  of  their  deduc- 
tions. They  are  contrary  to  the  received 
opinions  of  most  of  the  engineers  from  the 
time  of  James  Watt  to  the  present  day,  and 
from  this  fact  are  decidedly  unpopular.  We 
therefore  do  not  expect  in  an  article  so  gen- 
eral in  its  nature  as  this  to  convince  the  scep- 
tical reader,  but  merely  to  state  a  fact  that 
time  will  prove  to  the  world.  The  follow- 
ing table  is  a  digest  of  the  first  experiments, 


APPENDIX. 


273 


but  in  order  to  get  the  entire  data  of  the 
series,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  wait  for  the 
printed  report  of  the  board,  which,  if  the 
present  troubles  at  Washington  do  not  pre- 


vent, will  probably  appear  before  the  end  of 
the  present  year ;  and  to  that  we  refer  those 
sufficiently  interested  in  the  subject  to  wish 
to  look  further. 


ONE  ENGINE — BOTH   BOILERS. 


-Point  of  cutting  off  from  commencement  of  stroke 


One  third. 

Date  of  commencing 9  P.M.,  Dec.  5. 

Duration  of  experiment 72  hours. 


13-14th  stroke.  Two  thirds.  One  sixth. 

3  P.M.,  Dec.  10.    8 P.M.  Dec.  13.  lOp.M.  Dec.  16. 


Pressure  of  steam  in  boilers  in  Ibs.,  per  square  inch 

Inches  of  vacuum  in  condenser 

Lbs.  per  square  inch  of  vacuum  in  cylinder 

Mean  effective  pressure  on  piston,  in  Ibs.  per  square  inch.  .. 

^Revolutions  per  minute 

Indicated  horse  power 

Lbs.  of  feed  water  per  hour  per  horse  power 

Lbs.  of  coal  per  hour  per  horse  power 

Cost  of  power  by  these  experiments,  full  stroke  being  unity. 
Cost  of  power  as  usually  calculated,  full  stroke  being  unity. 


What  interests  the  ordinary  reader  is  this : 
accepting  that  the  deductions  are  true,  and 
that  it  is  more  economical  to  use  steam  at 
nearly  full  stroke  than  by  cutting  it  off  early 
in  the  cylinder,  the  following  advantages 
will  accrue — first,  we  shall  build  our  cylin- 
ders smaller,  costing  less  to  construct  and  oc- 
cupying less  room,  both  of  great  importance 
to  the  marine  engine — second,  the  other 
parts  of  the  engine  having  a  regular  strain, 
instead  of  alternately  crowding  and  being 
moved  by  the  balance  wheel,  will  bear  to  be 
much  lighter.  And,  lastly,  we  are  forever  rid 
of  expensive  and  complicated  cut-off  gear. 

We  cannot  close  this  part  of  our  theme 

17 


20 

25.5 

11.5 

20.5 

11 

111 

43.3 

5.85 

1.07 

0.50 


72  hours. 
20 
25.9 
11.5 
80.2 
13.6 
201 
42.7 
5.46 
1.00 
1.00 


72  hours. 
20 
25.9 
11.15 
28.4 
14.3 
200 
87.9 
4.89 
0.89 
0.79 


80  hours. 
20 
26 
11.7 
132 
9. 

58.7 
54.25 
6.64 
1.27 
0.87 


without  alluding  to  the  course  of  Mr.  Toucey 
in  this  mater.  The  experiments  were  so  ex- 
pensive that  without  government  assistance 
they  would  probably  have  never  been  accu- 
rately tried,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  conducted  will  reflect  as  much  credit 
upon  the  American  government  as  was  ever 
conceded  to  the  French  Academy  for  their 
celebrated  experiments  upon  temperature 
and  pressure.  May  the  successors  of  Mr. 
Toucey  ever  show  as  much  public  spirit  as  he 
has  done  in  this  respect,  and  devote  some 
of  the  public  money  to  the  advancement  of 
steam  engineering  that  has  done  so  much 
for  our  prosperity. 


COTTON  MANUFACTURES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORIGIN— HAND  WORK— INVENTIONS. 

THE  use  of  cotton  as  a  material  for  human 
clothing  has  been  known  since  remote  ages, 
not  only  in  Asia,  but  among  the  ancient  in- 
habitants of  America.  The  kind  of  cotton 
used  in  the  United  States  is  a  native  of 
Mexico,  and  it  was  the  principal  material 
for  clothing  in  use  with  the  Mexicans  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  of  this  country. 
They  had  neither  hemp,  wool,nor  silk,  but  they 
wove  the  cotton  into  large  webs,  as  delicate 
and  as  fine  as  those  of  Holland.  These  they  or- 
namented with  feathers  and  fur,  wrought  into 
the  fabric  in  the  form  of  animals  and  flowers. 
Cortes  sent  a  number  of  these  magnificent 
robes  to  Charles  V.  The  art  was  apparently 
lost  in  the  strife  that  followed,  but  the 
material  transplanted  to  the  United  States 
about  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the 
new  government,  has  become  a  bond  which 
holds  modern  Europe  in  dependence  on 
American  industry;  a  dependence  which 
they  would  gladly  shake  off  if  they  could, 
but  which  only  becomes  more  hopeless  in 
their  efforts  to  do  so.  The  cotton  culture 
has  produced  a  web  which  holds  the  lion 
in  its  toils,  and  his  efforts  to  free  himself, 
gigantic  as  they  may  be,  only  make  his  im- 
potence more  apparent. 

The  growing  and  manufacturing  of  cotton 
by  machine  took  date  from  the  organization 
of  the  United  States  government,  and  its 
progress  has  been  as  follows  : — Yds. 

Price, 

United  States  Cotton  of  Total  Liver-  Yards 
crop.  other  sources,  supply,  pool.  cloth. 
Ibs.  Ibs.  1'bs.  cts. 

1800,          9,532,263     45,671,170       54,203.43348     162  CIO  299 
1859,   2,162,000,000   199,446,616  2,361,444,616    6  7,064,'333,646 

The  cotton  from  other  sources  is  that  im- 
ported into  Great  Britain  from  other  places 
than  the  United  States.  The  increase  of 
supply  is  nearly  all  from  the  United  States. 
The  usual  weight  of  cloth  being  three  yards 
to  the  pound,  the  quantity  of  cotton  spun 
would  give  in  cloth  the  large  number-of  yards 


seen  in  the  table.  This  production  employs 
a  vast  capital  in  the  transportation,  manu- 
facture, and  sale  of  the  fabric.  More  people 
are  now  directly  dependent  upon  the  manu- 
facture for  support,  than  there  were  in 
the  United  States  at  the  formation  of  the 
government.  In  the  United  States  this  year, 
978,043  bales  were  manufactured,  or  equal 
to  1,470,000,000  yards  of  cloth,  or  forty 
yards  to  every  person  in  the  Union.  The 
value  of  this  must  be  $140,000,000.  This 
has  been  the  result  of  seventy  years'  progress 
from  very  small  beginnings,  and  this  mar- 
vellous growth  has  resulted  from  the  extra- 
ordinary inventions  that  have  not  ceased  to 
succeed  each  other,  and  of  which  we  shall 
give  a  brief  sketch. 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  by  hand  orig- 
inated in  India  at  a  time  too  remote  for 
record,  and  it  has  there  existed  down  to  the 
present  time  in  a  rude  state  as  far  as  ma- 
chines are  concerned,  yet  of  an  unapproach- 
able and  almost  incredible  perfection  of 
hand  production.  Ancient  writers  speak  of 
the  "fairy -like"  texture.  Tavernier,  two 
hundred  years  since,  describes  a  calico  that 
you  "can  hardly  feel  in  your  hand,  and  the 
thread  is  scarcely  discernible."  The  Rev. 
William  Ward  states  that  muslins  are  made 
so  fine  that  four  months  are  required  to  make 
one  piece,  which  is  then  Avorth  500  rupees 
($250).  "When  this  is  laid  on  the  grass, 
and  the  dew  is  on  it,  it  cannot  be  seen." 
These  are  marvellous  productions,  doubtless, 
but  they  are  possible  only  as  a  result  of  the 
organization  of  the  people.  They  possess 
an  exquisite  sense  of  touch,  and  that  gentle- 
ness and  patience  which  characterize  only 
an  effeminate  race.  Even  with  them  a  long 
training  is  required  in  each  district  to  per- 
fect the  cloth  peculiar  to  it.  This  is  a  kind 
of  industry  that  does  not  minister  to  the 
wants  of  a  vigorous  people  in  other  clinics. 
From  India  the  manufacture  spread  to  China, 
in  the  eleventh  century,  and  found  its  way 
to  Europe  with  the  Mahometan  conquests. 


ORIGIN HAND    WORK INVENTIONS. 


275 


It  was  for  a  long  time  supposed  and  as- 
serted by  many  philosophers  that  the  Egyp- 
tians made  cloth  of  cotton,  and  the  mummy 
wrappers  were  asserted  to  be  of  cotton.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  of  late  years,  that 
the  error  was  proved.  The  microscope  re- 
veals the  fact  that  the  fibres  of  cotton  and 
flax  are  quite  different.  The  latter  is  round 
and  jointed,  like  a  sugar  cane,  while  cotton 
is  flat  and  twisted.  The  mummy  cloths 
are  all  of  the  first  description,  and  there  are 
no  signs  of  a  cotton  manufacture  in  Egypt. 

It  spread  through  southern  Europe  slug- 
gishly, and  is  first  mentioned  in  England  in 
'1641 ;  but  it  made  little  progress  until  a  cen- 
tury later.  There  were  two  obstacles  to 
progress — want  of  the  material  and  want  of 
machines  to  manufacture  effectively.  The 
quantity  of  cotton  imported  into  Great 
Britain  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  was 
about  one  million  of  pounds. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  American  revolution- 
ary war,  the  cotton  manufacture  in  England  in 
all  its  branches  was  in  a  very  primitive  state. 
At  that  date  a  series  of  inventions  and  discov- 
eries took  place,  that  rapidly  carried  the 
cotton  manufacture  to  a  magnitude  second 
to  no  other  industry,  and  gave  it  the  im- 
pulse which,  as  we  have  seen,  has  not  yet 
ceased  to  act.  The  cleaning,  carding,  epin- 
ning,  weaving,  dyeing,  and  printing  were  all 
conducted  in  slow  and  expensive  methods,  by 
which  a  great  number  of  people  were  required 
to  produce  small  results.  The  only  source 
for  the  raw  material  was  then  theWest  Indies. 
The  quantity  derived  thence  was  about  40,000 
bales,  or  4,000,000  pounds,  and  this  was 
wrought  up  by  hand  processes. 

The  object  in  carding  and  spinning  is  to  draw 
out  the  loose  fibres  of  the  cotton  into  a  regu- 
lar and  continuous  line,  and  after  reducing  it  to 
the  requisite  tenuity,  to  twist  it  into  a  thread. 
By  the  early  method,  after  the  cotton  was 
cleaned,  it  was  carded  between  two  flat  cards 
held  in  the  hand.  A  small  quantity  of  the 
cotton  placed  on  one  was,  with  the  other, 
combed  as  straight  as  possible.  The  fleecy 
roll  that  resulted  was  called  a  sliver.  This 
roll,  or  sliver,  was  then  applied  to  the  single 
spindle,  that  was  driven  by  a  wheel  set  in 
motion  by  the  other  hand  of  the  operator; 
as  it  received  a  twist,  it  was  drawn  out  into 
a  thick  thread  like  a  candle-wick,  called  a  rov- 
ing, and  was  wound  on  a  cop.  This  roving  was 
again  drawn  out  and  spun  into  a  thread.  Thus, 
in  two  operations,  a  single  irregular  and  im- 
perfect thread  grew  slowly  in  two  hands.  In 


this  manner  all  the  cotton  yarn  used  was 
made,  in  cottages  and  private  houses,  mostly 
by  females.  The  weaving  was  also  done  by 
hand  looms ;  but  such  was  the  slow  process 
of  spinning,  that  the  weaver's  time  was 
largely  employed  in  going  round  to  buy  up 
yarn.  They  competed  with  each  other  in 
this,  and  the  yarn  thus  cost  more  than  it 
should.  One  fine  morning  Mr.  James  Har- 
greaves  determined  to  emancipate  himself 
from  the  spinners,  by  putting  into  practice  an 
idea  that  had  occurred  to  him.  This  was, 
to  spin  in  his  own  house,  and  to  make  one 
wheel  drive  eight  spindles,  and  to  draw  the 
rovings  by  means  of  a  clasp  held  in  the  left 
hand  of  the  operator.  That  was  the  first 
spinning-jenny,  patented  in  1767.  In  1769, 
Arkwright  added  the  important  discovery 
of  rollers,  or  drawing  frames.  This  was  one 
of  the  most  important  inventions.  It  con- 
sisted in  causing  the  roving,  on  its  way  to 
the  spindle,  to  pass  between  a  pair  of  rollers 
about  four  inches  long  and  one  in  diameter. 
These  held  the  roving  so  firmly  between 
them  that  it  could  pass  only  at  the  speed  of 
their  own  revolution.  From  these  the  rov- 
ing passed  between  two  other  rollers,  which 
revolved  twice  as  fast  as  the  first  pair. 
The  effect  was  that  between  the  two  sets, 
the  roving  was  drawn  out  to  double  its 
former  length,  and,  of  course,  half  its  tenuity. 
The  rollers  thus  supplanted  the  drawing  by 
hand.  By  this  mode  of  drawing  the  cotton, 
the  fibres  are  straightened  and  made  parallel ; 
and  the  improvements  that  have  since  been 
made  in  the  same  direction  are  to  increase  the 
drawings  and  doublings,  or  the  placing  of  sev- 
eral slivers  together  to  be  drawn  down  into 
one.  In  1784,  Crompton  combined  these 
two  inventions  into  a  third,  called  the  mule- 
spinner.  The  machine  of  Arkwright  was 
called  the  water-frame,  because  it  was  first 
driven  by  water  power.  The  defect  was, 
that  it  spun  thread  for  warps  only.  It  could 
not  spin  fine  threads,  because  these  could 
not  bear  the  strain  of  the  bobbins.  This  the 
mule  remedied.  Instead  of  the  spindles  be- 
ing stationary,  and  the  rovings  movable,  the 
former  were  placed  upon  a  movable  frame 
which  runs  out  fifty-six  inches,  to  stretch 
and  twist  the  thread,  and  runs  in  again  for 
it  to  wind  upon  the  spindles.  The  thread  is 
thus  treated  more  gently.  The  effect  of  this 
machine  is  best  understood  by  the  fact  that 
a  "  hank"  of  thread  measures  840  yards,  and 
it  was  before  supposed  impossible  to  spin  80 
of  these  hanks  from  a  pound  of  cotton.  The 


276 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


new  machine  spun  350  hanks  to  the  pound, 
thus  forming  a  thread  167  miles  in  length  ! 
This  mule  was  improved  to  carry  130  spin- 
dles;  and  when  water  power  was  applied, 
in  1790,  it  carried  400  spindles.  These 
mules,  at  the  present  day,  carry  3,000  spin- 
dles, and  are  now  self-acting. 

The  process  of  carding  had  also  in  this 
period  undergone  great  improvements.  The 
first  improvement  made  in  the  old  hand 
cards  was  to  make  one  of  them  a  fixture, 
and  of  a  larger  size  than  the  other.  The 
workman  could  thus  work  more  cotton  in 
the  same  time.  He  then  proceeded  to 
suspend  the  movable  card  by  a  pulley, 
with  a  weight  to  balance  it.  The  next 
advance  was  to  make  the  movable  card  a 
cylinder  covered  with  cards,  and  turned 
by  a  handle,  in  a  concave  frame,  lined  also 
with  cards,  which  was  simply  the  fixed  card 
curved  to  adapt  it  to  the  cylindrical  form  of 
the  other.  The  lower  part  was  let  down  in 
order  to  remove  the  cotton,  by  means  of  a 
stick  with  needles  in  it  like  a  comb.  The 
next  improvement  was  in  1772,  to  attach  an 
endless  revolving  cloth,  called  a  feeder,  on 
which  the  cotton  was  spread,  and  by  it  convey- 
ed to  the  cylinder.  The  next  step  was  to  take 
the  carded  wool  off  the  cylinder  by  means 
of  another  cylinder  revolving  in  an  opposite 
direction,  and  called  the  doffer.  This  being 
entirely  covered  with  cards,  gave  a  continu- 
ous fleece  of  cotton,  which  was  in  1773  re- 
moved from  it  by  means  of  a  steel  blade  like 
a  saw,  working  by  short  strokes.  This 
broad  fleece  then  passed  through  a  funnel,  by 
which  it  was  contracted  into  a  ribbon ;  it  then 
proceeded  through  two  rollers,  that  com- 
pressed it  and  let  it  fall  into  a  deep  can.  The 
carding  machine  by  these  means  approached 
perfection,  but  there  was  necessary  to  it 
the  marvellous  American  invention  of  the 
card-making  machine,  which  made  the  cards 
so  perfectly  and  so  cheaply  as  to  make  the 
cylinder  carding  possible.  The  concave 
frame  in  which  the  original  cylinder  re- 
volved, was  soon  replaced  by  smaller  cylin- 
ders covered  with  cards  and  revolving  in  a 
direction  contrary  to  the  main  cylinder. 
Between  the  action  of  these,  the  cotton  was 
more  perfectly  combed  out. 

The  carding  and  spinning  of  yarn  thus  had 
become  developed  in  a  manner  to  meet  the 
wishes  of  the  weavers,  but  now  genius  was 
directed  to  the  loom,  and  in  1785  the  power 
loom  was  invented  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cart- 
wright.  This  was  improved  upon,  until 


in  1803  a  new  loom  was  patented  by  Mr. 
Horrocks.  These  looms  but  slowly  sup- 
planted hand  looms,  notwithstanding  their 
great  superiority.  The  great  obstacle  to  the 
success  of  the  power  loom  was  that  it  was 
necessary  to  stop  it  frequently  to  dress  the 
warp  as  it  came  from  the  beam.  Thg  dress- 
ing is  a  size  of  flour  and  water,  now  used 
cold ;  the  object  of  it  is  to  make  the  thread 
smooth,  like  cat-gut.  The  inconvenience  of 
the  frequent  dressing  was  remedied  in  1802, 
by  the  invention  of  the  dressing  machine. 
By  this  machine  the  thread  is  wound  from 
the  bobbins  upon  the  weaving-beam,  and  in 
its  passage  it  passes  through  the  starch.  It 
is  then  pressed  between  rollers,  and  pass- 
ing over  hot  cylinders  to  dry  it,  it  is  brushed 
in  its  progress.  When  wound  upon  the 
beam  it  is  ready  for  weaving.  The  power 
loom  thenceforth  grew  rapidly  in  favor. 
Before  the  invention  of  the  dressing  machine, 
one  man  was  required  to  each  loom  ;  after- 
ward, a  girl  of  fourteen  tended  two,  and 
produced  with  them  three  and  one-half  times 
as  much  cloth  as  the  best  hand  weaver.  Im- 
provements were  made,  until,  in  1833,  a 
weaver  fifteen  years  old,  aided  by  a  girl 
of  twelve,  would  weave  eighteen  pieces  of 
nine-eighths  shirting  of  the  same  quality  of 
which,  in  1803,  it  required  a  grown  man  to 
make  two  in  a  week. 

While  these  improvements  in  machines 
were  made,  there  were  discovered  processes 
of  bleaching  quite  as  important.  This  pro- 
cess previously  required  six  to  eight  months 
to  steep  in  lyes  and  bleach  upon  the  grass. 
By  chemical  discoveries,  a  bleaching  powder, 
composed  of  manganese,  salt,  sulphuric  acid, 
and  lime,  is  effective  in  bleaching  the  rough, 
gray,  and  dirty  fabric  that  comes  from  the 
weaver,  in  a  few  hours.  Every  thing  is  done 
by  machinery  and  chemical  agents. 

The  printing  of  calico  was  introduced  into 
England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  but  made 
little  or  no  progress  until  its  introduction  into 
Lancashire  in  1764,  when  it  was  taken  up  by 
a  farmer,  Robert  Peel,  grandfather  of  the  late 
prime  minister  of  England,  Sir  Robert  Peel. 
When  he  began  to  print,  he  had  the  cloth 
ironed  out  by  one  of  his  family,  and  used  a 
parsley  leaf  for  a  pattern.  The  method  was 
to  cut  the  pattern  upon  blocks  of  sycamore, 
like  an  ordinary  wood  engraving.  On  the 
back  of  the  block  was  a  handle.  The  color 
was  contained  in  a  vessel,  over  which  was 
stretched  a  woollen  cloth,  in  contact  with 
the  liquid.  To  this  the  surface  of  the  block  was 


ORIGIN HAND    "WORK INVENTIONS. 


277 


applied,  and  it  was  then  laid  upon  the  white 
cloth  ironed  out,  and  struck  with  a  mallet ; 
the  figure  was  thus  impressed.  The  block 
was  then  applied  in  a  fresh  place ;  so  that  a 
piece  of  calico  twenty-eight  yards,  required 
448  applications  of  the  block.  To  make 
more  delicate  figures,  copper  plates  were 
employed,  with  the  press  used  for  copper- 
plate printing.  The  copper-plate  method 
was  quite  as  slow  as  the  block  method.  In 
1785,  cylinder  printing  was  invented.  A  pol- 
ished copper  cylinder,  three  feet  in  length 
and  four  inches  in  diameter,  is  engraved 
with  the  figure  on  its  whole  surface.  It  is 
then  placed  in  the  press,  and  as  it  revolves, 
the  lower  part  passes  through  the  coloring 
matter,  which  is  scraped  from  the  surface  as 
it  rises  by  a  steel  blade  nicely  adjusted 
lengthwise.  This  blade  is  called  the  "  doc- 
tor." The  cloth  passes  between  this  roller 
and  a  large  cylinder,  and  receives  the  im- 
pression by  a  continuous  motion.  Thus, 
two  or  three  minutes  now  sufficed  to  do 
what  required  before  448  applications.  Al- 
most any  number  of  these  cylinders  may  be 
used  at  the  same  time  in  the  same  press, 
and  with  different  colors.  .Thus  a  five  cyl- 
inder press  will  do  what  would  have  required 
2,240  applications  by  the  block ;  in  other 
words,  a  man  and  a  boy  could  now  do  what 
before  would  have  required  200  men  and  boys. 
An  American  invention  here  made  an 
important  change  in  the  printing.  Mr.  Jacob 
Perkins,  of  Massachusetts,  invented  the  proc- 
ess of  transferring  an  engraving  from  a  very 
small  steel  cylinder  to  the  copper.  Before 
this,  the  whole  of  the  copper  cylinder  required 
to  be  engraved,  at  great  expense,  and  when 
done  would  print  about  1,500  pieces  of  cloth 
before  it  was  worn  out.  By  the  new 
mode,  a  steel  cylinder  three  inches  long 
and  one  in  diameter,  is  prepared  by  being 
softened  that  it  may  be  easily  cut.  The 
pattern  to  be  engraved  is  so  arranged  and 
made  to  agree  with  the  circumference  of  the 
copper  cylinder,  as  to  join  and  appear  con- 
tinuous when  repeated.  When  this  is  cut 
upon  the  steel  it  is  hardened,  and  then,  by 
great  pressure  against  another  soft  cylinder, 
the  figure  is  made  on  it  in  relief,  or  raised 
upon  its  surface.  This  being  hardened, 
transfers  by  pressure  the  design  upon  the 
whole  of  the  copper  cylinder.  The  engrav- 
ing is  thus  multiplied  fifty-four  times,  and 
may  be  renewed  at  short  notice  when  the 
cylinder  is  worn.  This  was  a  most  impor- 
tant step  in  advance.  When  many  colors  are 


required  in  the  same  pattern,  portions  of  it 
are  engraved  upon  separate  dies,  and  the 
number  of  colors  may  be  multiplied  by  add- 
ing cylinders. 

We  have  thus  sketched  the  state  of  affairs 
down  to  about  the  period  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  manufacture  into  the  United 
States,  which  was  about  the  period  of  the 
formation  of  the  government.  The  imports 
of  the  raw  material  into  Great  Britain  at 
that  time,  will  show  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  trade  developed  itself. 

COTTON   IMPORTED    INTO   GREAT  BRITAIN. 

1175... 4,765,589  Ibs.     1786..  .19,900,000  Ibs. 
1781.. .5,198,777     "       1789..  .32,576,023     " 

The  cotton  was  derived  as  follows  in 
1786:  British  West  Indies,  5,800,000  Ibs.; 
French  and  Spanish  do.,  5,500,000  Ibs. ; 
Dutch  do.,  1,600,000  Ibs. ;  Portuguese  do., 
2,000,000  Ibs. ;  Turkey,  5,000,000  Ibs.  The 
United  States  contributed  nothing.  They 
did  not  then  grow  cotton. 

The  American  invention  of  the  cotton  gin 
was  more  important  than  all  the  inventions 
we  have  described,  for  the  reason  that  without 
it,  and  the  American  supply  of  cotton  made 
possible  by  it,  all  the  ingenuity  of  the 
English  would  have  failed  for  want  of  ma- 
terial to  work  on.  The  sources  of  supply 
above  mentioned  have  not  increased  in  ca- 
pacity. England  has  derived  some  cotton 
from  India,  but  not  so  much  in  the  raw 
state  as  she  sends  thither  in  goods,  and  the 
United  States  alone  keep  her  mills  in  mo- 
tion. While  they  have  done  this  they  have 
also  developed  the  manufacture  in  a  mar- 
vellous manner.  We  will  here  enumerate  the 
dates  of  the  above  described  inventions,  in 
order  to  show  that  it  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  excitement  they  produced,  that  the 
manufacture  was  transported  to  America. 

Hargreaves'  jenny 1767 

Arkwright's  rollers 1769 

Crompton's  mule 1784 

Feeding  for  carder. 1772 

Doffer       "        "     1773 

Cartwright's  loom 1785 

Water  power  used 1790 

Cylinder  printing 1785 

Dressing  machine 1802 

It  was  at  the  period  so  prolific  in  inven- 
tions, and  when  the  use  of  cotton  had  so  in- 
creased in  England,  that  the  manufacture 
was  commenced  in  the  United  States.  The 
first  mill  was  at  Beverly,  Mass.  It  had  a 
capital  of  £90,000,  and  was  organized  in 
1787,  for  the  manufacture  of  corduroys  and 


HAND  LOOM. 


POWER  LOOM.    ONE   GIRL  ATTENDS  FOUR. 


'^^^M^^^M^ 


SPINNING  BY  HAND  WITH  A  SINGLE  SPINDLE. 


A  MULE  SPINNEB,   OPEEATED  BT  ONE  HAND,    CARRYING   3,000  SPINDLES,   DOING  THE  WORK  OF 

3,000   GIRLS. 


280 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


bed  ticks.  The  capital  was  swallowed  up 
in  fifteen  years.  The  machines  were  very 
rude,  inasmuch  as  the  new  inventions  in 
England  were  then  unknown  here. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MANUFACTURE  IN  AMERICA— SPINNING- 
PROGRESS. 

SAMUEL  SLATER  was  an  apprentice  to 
Jedidiah  Strutt,  the  partner  of  Arkwright. 
He  served  his  time,  and  when  of  age  de- 
parted for  America,  where  he  arrived  in 

1789.  In  the  following   year,  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Almey  and  Brown  to 
start  a  factory  at  Pawtucket.     Here,  then, 
were  put  up,  in  the  best  manner,  the  whole 
series  of  machines  patented   and  used   by 
Arkwright  for  spinning  cotton.     There  had 
been  previous  attempts  at  the  spinning  of 
cotton  by  water  power,  and  some  rude  ma- 
chines were   in  existence  for  spinning  the 
rolls  prepared  by  hand,  in  private  families  ; 
but  the  machines  that  had  been  invented  in 
England  for  the  purpose  were  entirely  un- 
known here  until  put  up  by  Slater.  Those  ma- 
chines were  so  perfect  that,  although  put  up  in 

1790,  they  continued  to  be  used  forty  years, 
up  to   1830,  when  they  formed  part  of  an 
establishment   of   two    thousand    spindles, 
which  still  exists  in  Pawtucket  under  the 
name  of  the  "  old  mill."      Slater's  business 
was  prosperous,  and  he  amassed  a  large  for- 
tune.    He  died  in  1 834.     His  son  and  heirs 
still  carry  on  the  business.     It  is  to  be  re- 
marked that  his  business  was  confined  to 
the  spinning  of  cotton.     The  business,  of 
course,  spread  as  soon  as  it  was  found  to  be 
profitable ;  but,  up  to  the  war  of  1812,  the 
New  England  interests  were  commercial,  and 
when  the  war  broke  out  there  was  an  im- 
mense  rise   in  the  value    of  goods,  which 
gave  to  all  existing  spinning  interests  a  great 
advantage.     Cotton  cloth  sold  at  forty  cents 
per  yard ;  and  Slater  held  almost  a  monop- 
oly of  the  supply  of  yarn  to  make  it.     Mr. 
Slater  had,  in  1807,  in  connection  with  his 
brother  John,  who  brought  over  important 
knowledge,  of  the  recent  improvements  in 
machinery,  erected  a  mill  at  Slatersville,  near 
Smlthfield,  R  I.       Mr.   Slater  established  a 
Sumlay  school  for  his  operatives,  and  this  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  in  New  Eng- 
land. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  I.  Slater  got  his 


mill  into  operation  at  the  same  period  that 
the  federal  government  was  organized  under 
the  new  constitution,  a  most  auspicious  event. 
The  manufacture  did  not  fail  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  new  government,  and  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
in  his  famous  report  of  1791,  remarks: — 

"The  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  not  long 
since  established  at  Beverly,  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  at  Providence,  Khocie  Island,  seems 
to  have  overcome  the  first  obstacles  to  suc- 
cess ;  producing  corduroys,  velverets,  fustians, 
jeans,  and  other  similar  articles,  of  a  qual- 
ity which  will  bear  a  comparison  with  the 
like  articles  brought  from  Manchester.  The 
one  at  Providence  has  the  merit  of  being 
the  first  in  introducing  into  the  United 
States  the  celebrated  cotton  mill,  which  not 
only  furnishes  material  for  the  factory  itself, 
but  for  the  supply  of  private  families  for 
household  manufacture. 

"  Other  manufactories  of  the  same  material, 
as  regular  businesses,  have  also  been  begun 
in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  but  all  upon  a 
smaller  scale  than  those  mentioned.  Some 
essays  are  also  making  in  the  printing  and 
staining  of  cotton  goods.  There  are  several 
small  establishments  6f  this  kind  already  on 
foot." 

The  same  report  proposes,  as  an  aid  to  the 
factories,  to  remove  the  duty  of  three  cents 
per  pound  on  the  import  of  raw  cotton,  and 
to  extend  the  duty  of  seven  and  a  half  per 
cent,  to  all  cotton  goods.  It  also  remarks 
that  cotton  has  not  the  same  pretension  as 
hemp  to  protection,  as  it  is  not  a  production 
of  the  country,  and  affords  less  assurance  of 
an  adequate  supply.  These  few  facts  afford 
an  idea  of  the  notions  then  entertained  of 
that  cotton  which  has  since  overshadowed 
all  other  interests. 

The  old  mill  of  Samuel  Slater,  Esq.,  'the 
first  building  erected  in  America  for  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  yarns,  is  a  venerable 
wood-built  structure,  two  stories  in  height, 
bearing  numerous  evidences  of  its  antiquity, 
having  been  erected  in  1793.  Two  spinning 
frames,  the  first  in  the  mill,  are  still  there, 
and  are  decided  curiosities  in  their  way.  It 
is  almost  incredible  to  believe  that  this  old 
building,  time-worn  and  weather-browned, 
was  the  first  to  spread  its  sheltering  roof 
over  the  young  pupil  of  Arkwright,  and  that 
those  dwarf  frames,  rusty  and  mildewed  with 
inactivity,  are  the  pioneer  machines  of  that 
immense  branch  of  our  national  industry — 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  It  may  be 


MANUFACTURE    IN    AMERICA SPINNING PROGRESS. 


281 


remarked  that  down  to  1828  the  exportation 
of  machines  of  all  kinds,  and  also  wool,  was 
strictly  prohibited  in  England,  for  fear  other 
nations  should  benefit  by  English  mechanic- 
al genius,  of  which  they  supposed  they  had 
a  monopoly  ;  when,  however,  they  found  that 
the  balance  of  genius  was  on  this  side  of  the 
pond,  they  liberally  removed  the  prohibition. 
Mr.  Slater,  the  father  of  American  cotton 
manufactures,  was  so  closely  watched  at  the 
English  custom-house,  that  he  could  not 
smuggle  over  a  drawing  or  pattern.  He  had, 
however,  acquired  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
Arkwright  principle  of  spinning,  and  from 
recollection,  and  with  his  own  hands,  made 
three  cards  and  twenty-two  spindles,  and 
put  them  in  motion  in  the  building  of  a 
clothier,  by  the  water-wheel  of  an  old  fulling- 
mill.  Sixty-seven  years  have  since  elapsed, 
and  the  business  has  in  that  period  increased 
beyond  all  precedent  in  the  history  of  manu- 
factures. Our  rivers  and  wild  waterfalls, 
that  then  flowed  and  murmured  in  solitude, 
g,re  now  propelling  thousands  of  mill-wheels, 
and  millions  of  shuttles  and  spindles.  In  the 
business,  hundreds  of  fortunes  have  been 
made,  thousands  of  citizens  earn  a  subsist- 
ence and  find  constant  employment,  while 
millions  are  clothed  in  different  portions  of 
the  globe.  A  wonderful  revolution  has  that 
old  mill  produced  on  the  shores  of  the  new 
world.  When  Gen.  Jackson  visited  the 
mill,  and  complimented  Slater  on  his  having 
been  the  first :  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  here  I 
gave  out  the  psalm,  which  is  now  sung  by 
millions." 

The  machines  for  the  spinning  of  cotton 
thence  spread  into  several  states,  and  con- 
tinued to  attract  capital.  The  extent  to 
which  this  was  carried  became  evident  in 
1810,  from  the  facts  collected  by  the  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury,  Albert  Gallatin,  Esq. 
The  manufactures  of  cotton  and  wool  were 
then  principally  confined  to  families ;  and 
Mr.  Gallatin  thought  it  probable  that  about 
two-thirds  of  the  clothing  (including  hosiery), 
of  the  house  and  table  linen  worn  and  used 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  not 
residing  in  cities,  was  the  product  of  family 
manufactures.  The  number  of  cotton  mills 
returned  to  the  secretary,  which  were  erect- 
ed at  the  close  of  the  year  1809,  was  eighty- 
seven,  sixty-two  of  which  (forty-eight  water 
and  fourteen  horse-mills)  were  in  operation, 
and  worked  at  that  time  31,000  spindles. 
The  other  twenty-five,  it  was  supposed,  would 
be  in  operation  in  the  course  of  the  year 


1810,  and,  with  the  former,  would  probably 
work  eighty  thousand  spindles  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  year  1811.  He  estimated 
the  amount  of  capital  that  would  be  em- 
ployed in  these  mills  at  $4,800,000,  the 
cotton  used  3,600,000  Ibs.,  the  yarn  spun  at 
2,880,000  Ibs.,  valued  at  $3,240,000,  the 
men  employed  500,  and  the  women  and  boys 
3,500. 

By  the  returns  of  the  marshals  of  the 
census  of  1810,  the  number  of  cotton  fac- 
tories was  168,  with  90,000  spindles;  but 
from  most  of  the  states  no  returns  were  made 
of  the  quantity  of  cotton  used  and  the  yarn 
spun.  Massachusetts  had  54,  most  of  them, 
no  doubt,  small,  having  in  the  whole 
only  19,448  spindles,  consuming  but  838,- 
348  pounds  of  cotton,  and  their  produce 
valued  at  $931,916.  Rhode  Island  had  26 
factories,  with  21,030  spindles,  and  Connect- 
icut 14,  with  11,883  spindles.  These  were 
for  the  supply  of  yarn  to  be  used  in  hand 
looms  exclusively. 

In  this  position  of  affairs  the  war  took 
place ;  but  just  on  its  eve  Mr.  Francis  C. 
Lowell,  of  Boston,  returned  from  Europe, 
where  he  had  inspected  the  great  improve- 
ments in  machines  for  cotton  manufacturing, 
and  had  formed  the  project  of  establishing 
the  manufacture  in  this  country.  He  as- 
sociated Avith  himself  in  the  enterprise  his 
brother-in-law,  Patrick  S.  Jackson,  and  they 
set  about  it.  The  country  was  then  at  war 
with  England,  and  there  was  no  possibility 
of  getting  either  models  or  machines  thence, 
nor  even  drawings.  The  memory  of  Mr. 
Lowell  was  all  that  was  to  be  depended  upon 
for  the  structure  of  the  machinery,  the 
materials  used  in  the  construction,  even  the 
tools  of  the  machine  shop.  The  first  object 
to  be  accomplished  was  to  procure  a  power 
loom.  To  obtain  one  from  England  was,  of 
course,  impracticable ;  and  although  there 
were  many  patents  for  such  machines  in  our 
Patent  Office,  not  on^  had  yet  exhibited  suf- 
ficient merit  to  be  adopted  into  use.  Under 
these  circumstances  but  one  resource  re- 
mained— to  invent  one  themselves — and  this 
these  earnest  men  at  once  set  about. 

Unacquainted  as  they  were  with  machinery 
in  practice,  they  dared,  nevertheless,  to  at- 
tempt the  solution  of  a  problem  that  had 
baffled  the  most  ingenious  mechanicians.  In 
England,  the  power,  loom  had  been  invented 
by  a  clergyman,  and  why  not  here  by  a  mer- 
chant? After  numerous  experiments  and 
failures,  they  at  last  succeeded,  in  the 


282 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


autumn  of  1812,  in  producing  a  model  which 
they  thought  so  well  of  as  to  be  willing  to 
make  preparations  for  putting  up  a  mill  for 
the  weaving  of  cotton  cloth.  It  was  now 
necessary  to  procure  the  assistance  of  a 
practical  mechanic,  to  aid  in  the  construction 
of  the  machinery,  and  the  friends  had  the 
good  fortune  to  secure  the  services  of  Mr. 
Paul  Moody,  afterward  so  well  known  as 
the  head  of  the  machine  shop  at  Lowell. 
They  found,  as  might  naturally  be  expected, 
many  defects  in  their  model  loom ;  but  these 
were  gradually  remedied.  The  project 
hitherto  had  been  exclusively  for  a  weaving 
mill,  to  do  by  power  what  had  before  been 
done  by  hand  looms.  But  it  was  ascertain- 
ed on  inquiry  that  it  would  be  more  eco- 
nomical to  spin  the  twist  than  to  buy 
it,  and  they  put  up  a  mill  for  about  1,700 
spindles,  which  was  completed  late  in  1813. 
It  will  probably  strike  the  reader  with  some 
astonishment  to  be  told  that  this  mill,  still 
in  operation  at  Waltham,  was  probably  the 
first  one  in  the  world  that  combined  all  the 
operations  necessary  for  converting  the  raw 
cotton  into  finished  cloth.  Such,  however, 
is  the  fact,  as  far  as  we  are  informed  on  the 
subject.  The  mills  in  this  country — Slater's, 
for  example,  in  Rhode  Island — were  spin- 
ning mills  only ;  and  in  England,  though  the 
power  loom  had  been  introduced,  it  was  used 
in  separate  establishments,  by  persons  who 
bought,  as  the  hand  weavers  had  always 
done,  their  twist  of  the  spinners.  Great  dif- 
ficulty was  at  first  experienced  at  Waltham, 
for  the  want  of  a  proper  preparation  (sizing) 
of  the  warps.  They  procured  from  England 
a  drawing  of  Horrocks'  dressing  machine, 
which,  with  some  essential  impi-ovements, 
they  adopted,  producing  the  dresser  now  in 
use  at  Lowell  and  elsewhere.  No  method 
was,  however,  indicated  in  this  drawing  of 
winding  the  threads  from  the  bobbins  on  to 
the  beam;  to  supply  this  deficiency,  the 
macnine  called  the  warper  was  invented, 
and  there  was  now  no  further  difficulty  in 
weaving  by  power  looms.  The  "  double 
speeder,"  answering  to  the  fly  frame  for  spin- 
ning roving,  was  then  added.  Mr.  Moody 
then  invented  the  machine  called  the  filling 
throstle,  for  winding  the  thread  for  weft  from 
the  bobbin  on  to  the  quills  for  the  shuttle. 
The  manufacture,  as  far  as  machinery  went, 
was  now  on  a  permanent  basis.  The  dif- 
ficulty that  presented  itself  was  in  opera- 
tives. There  was  here  no  such  pauper  class  as 
that  from  which  the  English  mills  were  sup- 


plied, and  the  factories  were  to  be  recruited 
from  respectable  families.  By  the  erection 
of  boarding-houses,  at  the  expense  and  under 
the  control  of  the  factory ;  putting  at  the 
head  of  them  matrons  of  tried  character,  and 
allowing  no  boarders  to  be  received  except 
the  female  operatives  of  the  mill;  by  strin- 
gent regulations  for  the  government  of  these 
houses — by  all  these  precautions,  they  gained 
the  confidence  of  the  rural  population,  who 
were  no  longer  afraid  to  trust  their  daughters 
in  a  manufacturing  town.  A  supply  was 
thus  obtained,  of  respectable  girls;  and  these, 
from  pride  of  character,  as  well  as  from  prin- 
ciple, have  taken  care  to  exclude  all  others. 
It  was  soon  found  that  apprenticeship  in  a 
factory  entailed  no  degradation  of  character, 
and  was  no  impediment  to  a  respectable  con- 
nection in  marriage.  A  factory  girl  was  no 
longer  condemned  to  pursue  that  vocation  for 
life;  she  would  retire,  in  her  turn,  to  assume  the 
higher  and  more  appropriate  responsibilities 
of  her  sex ;  and  it  soon  came  to  be  Consid- 
ered that  a  few  years  in  a  mill  were  an  honor- 
able mode  of  securing  a  dower.  The  busi- 
ness could  thus  be  conducted  without  any  per- 
manent manufacturing  population.  The  oper- 
atives no  longer  form  a  separate  caste,  pursu- 
ing a  sedentary  employment,  from  parent  to 
child,  in  the  heated  rooms  of  a  factory,  but 
are  recruited  in  a  circulating  current  from 
the  healthy  and  virtuous  population  of  the 
country.  The  success  which  these  mills  met 
with  of  course  prompted  their  extension.  In 
1821,  Mr.  Ezra  Worther,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  partner  with  Mr.  Moody,,  and  who 
had  applied  to  Mr.  Jackson  for  employment, 
suggested  that  the  Pawtucket  canal,  at 
Chelmsford,  would  afford  a  fine  location  for 
large  manufacturing  establishments,  and  that 
probably  a  privilege  might  be  purchased  of 
its  proprietors.  To  Mr.  Jackson's  mind  the 
hint  suggested  a  much  more  stupendous  pro- 
ject— nothing  less  than  to  possess  himself  of 
the  whole  power  of  the  Merrimac  river  at 
that  place.  Aware  of  the  necessity  of  se- 
crecy of  action,  to  secure  this  property  at 
any  reasonable  price,  he  undertook  it  single- 
handed.  It  was  necessary  to  purchase  not 
only  the  stock  in  the  canal,  but  all  the  farms 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  which  controlled 
the  water-power,  or  which  might  be  neces- 
sary for  the  future  extension  of  the  business. 
Such  was  the  beginning  of  Lowell,  since  so 
world-renowned.  A  new  company,  the  Mer- 
rimac, was  immediately  established  under 
the  direction  of  Kirk  Boott,  Esq. 


MANUFACTURE    IN    AMERICA SPINNING PROGRESS. 


283 


The  establishment  of  the  Lowell  mills  took 
place  at  a  time  when  the  occurrence  of  war 
had  diverted  the  capital  of  New  England 
from  commerce,  and  it  eagerly  sought  new 
modes  of  investment.  These  were  presented 
in  the  promising^  prospects  of  the  newly  in- 
vented machine  manufactures.  The  cotton 
growth  of  the  south  had  become  large  before 
the  war,  and  that  event  caused  an  immense 
accumulation  of  stock  that  sunk  the  price  to 
the  lowest  point,  and  by  so  doing,  offered 
an  abundance  of  raw  material  at  rates  merely 
nominal  compared  with  what  the  English 
manufacturers  had  been  paying.  This  gave 
a  great  advantage  to  the  new  enterprise,  and 
Congress  aided  it  by  the  establishment  of 
protective  duties.  The  minimum  cotton 
duty  was  invented  for  the  purpose.  The 
rate  was  nominally  ad  valorem,  but  the  price 
was  fixed  at  a  minimum,  on  which  the  duty 
was  cast — hence  the  duty  was  in  effect  spe- 
cific. Thus,  the  abundant  raw  material,  the 
lo\v  price  of  cotton,  and  the  protection  of 
the  government,  all  combined  to  give  breadth 
to  the  newly  awakened  manufacturing  fe- 
ver. The  capital  that  crowded  into  it,  soon, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  overdid  the  business, 
and  distress  followed,  which  was  sought 
to  be  relieved  by  a  still  higher  tariff  in  1824. 
That  seemed,  however,  to  add  but  fuel  to  the 
flame;  and  in  1828,  still  higher  rates  were 
demanded.  We  may  compare  these  tariffs : 
cotton  goods  not  dyed  were  to  be  valued  at 
twenty-five  cents  per  square  yard,  and  pay 
twenty-five  per  cent,  duty,  or  six  and  a  quar- 
ter cents  per  yard ;  goods  printed  or  dyed 
were  to  pay  nine  cents  per  square  yard ;  fus- 
tians, moleskins,  etc.,  were  to  pay  twenty-five 
cents  per  square  yard ;  woollens  were  charged 
twenty-five  per  cent,  in  1816,  thirty-three 
and  a  half  per  cent,  in  1824,  and  forty-five 
per  cent,  in  1828.  Under  all  these  circum- 
stances, the  manufacture  could  not  fail  to 
grow  rapidly,  and  of  course  to  bring  on  dis- 
tress as  the  result.  In  1831,  the  tariff  excite- 
ment had  reached  such  a  pitch  that  the  most 
disastrous  political  results  were  anticipated. 
It  was  then  that  the  committee  of  the  con- 
vention collected  information  of  the  existing 
manufactures.  They  reported  the  table  which 
we  annex.  The  returns  are  for  the  eleven 
states  where  manufactures  were  well  devel- 
oped ;  some  twenty  to  thirty  other  mills 
were  also  reported,  but  so  imperfectly  that 
the  returns  were  rejected.  The  table  is  very 
valuable — as  follows : — 


JO  J-«  CO  ' 

too  o  to     co-« 

-4-1  O  O  O*  CH  O 

00  OOOtOO 


~ 


to 


goa^.-co 

00  C*C" 


JS£S    *    £g* 

**£  *«£££££     "o^ 

*^    ^       J2§3£§8§§88§     ' 


3  O  O  O- 

>OO  O' 


*oo 


III  ii 


sg      §S"?     ? 


O>        3>  Ci  O  CO  CO  -» 
)C/>  «O— IQCaOiOCiC"     * 

5  r-i  CJ'OOOCntOOOar 


'ib.      1|».       'co'o  tn'toai'* 

co 


I  i 


f   , 

X 

>• 


>M        00*.c 


M-I,O.^          .^..  ooo^>        >S!a3 

o»*^^o*    cnmu»-    >— '  •    ^o^p°  os-P5  ~' '^  ^  ^*        -*    « * 

OOO       4*- O  »**.       rf^  O  *-*  O  Ot  to  -3  Or  ^  O  •-*  O        • 

—  UCT 

V  tots                   co^  y 

t-1                                   CO  O  O  .           >p       ''  2  X 

^  to  01 ;            '•  v.  '.  to    vi    r^.10  •      >    j^  5  2, 

CJ»oo      —i-^i—i      o  os      os  C"  — i      toon      t*r6f» 

SOO        OsiJ*V        O  O^-IOOO^        COO*-O"       ' 

OO        O5OO        O  OOO— <  O  O        CJIO5OO 


l-l  *. 

O          »-  OL 


<3>  *-         OS 

tO  ODtO  O" 

OM  OO  CO  O  tO 


to  to  tomoo 


284 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


Such  had  been  the  immense  growth  of  the 
manufacture  in  ten  years  from  the  time  the 
Lowell  mills  were  started,  when  but  little  ma- 
chine cloth  was  made;  but  in  1831,  there  was 
made,  it  appears,  230,461, 990  yards,  or  nearly 
twenty  yards  per  head  of  all  the  people.  It 
is  obvious  that  this  large  and  sudden  pro- 
duction of  cloth  could  have  found  vent  only 
by  supplanting  the  work  of  families  and 
hand  looms,  and  of  course  by  pressing  hard 
upon  the  spinners  of  yarn.  The  New  Eng- 
land mills  were  mostly  carried  on  as  one 
concern,-  spinning  and  manufacturing  to- 
gether. This,  however,  is  not  the  case  with 
the  mills  in  the  middle  or  the  new  states. 
The  mills  there  are  mostly  employed  in  spin- 
ning only,  as  were  the  first  New  England 
mills.  The  yarns  are  produced  for  sale  to 
hand  looms.  The  census  of  1840  gave  the 
number  of  mills  in  the  whole  country  at 
1,240,  and  the  number  of  spindles  at  2,284,- 
631,  consuming  132,835,856  Ibs.  of  cotton; 
and  the  manufacture  had  continued  to  spread 
into  the  southern  and  western  states.  That 
was  still  hand  weaving,  which  yet  obtains 
in  many  parts  of  the  older  states  of  the 
Union.  Thus,  while  in  Pennsylvania  the 
capital  invested  amounts  to  about  one-seventh 
of  that  of  Massachusetts,  the  quantity  of  cot- 
ton consumed  is  one-fifth ;  the  value  of  the 
raw  material,  not  quite  one-fourth;  number 
of  operatives  (male  and  female),  one-fourth ; 
value  of  products,  rather  more  than  one- 
fourth  ;  the  number  of  pounds  of  yarn  spun 
and  sold  as  yarn  is  above  thirty  times  greater 
in  Pennsylvania  than  in  Massachusetts.  This, 
to  a  certain  extent,  gives  a  key  to  the  differ- 
ences in  the  modes  of  manufacture  in  the 
two  states.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
that  domestic  weaving  is  gradually  giving 
way,  and  those  manufacturers,  especially  in 
Pennsylvania,  who  formerly  did  a  prosperous 
business  as  spinners  only,  now  find  that  the 
eastern  states  supply  the  piece  goods  at  a 
rate  so  little  above  the  cost  of  the  yarn,  that 
it  is  not  worth  the  while  of  the  farmer  to 
continue  this  primitive  custom  of  weaving 
his  own  cloth.  Thus  the  domestic  loom  is 
fast  following  the  spinning  wheel  of  the  early 
settlers,  and  those  manufacturers  who  until 
recently  have  spun  yarn  only,  are  gradually 
introducing  the  power  loom  as  the  only 
means  of  sustaining  their  position  in  the 
market.  This  was  illustrated  by  the  Eagle 
Cotton  Mill,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  For- 
merly, the  proprietors  spun  yarn  only,  and 
did  a  successful  trade ;  but,  by  a  return 


which  they  made,  it  appears  that  in  six 
establishments  under  their  direction  they 
had  introduced  already  540  looms  to  the 
26,000  spindles,  and  were  manufacturing 
sheeting  at  the  rate  of  6,000,000  yards  per 
annum,  together  with  twilled  cotton  bags, 
batting,  and  yarns,  and  this  in  order  to  make 
the  latter  pay,  by  consuming  the  surplus 
3^arns  themselves.  In  the  Penn  Cotton  Mill, 
Pittsburg,  the  more  modern  system  had  be- 
come the  rule  of  the  establishment,  and  with 
7,000  spindles  and  207  looms,  2,730,000 
yards  of  shirtings  were  produced  annually, 
besides  240,000  Ibs.  weight  of  colored  yarns 
for  cotton  warps  and  cotton  rope.  At  two 
establishments  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  the 
consumption  of  the  yarn  in  the  manufacture 
of  piece  goods  was  the  rule.  Georgia,  Ten- 
nessee, and  North  Carolina  are  quoted  as 
those  in  which  the  greater  progress  had  been 
made,  while  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and 
Alabama  were  the  next.  In  Tennessee,  spin- 
ning would  appear  to  be  the  rule  and  manu- 
facturing the  exception ;  in  Georgia  and 
North  Carolina,  equal  attention  is  paid  to 
both ;  while  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and 
Alabama  the  manufacture  of  the  piece  goods 
is  decidedly  more  extensively  carried  on 
than  spinning ;  only  slave  labor  is  largely  used, 
with  free  whites  as  overseers  and  instructors. 
The  males  are  heads  of  departments,  ma- 
chinists, dressers,  etc.,  and  the  females  are 
spinners  and  weavers.  The  latter  are  chiefly 
adults,  though  children  from  twelve  to  fif- 
teen are  employed.  The  average  hours  of 
work  here  are  twelve,  but  vary  a  little  with 
the  season,  very  full  time  being  the  rule. 
The  James  River  Mill  produces  a  large 
weight  of  work  for  the  extent  of  its  machin- 
ery. The  goods  manufactured  are  coarse 
cottons,  and  average  about  two  and  one-half 
yards  to  the  pound,  shirtings  twenty-eight 
inches  wide  (osnaburgs),  summer  panta- 
loons for  slaves,  and  bagging  for  export  to 
the  Brazils  for  sugar  bags,  running  about 
three  yards  to  the  pound.  Bagging  of  a 
lighter  character  for  grain,  and  thirty -six  inch 
osnaburgs,  two  yards  to  the  pound,  are  also 
produced.  The  Manchester  Company  manu- 
facture sheetings,  shirtings,  and  yarns,  and 
employ  about  325  operatives  ;  the  children 
being  of  the  same  average  age  as  at  the  James 
River  Mill.  Mr.  Whitehead,  of  Virginia,  in 
1853,  perfected  a  patent  speeder.  Its  ad- 
vantages are  a  greater  speed,  a  more  even 
roving,  and  a  bobbin  of  any  desirable  size, 
which  never  becomes  spongy  in  the  wind- 


MANUFACTURE    IN    AMERICA SPINNING PROGRESS. 


285 


ing.  In  Maryland,  however,  there  were 
twenty-four  establishments  in  1850,  chiefly 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  piece  goods, 
such  as  drillings,  sheetings,  ducks,  osna- 
burgs,  and  bagging.  The  yarns  produced 
for  domestic  purposes  bear  but  a  small  pro- 
portion to  those  manufactured  into  cloth, 
and  these  are  chiefly  sold  within  the  state 
for  the  home  weaving  of  mixed  fabrics  of 
wool  and  cotton,  forming  coarse  linseys. 
If  the  illustrations  given  show  the  early  pro- 
gress and  position  of  this  manufacture  in  the 
United  States,  so  far  as  daily-recurring  im- 
provements and  ever-increasing  wants  have 
permitted  it  to  remain  in  its  original  form, 
the  manufacturing  towns  of  Lowell,  Man- 
chester, and  Lawrence,  strikingly  demonstrate 
the  results  of  the  energy  and  enterprise  of 
the  manufacturers  of  New  England.  At 
Lowell,  Mass.,  the  cotton  manufacture  has 
been  developed  in  a  form  which  has  been  a 
theme  for  many  writers  on  the  economy  and 
social  bearing  of  the  factory  system ;  and 
the  plans  so  successfully  put  into  operation 
here  and  carried  on  since  1822  have  led  to 


the  erection  of  large  establishments,  with 
their  attendant  boarding-houses,  at  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,  and  more  recently  at  Law- 
rence, Mass.  The  falls  of  the  Pawtucket  on 
the  Merrimac  river  and  the  Pawtucket  canal, 
which  had  previously  been  used  only  for 
the  purpose  of  navigation  and  connecting 
the  river  above  and  below  the  falls  by  means 
of  locks,  presented  to  the  original  projectors 
of  Lowell  a  site  for  the  solution  of  an 
important  problem,  not  only  in  Ameri- 
can industry,  but  to  a  great  extent  in  that 
of  Europe  itself.  This  was  the  combina- 
tion of  great  natural  advantages  with  a 
large  and  well-directed  capital,  resulting 
in  extensive  and  systematic  operations  for 
the  realization  of  a  legitimate  profit,  while 
the  social  position  of  the  operative  classes 
was  sedulously  cared  for,  and  their  moral 
and  intellectual  elevation  promoted  and 
secured. 

The  census  of  1860  gave  figures  that  show 
the  extent  of  the  manufacture  as  it  existed 
at  that  date,  in  all  the  states.  Those  figure* 
are  as  follows : — 


COTTON  MANUFACTURES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  PER  CENSUS  OF  1860. 

No.  of 

States.  Establish- 
ments. 

Maine 19 

New  Hampshire 44 

Vermont 8 

Massachusetts 217 

Rhode  Island..., 153 

Connecticut 129 

New  York 79 

Pennsylvania .,  185 

New  Jersey 44 

Delaware.. 11 

Maryland 20 

District  of  Columbia. .  1 

Ohio   8 

Indiana    . .    , 2 

Illinois 3 

Utah   1 

Missovri  2 

Kentucky 6 

Virginia 16 

North  Carolina 39 

South  Carolina 17 

Georgia , 33 

Florida 1 

Alabama 14 

Louisiana 2 

Texas 1 

Mississippi 4 

Arkansas 2 

Tennessee 30 

Total 1,091 

Total  in  1850 1,074 


Capital 

Cost  of  raw 
material. 

Male 
hands. 

Female 
hands. 

Cost  of  labor. 

Value  of 
products. 

$6,018,325 

$3,319,335 

1,828 

4,936 

$1,368,888 

$6,235,623 

12,586,880 

7,128,196 

3,829 

8,901 

2,883,804 

13,699,994 

271,200 

181,030 

157 

222 

78,468 

357,450 

33,704,674 

17,214,592 

13,691 

24,760 

7,798,476 

38,004,255 

10,052,200 

5,799,223 

6,353 

7,724 

2,847,804 

12.151,191 

6,627,000 

4,028,406 

4,028 

4,974 

1,743,480 

8,911,387 

5,383,479 

3,061,105 

3,107 

4,552 

1,405,292 

6,676,878 

9,203,460 

7,386,213 

6,412 

8,582 

2,768,340 

13,650,114 

1,320,550 

1,165,435 

1,010 

1,524 

468,336 

2,217,728 

582,500 

570,102 

520 

589 

218,352 

941,703 

2,254,500 

1,698,413 

1,093 

1,594 

582,780 

2,973,877 

45,000 

47,403 

70 

25 

19,800 

74,400 

265,000 

374,100 

372 

468 

151,164 

723,500 

251,000 

229,925 

177 

190 

84,888 

344,350 

4,700 

11,930 

10 

1 

2,640 

18,987 

6,000 

6,000 

4 

3 

3,420 

10,000 

169,000 

110,000 

85 

85 

30,600 

230,000 

244,000 

214,755 

130 

116 

41,280 

315,270 

1,367,543 

811,187 

694 

747 

260,856 

1,489,971 

1,272,750 

622,363 

449 

1,315 

189,744 

1,046,047 

801,825 

431,525 

342 

549 

123,300 

713,050 

2,126,103 

1,466,375 

1,131 

1,682 

415,332 

2,371,207 

30,000 

23,600 

40 

25 

7,872 

40,000 

1,316,000 

617,633 

543 

769 

198,408 

1,040,147 

1,000,000 

226,600 

220 

140 

49,440 

466,500 

450,000 

64,140 

130 

.  . 

15,600 

80,695 

230,000 

79,800 

106 

109 

36,264 

176,328 

37,000 

11,600 

14 

11 

4,428 

23,000 

965,000 

384,548 

323 

576 

139,180 

698,122 

98,585,269 

57,285,534 

46,859 

75,169 

23,940,168 

115,681,774 

76,032,578 

37,778,064 

35,295 

62,661 

17,267,112 

65,501,687 

Increase. 


17     $22,552,691   $19,507,470     11,364     12,508     $6,672,996   $50,180,087 


286 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INTENTIONS— MODE  OF   MANUFACTURE- 
PRINTING — AGGREGATE. 

WHILE  the  manufacture  has  thus  spread 
over  the  face  of  the  Union,  the  pioneer  mills, 
or  those  which  are  erected  in  new  locali- 
ties, are  generally  employed  in  the  spinning 
of  yarn  of  coarse  sorts ;  the  old  mills 
gradually  spinning  finer  yarn,  and  attaching 
weaving  and  printing  to  their  operations. 
In  the  whole  period,  however,  of  the  past 
forty  years,  continued  improvements  have 
been  made  in  machines  and  in  power.  Those 
mills  that  came  into  operation  with  fresh 
capital  and  the  newest  machines,  had  always 
advantages  over  those  which  still  worked  the 
old  machines.  The  introduction  of  steam 
as  a  motor  also  favored  the  introduction  of 
mills  into  localities  that  were  not  provided 
with  water,  and  many  persons  contended 
that  steam  was  cheaper  and  better  even 
where  water  power  existed.  The  latter  was 
improved  in  its  turn  by  the  introduction  of 
turbine  wheels,  which  are  a  steady  and  suf- 
ficient power.  The  streams  of  New  England 
were  by  art  made  to  contribute  in  a  wonder- 
ful manner  to  the  work  of  factories.  The 
works  at  Holyoke,  Mass.,  are  a  singular  in- 
stance of  genius  and  enterprise.  In  the 
machines  themselves,  the  greatest  improve- 
ments have  been  continually  made,  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  abroad.  We  have  men- 
tioned the  American  gin  of  Whitney, 
which,  by  enabling  cotton  to  be  cleaned, 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  whole  trade.  The 
card-sticking  machine,  the  steel  die  of  Per- 
kins, ring  spindle  of  Jenks,  the  improved 
throstle  of  M'Cully,  the  tube-frame,  the 
patent  size  of  Mallerd,  of  Lowell,  are  among 
the  most  important  of  a  crowd  of  inventions 
that  have  been  made  by  American  mechanics, 
and  every  few  years  a  new  mill  starts  in  some 
quarter,  with  all  these  combined.  The  ring 
spindle  of  Mr.  Jenks  is  very  curious,  and  is 
producing  important  results.  That  gentle- 
man was  a  pupil  of  Slater,  and  has  an 
establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
machinery  near  Philadelphia,  since  1810. 
On  the  starting  of  the  Lowell  mills,  Mr. 
Moody  invented  a  number  of  machines,  viz :  a 
loom,  a  filling  frame,  a  double  speeder,  a 
governor,  and  also  what  is  called  the  "dead 
spindle,"  in  distinction  to  the  "  live  spindle," 
which  was  the  English  invention.  The 
dead  spindle  is  mostly  used  in  Lowell.  Mr. 
Jenks'  ring  spindle  is,  however,  superseding 


both,  inasmuch  as  that  it  produces  more  and 
better  yarn.  The  spindle  of  this  improved 
frame  has  no  fly,  but  has  a  small  steel  ring, 
called  a  traveller,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  with  a  slit  for  the  insertion  of 
the  thread,  which  is  wound  by  the  ring 
travelling  around  the  bobbin,  being  held  in 
its  horizontal  plane,  during  its  circuit,  by  an 
iron  ring  loosely  embraced  by  its  lower  end 
and  fastened  upon  the  traversing  rail,  being 
sufficiently  large  to  allow  the  head  of  the 
bobbin,  as  well  as  the  traveller,  to  pass 
through  without  touching.  This  plan  of 
spindle  may  be  driven  8,000  revolutions  per 
minute  with  perfect  security  when  spinning 
coarse  yarn,  and  when  producing  the  finer 
numbers,  10,000  revolutions  per  minute  is 
not  an  extraordinary  speed  for  it  to  attain  ; 
the  yarn  produced  in  either  case  being  su- 
perior in  strength  and  character  to  the  yarn 
produced  by  the  other  throstles  at  a  greatly 
reduced  speed. 

The  manufacture,  as  at  present  conducted, 
is  a  most  beautiful  and  complicated  art. 
The  raw  material  is  divided  into  long 
staple,  medium  staple,  and  short  staple. 
The  staple  means  simply  the  length  of  the 
fibre,  and  it  is  characteristic  of  the  origin  of 
the  article.  The  first  or  long  staple  is  used 
for  the  warps,  or  the  longitudinal  threads  of 
a  cloth.  These  threads  must  be  made  of 
long  staple  ;  no  other  kind  of  cotton  will 
spin  into  the  fine  numbers.  The  medium 
staple  is  used  for  the  "  weft,"  or  cross  threads 
of  tissues.  It  is  softer  and  silkier  than  the 
long  staple,  and  fills  up  the  fabric  better. 
The  long  staple  will  not  answer  for  this 
purpose.  The  quantity  of  cotton  in  the 
weft  of  cloth  is  from  two  to  five  times  as 
much  as  that  in  the  warp.  The  short  staple 
is  used  for  weft,  but  it  is  harsher  and  more 
like  wool,  and  after  washing  or  bleaching  it 
makes  the  cloth  meagre  and  thin.  It  is 
mixed  with  the  medium  staple  in  small 
proportions. 

This  last  and  almost,  when  alone,  useless 
sort  is  that  which  comes  from  India,  and 
the  first  or  long  staple  is  "  sea  island,"  raised 
on  our  southern  coast.  The  medium  staple, 
or  that  which  is  required  for  the  great 
bulk  of  the  manufactures,  is  alone  found  in 
the  United  States.  It  is  that  kind  called 
"  uplands,"  bowed  Georgia,  or  New  Orleans. 
The  quality  is  a  result  of  climate  and  soil. 

The  cotton  having  reached  the  mill,  it  is 
requisite  that  all  of  the  same  staple,  but  of 
different  qualities,  should  be  well  mixed,  to 


INVENTIONS MODE    OF    MANUFACTURE PRINTING AGGREGATE. 


give  as  uniform  a  character  as  possible  to 
the  cloth.  To  attain  this,  the  contents  of  a 
bale  are  spread  out  upon  the  floor,  and  upon 
it  another  is  scattered,  and  so  on  until  a 
huge  pile,  called  a  "  bing,"  has  been  raised ; 
a  rake  is  then  used  to  scrape  down  from  the 
sides,  thus  mixing  the  whole  as  the  cotton  is 
required  for  the  mill.  This  cotton  is  matted 
together  and  filled  with  dirt,  sometimes  by 
design  to  increase  the  weight  fraudulently. 
It  must,  therefore,  first  of  all  be  cleaned  and 
the  fibres  loosened.  For  this  purpose  several 
machines  are  used.  The  favorite  is  a  patent 
Willey,  which  is  composed  of  two  iron  axles 
on  a  level  with  each  other,  each  having  four 
stout  steel  teeth.  The  teeth  of  both  axles 
mesh  together  as  they  revolve,  and  also  the 
fixed  teeth  attached  to  the  inner  casing  of 
the  box  which  contains  them.  These  axles 
revolve  1,600  times  in  a  minute,  opening  out 
the  fibres  and  beating  out  the  dirt  from  the 
cotton,  which  is  blown  through  a  tube  by  a 
revolving  fan. 

The  second  machine  through  which  the 
cotton  passes  is  the  spreading  machine, 
the  object  of  which  is  to  perfect  the  clean- 
ing and  loosening  of  the  fibres.  The  cot- 
ton being  carefully  weighed  and  spread 
upon  the  feeding  apron,  passes  in  between  a 
pair  of  rollers,  where  it  meets  the  action  of 
blunt  knives  revolving  1,700  times  in  a 
minute.  The  cotton  coming  from  this  ma- 
chine is  flattened  into  a  filmy  sheet  of  uni- 
form thickness,  and  wound  upon  a  roller.  It 
is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  this  feed- 
ing should  be  done  evenly,  as  otherwise 
the  "  lap,"  as  it  winds  upon  the  roller,  will 
have  thin  and  thick  places,  which  will  run 
through  the  subsequent  manufacture. 

The  laps  that  come  from  the  spreader 
wound  on  rollers,  are  now  to  go  through  the 
third  process,  that  of  carding.  The  machine 
for  this  purpose  we  have  described.  It  re- 
ceives the  end  of  the  lap  from  the  roller 
of  the  spreader,  and  by  its  operation 
combs  out  and  straightens  the  cotton  into  a 
delicate  fleece,  which  the  "  doffer"  delivers 
through  a  funnel,  whence  it  is  drawn  com- 
pressed, elongated,  and  consolidated  by  a 
pair  of  rollers,  that  drop  it  into  a  tin  can. 
To  the  observer  it  appears  like  a  stream  of 
cream  running  into  the  tin  can.  For  very 
fine  yarns,  this  process  is  repeated  with  finer 
cards.  The  first  carding  is  then  called 
breaking. 

The  fourth  process  for  the  cotton  is  the 
drawing.  Hitherto  the  cotton  has  passed  only 


through  male  hands ;  with  the  drawing  it 
passes  into  those  of  females.  The  slivers,  as 
they  are  dropped  into  the  tin  can  from  the 
carding  machine,  are  exceedingly  tender  and 
loose,  and  the  fibres  are  not  yet  arranged  in 
the  position  proper  for  the  manufacture  of 
smooth  yarn.  This  is  to  be  perfected  by  the 
rollers  of  the  drawing  frame ;  some  frames 
have  three  pairs  of  rollers  and  others  four. 
The  distance  between  the  pairs  of  rollers  is 
such  that  the  longest  fibre  of  cotton  will  not 
reach  from  the  centre  of  one  roller  to  that 
of  another  pair.  This  prevents  breakjng  the 
fibres,  but  the  rollers  must  not  be  too  far 
apart,  lest  the  cotton  separate  in  unequal 
thicknesses.  The  "  doubling,"  by  which  the 
end  of  a  new  sliver  is  laid  on  the  middle  of 
one  running  in,  equalizes  the  sliver.  The 
more  it  is  doubled  and  drawn,  the  more  per- 
fect is  the  yarn,  and  this  doubling  is  done 
sometimes  32,000  times. 

The  fifth  operation  is  the  roving,  or 
first  spinning  process.  The  slivers  un- 
der the  action  of  the  drawing  frame  be- 
come so  thin  and  tender  they  will  no 
longer  hold  together  without  a  twist,  and 
many  machines  are  used  for  the  purpose  of 
imparting  it,  under  the  names  of  slubbin, 
fly  frame,  belt  speeder,  tube  frame,  and 
others.  The  operation  is  performed  one  or 
more  times,  according  to  the  fineness  of  the 
yarn  desired.  The  cans  which  receive  the 
slivers  from  the  drawing  frames  are  placed 
upon  revolving  wheels,  and  the  sliver  passes 
from  these  to  the  fly  frame.  This  came  into 
use  in  1817.  In  this  frame  the  spindles  are 
set  vertically  in  one  or  two  rows  at  equal 
distances  apart,  each  passing  through  a 
bobbin,  which  is  loosely  attached  to  it,  and 
which  has  a  play  equal  to  its  length  up  and 
down  on  the  spindle  ;  at  the  top  of  the  spin- 
dle is  suspended  a  fly  with  two  dependent 
legs,  one  solid,  and  the  other  hollow.  The 
roving  enters  this  by  an  eye  immediately 
above  the  top  of  the  spindle,  and  passing 
down  the  hollow  leg  attaches  to  the  bobbin. 
The  revolving  spindle  carries  the  fly  with 
it,  spinning  and  winding  the  roving  at  the 
same  time.  At  this  point  enters  a  very  nice 
calculation.  The  roller  on  which  the  roving 
is  wound  delivers  it  with  the  exact  speed  of 
the  spindle,  but  as  the  size  of  the  bobbin  on 
the  latter  increases,  it  going  at  the  same  speed 
would  take  up  the  yarn  faster  than  the 
roller  would  deliver  it,  and  would  strain  it 
too  much.  This  is  avoided  by  a  contrivance 
which  varies  the  speed  of  the  bobbin  to  meet 


288 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


the  circumstances.  The  rovings  having  re- 
ceived this  twist,  are  now  to  be  spun  into 
yarn,  and  this  is  done  either  by  the  throstle 
or  the  mule  spinner.  The  difference  in  the 
motion  and  structure  of  these  machines  is  not 
great.  The  former  is  similar  to  the  bobbin 
and  fly  frame.  The  roving  being  unwound 
from  the  bobbin  is  elongated  between  three 
pairs  of  rollers,  and  is  then  spun  and  wound 
upon  a  bobbin  as  before.  The  greatest  differ- 
ence in  these  machines  is  in  the  spindles. 
The  oldest  is  the  live  spindle,  and  the  dead 
spindlf  is  that  invented  at  Lowell,  and  that 
which  has  been  most  used  here.  The  ring 
spindle  of  Jenks  is  fast  superseding  both. 
The  thread  being  spun  by  any  of  these 
means  is  wound  upon  bobbins,  and  these  are 
then  set  in  a  frame  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  threads  can  be  wound  off  from  them  on 
to  a  large  six-sided  reel.  This,  one  and  a 
half  yards  in  circumference,  makes  560 
revolutions,  giving  the  length  of  a  "  hank ;" 
many  hanks  are  wound  on  the  reel  at  the 
same  time,  and  when  these  are  removed  and 
weighed  they  give  the  number  of  the  yarn. 
The  coarsest  yarn  weighs  half  a  pound  to  the 
hank,  or  840  yards ;  common  quality  gives 
ten  to  forty  hanks  to  the  pound.  The  finest 
seldom  exceeds  300  hanks  to  the  pound. 
Previous  to  1840  no  yarn  finer  than  350  was 
made  in  England  ;  at  the  World's  Fair  there 
was  some  exhibited  600,  and  some  muslin 
for  a  dress  for  the  queen  was  made  of  460 
yarn.  This  exceeds  the  "fairy  tissues"  of 
the  east,  mentioned  in  the  fore  part  of  this 
article.  Thus  machinery  has  overtaken  east- 
ern hand  art.  It  has  been  stated  that  yarn 
has  been  spun  900,  and  one  specimen  of  No. 
2,150,  or  1,026  miles  for  a  pound  of  cotton! 

The  finest  yarns  are  singed  by  being  run 
through  a  gas  flame ;  they  are  then  passed 
over  a  brush  and  run  through  a  hole  in  a 
piece  of  brass  just  large  enough  to  admit  the 
yarn.  Any  inequality  then  stops  the  yarn 
and  is  immediately  remedied.  Upon  most 
of  the  machines,  throstles,  and  feeders  there 
are  clocks,  which,  wound  up  once  a  week, 
mark  the  quantity  of  work  that  each  ma- 
chine does.  From  this  register  the  account 
is  transferred  to  a  board  which  hangs  in 
sight  of  all  the  operatives,  and  from  which 
the  monthly  wages  are  ascertained. 

The  yarn  being  spun,  the  filling  is  now 
ready  for  the  weaver,  but  the  warp  goes  to 
the  dressing-room.  Here  the  yarn  is  warped 
off  from  the  spools  on  to  the  section  beams. 
This  is  considered  hard  work,  since  it  re- 


quires unremitting  attention  to  reconnect 
the  threads  that  are  constantly  breaking. 
The  yarn  now  upon  the  beams  undergoes 
"  dressing,"  or  the  application  of  the  size 
before  mentioned,  and  the  friction  of  the 
brushes.  The  beams  containing  the  dressed 
yarn  go  to  the  weaving-room,  which  usually  is 
a  large  mill  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
girls,  and  some  six  hundred  looms.  From 
this  room  the  woven  fabric  goes  to  the 
cloth-room,  where  it  is  trimmed,  measured, 
folded,  and  recorded,  and  either  baled  for 
market  or  sent  to  the  print-works. 

The  print-works  are  a  most  interesting 
portion  of  the  manufacture.  The  cloth  re- 
ceived from  the  manufactory  is  covered  with 
a  fine  nap,  which,  if  printed,  Avould  rise  up 
and  give  the  colored  parts  a  pepper-and-salt 
look.  To  get  rid  of  this,  the  cloth  is  singed  ; 
not  asy  the  cook  singes  a  fowl,  by  a  blaze, 
but  by  running  the  cloth  over  a  half-cylinder 
of  copper,  heated  red  hot.  The  cloth  is 
passed  over  dry,  and  repassed;  after  which 
it  is  moistened  by  wet  rollers,  to  extinguish 
any  shreds  which  might  happen  to  be  on 
fire.  This  singeing  process  always  excites 
the  wonder  of  the  beholder,  who  is  not  a 
little  astonished  that  the  cloth  is  not  injured. 
The  next  process  is  to  bleach  the  cloth.  On 
the  success  of  this  depends  all  the  after- 
work.  A  good  white  is  not  only  the  soul 
of  a  print,  but  without  it  no  good  and  bril- 
liant color  can  be  dyed.  The  greatest  diffi- 
culty is  to  remove  every  trace  of  grease  and 
oil,  imparted  by  the  spinner  and  weaver. 
The  cloth  is,  therefore,  put  into  big  tubs, 
holding  five  hundred  pieces,  and  steeped  in 
warm  water  some  hours.  It  is  then  washed 
in  the  dash-wheel,  and  subjected  to  the  follow- 
ing operations,  which  convert  the  oil  to  soap, 
and  remove  with  it  the  coloring  matter : — 

1.  Boiled  by  steam  in  a  creamy  lime. 

2.  Washed  in  the  dash-wheel. 

3.  Boiled  in  alkali  by  steam. 

4.  Washed  in  the  dash-wheel. 

5.  Steeped  in  bleaching-powder  solution 
some  hours. 

6.  Steeped  in  oil  vitriol  and  water,  about 
the  strength  of  lemon  juice. 

7.  Washed  in  the  dash-wheel. 

8.  Squeezed  between  rollers. 

9.  Mangled  and  dried  in  air,  or  in  warm 
rooms  built  for  this  purpose. 

The  cloth  is  now  perfectly  white,  and 
loses  not  so  much  in  weight  and  strength  as 
by  the  old  process  of  grass  bleaching.  The 
bleached  cloth  is  now  printed  with  one  or 


INVENTIONS MODE    OF    MANUFACTURE PRINTING AGGREGATE. 


289 


more  colors.  Four  to  six  colors  only  could 
be  applied  by  the  printing  machine  up  to 
1845  ;  if  more  were  wanted,  they  were,  until 
recently,  introduced  by  hand,  with  blocks, 
after  the  other  colors  were  finished.  By  a 
Boston  invention,  patented  in  1851,  twelve 
colors  may  now  be  printed.  The  improve- 
ment consists  in  the  mode  of  applying  pres- 
sure to  the  print  rollers.  A  yielding  pres- 
sure of  several  tons  is  given  to  each  roller. 
The  frame  is  also  so  constructed  that  any  one 
of  the  rollers  may  be  removed  from  the  ma- 
chine without  disturbing  the  others.  The 
machine  weighs  ten  tons,  and  is  ten  feet 
high.  This  huge  machine  is  so  nicely  ad- 
justed that  the  cloth,  while  passing  through 
it  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  per  hour,  receives 
twelve  colors  each  with  the  utmost  precision. 
Ordinary  machines  will  print  300  pieces,  or 
12,000  yards,  per  day,  while,  by  the  old 
hand  process,  it  would  have  required  192,- 
646  applications  of  the  block.  The  figure, 
or  design,  is  engraved  on  a  copper  roller, 
each  color  having  a  separate  roller.  The 
color  which  the  beholder  sees  imprinted,  as 
he  watches  the  process,  is  not  the  color  that 
is  to  be,  when  the  print  is  finished.  The 
color  which  he  sees  is,  with  the  exception  of 
brown,  or  blue,  or  black  occasionally,  fugitive. 
It  is  merely  what  is  called  "  sightening" — 
that  is,  a  color  imparted  to  the  paste,  or 
"  thickening,"  which  is  imprinted  by  the 
roller  to  enable  the  machine  printer  to  judge 
of  the  perfectness  of  the  work.  The  paste, 
or  thickening,  contains  the  mordant — that  is, 
the  peculiar  substance  which,  combining 
chemically  with  the  cloth,  enables  it  to  dye  a 
peculiar  color,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
mordant  and  dye-wood.  The  cloth  dyes 
only  where  the  mordant  is  applied — that  is, 
on  the  printed  figure  only.  The  mordants 
generally  used  are  alum  and  copperas,  each 
of  which  is  first  changed  to  acetate  of  alu- 
mina, or  iron — that  is,  the  color-maker  takes 
away  the  oil  of  vitriol  from  the  alum  and 
copperas,  and  substitutes  vinegar  in  its  place. 
Sometimes  the  iron  liquor,  as  it  is  called,  is 
made  by  dissolving  iron  turnings  in  pyrolig- 
neous  or  wood  acid.  The  preparation  of 
color,  and  the  thickening  it  with  flour, 
starch,  gum,  etc.,  is  a  distinct  branch,  carried 
on  in  the  color  shop  of  the  print-works.  It 
may  be  added,  that  with  madder,  iron  dyes 
black  and  purple,  according  to  its  strength ; 
alum  dyes  red  of  various  shades;  and  a 
mixture  of  the  two  dyes  chocolate.  So  that 
out  of  the  same  dye-kettle  come  various 

18 


colors,  according  to  the  mordant,  and  these 
colors  are  all  fast. 

The  cloth  having  been  printed  and  dried, 
is  "  aged,"  during  which  a  chemical  combi- 
nation takes  place  between  the  mordant  and 
the  cloth.  Ordinarily,  this  occurs  in  two 
or  three  weeks  by  a  natural  affinity  of  the 
cotton  fibre  and  mordant,  but  by  certain 
agents,  this  chemical  change  is  hastened  and 
perfectly  effected  in  two  or  three  days  ;  yet 
as  this  process  goes  on  in  conjunction  with 
the  others,  the  visitor  sees  only  the  folding 
up  and  winding  into  rolls  of  the  piece  of 
cloth,  though  all  the  time  this  change  is 
going  on.  The  cloth  is  then  passed,  by 
means  of  rollers,  through  a  boiling  hot  solur 
tion  of  phosphate  of  soda,  to  render  insolu- 
ble any  uncombined  mordant,  and  to  wet 
the  cloth  evenly.  It  is  then  washed  in  the 
dash-wheel,  and  after  this,  to  remove  the 
thickening,  passed  for  twenty,  or  thirty  min- 
utes through  bran  or  meal  and  water,  quite 
hot,  washed,  and  it  is  now  ready  for  dyeing. 
The  dye-woods  used  are  madder,  bark,  or 
logwood — the  last  only  for  mourning  prints, 
or  black  and  white.  The  dye-wood  is  put 
into  large  wooden  vats,  with  a  portion  of 
water,  and  then  the  pieces  of  cloth,  sixteen 
in  each  vat,  are  introduced  over  a  winch, 
moved  by  water  power.  Steam  is  then 
admitted,  the  goods  turned  through  and 
through,  round  and  round,  gradually  heat- 
ing the  water,  till  at  the  end  of  two  hours 
it  rises  near  to  boiling,  and  the  mordanted 
cloth  is  perfectly  dyed.  It  is  taken  out, 
rinsed,  and  washed  in  the  dash-wheel.  The 
cloth  after  this  is  passed,  by  means  of  a 
winch,  either  through  hot  water  and  bran 
or  through  hot  soap,  for  half  an  hour, 
washed,  and  then  again  put  through  these 
operations,  again  washed,  and  then  rinsed 
through  a  hot  solution  of  chloride  of  soda, 
washed  again,  squeezed,  and  dried  in  either 
air  or  in  warm  rooms.  Sometimes  they  are 
mangled  with  some  stiffening,  and  so  are 
finished.  The  visitor  of  print  works  will 
see  a  great  number  of  men  busily  employed 
dipping  wooden  frames,  on  which  are 
stretched  pieces  of  cloth,  printed  with  a 
brown  figure,  into  deep  vats,  filled  with  a  green- 
blue  liquor.  The  cloth  comes  out  with  a 
greenish  hue,  and  immediately  grows  blue  in 
the  air  on  all  parts,  except  where  the  brown 
figure  was.  That  resists,  or  throws  off  the 
blue  vat.  Now,  the  blue  vat  contains  a  solu- 
tion of  indigo  in  lime  water.  Indigo  is  one 
of  the  most  insoluble  substances  in  water ; 


290 


COTTON    MANUFACTURES. 


but  by  means  of  copperas  and  lime,  the 
oxygen  of  the  indigo  is  abstracted  by  the 
iron ;  it  then  becomes  greenish  and  is  dis- 
solved by  the  lime-water.  Exposed  to  air, 
it  again  absorbs  oxygen  and  becomes  blue. 
It  is  during  this  change  from  green  to  blue 
that  it  becomes  chemically  united  to  the 
cloth.  The  brown  figure  resists,  because  it 
is  a  preparation  of  copper,  which  yields  its 
oxygen  to  the  indigo  on  the  figure  while  in  the 
vat.  The  figure  becomes  covered  with  blue 
indigo  in  the  vat ;  it  forms  then  no  affinity 
with  the  cloth,  and  consequently  after  the 
copper  has  been  removed  by  a  weak  acid, 
the  brown  spot  or  figure  remains  white,  and 
so  is  produced  the  blue  ground  with  white 
figures.  The  whole  is  a  most  exquisite 
chemical  process  from  beginning  to  end, 
equalled  only  by  the  process  for  China  blue, 
where  blue  figures  are  raised  on  a  white 
ground.  This  is  done  by  printing  on  the 
figure  with  fine  ground  indigo  thickened 
with  paste,  and  then  by  alternate  immer- 
sions in  lime  water  and  copperas  liquor,  the 
indigo  is  dissolved  and  fixed  on  the  spots 
where  printed,  by  a  play  of  chemical  affini- 
ties similar  to  those  described  in  blue  dip- 
ping. Black  and  white,  and  red  or  chocolate 
and  white,  are  made  by  passing  the  cloth 
through  red  or  iron  liquor,  or  their  mixture, 
and  after  squeezing,  while  the  cloth  is  open 
and  flat,  that  is  dried  in  hot  flues.  Every 
part  of  the  cloth  is  thus  imbued  with  mor- 
dant. The  process  is  termed  "pading." 
It  is  then  printed  with  citric  acid  (lemon 
juice)  thickened  with  roasted  starch.  This 
acid  discharges  the  mordant,  and  conse- 
quently, when  dyed  as  usual,  the  discharged 
figures  are  left  white.  Logwood  is  the  dye 
for  black,  and  madder  is  the  dye  for  reds  and 
chocolates.  The  designing  of  patterns  is  a 
distinct  branch  of  art.  Usually,  one  or 
more  designers  are  employed  in  each  estab- 
lishment. 

In  the  year  1840,  there  were  thirty-six 
cotton-printing  establishments  in  the  United 
States.  These  were  in  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  York, 


New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland. 
They  printed  100,112,000  yards,  at  a  value 
of  $11,667,512. 

The  exports  of  cotton  goods  from  the 
United  States  in  1827  were  valued  at  $951,- 
000  for  plain  white  cloths;  $45,120  printed 
and  colored ;  $163,293  for  yarn,  etc. ;  making 
together  $1,159,413.  In  1857,  the  exports 
of  white  had  run  to  $3,463,230  ;  and  of 
printed  to  $1,785,685  ;  dark  and  other  manu- 
facture, $866,262  ;  together,  $6,115,117.  The 
American  cottons  are  much  in  demand  in 
China,  in  consequence  of  their  heavier  qual- 
ity than  the  English  or  Chinese  goods.  The 
value  of  cotton  goods  imported  in  1856  was 
$25,917,999  ;  and  the  average  for  the  last  six- 
teen years  was  $16,758,418.  The  value  per 
head  of  United  States  cotton  goods  consumed 
was,  for  1856,  $2.40  ;  and  of  foreign  goods, 
sixty  cents.  The  imported  goods  are  mostly 
of  the  finer  description,  nearly  all  from  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  and  mostly  into  the  port  of 
New  York,  under  the  credit  system  of  sales. 

We  may  here  add  the  progress  of  the 
trade  in  Great  Britain,  as  it  is  given  in  the 
factory  inspector's  official  report : — 


Horse  power.  Spindles. 


1851,      134,21T 
1857,      161,435 


25,638,114 
38,503,580 


Looms.  Cotton  used. 

Ibs. 

301,445   757,879,749 
369,205  1,028,886,528 


The  following  comparative  figures  will 
show  the  decline  in  the  cost  of  the  yarn,  as  a 
result  of  machinery  : — 

No.  40  yarn.  1812.       1830.      1857. 

Hanks  per  spindle  per  day.      200       275       275 

Cotton  per  Ib $0  36  $0  14  $0  12 

Labor     "    " 024     015     010 

Cost  yarn    " 060     029     022 

The  manufacture  progresses  in  this  coun- 
try according  to  the  wants  of  the  population, 
and  these  wants  increase  in  the  two-fold  ratio 
of  more  means  and  greater  numbers.  The 
progress  here  is  also  more  steady  than  it  is 
abroad,  for  the  reason  that  the  demands  of 
the  people  are  not  curtailed  by  those  period-: 
ical  famines,  which  abroad  cause  every  other 
consideration  to  yield  to  that  of  food.  We 
may  sum  in  the  following  table  the  progress 
of  the  manufacture  since  1809  : — 


COTTON    MANUFACTURE    IN    THE    UNITED     STATES. 


1809  .  .  . 

No.  of 
Factories. 

62 

Spindles. 
31  000 

Hands. 
4  000 

Cotton 
used. 
Ibs. 
3  600  000 

Yards  cloth 
made. 

Capital 

1810  

168 

90  800 

1820  

250  572 

9  945  609 

1831  

795 

1  246  503 

57  466 

77  757  316 

230  461  990 

$40  614  984 

1840      .  . 

1,240 

2  284  631 

72  119 

132  835  856 

398  507  568 

51  101'  .359 

1850  

1,074 

4,052  000 

97  956 

276  074  100 

828  222  300 

76  0.32  578 

I860.. 

..1,091 

5.235.727 

122.028 

437.905.0.36 

1.148  '>52.40fi 

98.585.  2fi9 

PAPER:  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


291 


The  figures  for  1809  are  those  of  Mr.  Gal- 
latin,  and  those  of  1810  those  of  the  United 
States  marshal,  also  those  for  1820.  Those 
for  1831  are  taken  from  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee before  alluded  to,  and  the  succeeding 
ones  from  the  decennial  censuses.  Although 
the  returns  for  1860  have  not  yet  been  offici- 
ally published,  the  figures  given  have  been 
copied  from  the  revised  records,  and  are,  be- 
lieved to  be  substantially  accurate.  The 
above  table  shows  that  in  1830  the  cotton 
spun  was  six  and  a  half  pounds  per  head ;  in 
1 840,  eight  pounds  per  head ;  in!850,  ten  and 
a  quarter  pounds  per  head  ;  and  in  1860,  fif- 
teen pounds  per  head,  being  in  the  double  ratio 
of  numbers  and  wealth,  and  showing  that  the 
United  States  are  the  largest  consumers  of 
cotton  goods  in  the  world.  The  United 
States  now  consume  nearly  as  much  raw 
cotton  per  annum  as  Great  Britain  did  in 
1838-9 ;  that  is  to  say,  Great  Britain  at  that 


date  consumed  442,691,877  Ibs.,  and  the 
United  States  this  year  357,185,523  Ibs.  Thus 
the  manufacture  in  the  United  States  this 
year  for  home  consumption  equals  what  Great 
Britain  produced  for  home  consumption  and 
her  vast  export  trade  in  1839,  or  twenty 
years  since.  In  this  progress  of  manufacture 
there  has  been  a  steady  decline  in  price.  In 
1815  the  price  of  cotton  cloth  was  forty 
cents;  in  1822,  twenty-two  cents;  and  at 
this  time  four  to  ten  cents.  In  those  figures 
we  have  the  secret  of  the  great  dissemi- 
nation of  machine  goods.  The  price  of 
a  good  calico  is  now  twelve  yards  to  a 
bushel  of  wheat.  Forty  years  ago,  it  was 
one  yard  for  a  bushel  of  wheat.  The  quality 
of  the  goods  at  the  same  time  has  improved 
in  a  greater  ratio.  The  handsome  prints 
that  now  replace  the  "factory  checks"  of 
that  day,  show  as  great  a  change  as  does  the 
price. 


PAPER:  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MATERIALS— PKOGRESS. 

IF  the  question  were  put,  "  What  single  ar- 
ticle has  been  of  the  greatest  service  to  man- 
kind ?"  mature  reflection  would,  we  think, 
decide  upon  paper  as  that  article,  since  it 
has  been  the  means  by  which  thought  and 
ideas  have  been  diffused,  not  only  among 
cotemporaries,  but  preserved,  and,  as  it  were, 
accumulated  in  magazines  for  future  expansion 
and  growth.  All  other  inventions,  and  per- 
haps the  whole  growth  of  civilization,  are  due 
to  the  material  of  paper.  Every  branch  of 
knowledge  is  reached,  and  every  avenue  to 
the  wisdom  of  great  minds  and  the  results  of 
genius  are  explored  only  by  means  of  paper, 
and  its  blessings  are  diffused  through  all  ranks 
of  society.  Even  he  who,  wrapt  in  his  igno- 
rance, despises  "  book  laming,"  enjoys  a  part 
of  those  benefits  of  civilization  which  paper  has 
been  the  means  of  imparting  to  all.  Like  al- 
most all  great  blessings,  however,  it  has  been 
developed  most  rapidly  and  completely  in  the 
United  States.  Almost  all  vegetable  sub- 
stances were  used  for  the  manufacture  of  pa- 
per by  our  ancestors,  but  it  was  not  until  the 


fourteenth  century  that  linen  rags  became 
generally  the  material.  The  first  German 
paper  mill  was  established  at  Nuremberg  in 
1390;  some  English  manuscripts,  however, 
date  as  far  back  as  1340,  on  linen  paper. 
The  first  English  mill  mentioned  is  in  1496, 
by  John  Tate,  jun.,  in  Hertfordshire.  In 
1588  a  paper  mill  was  started  at  Dartford. 
It  is  to  be  conceived,  however,  that  in  that 
age,  when  books  and  newspapers  were  little 
used,  and  walls  Avere  draped  with  cloth,  that 
paper  was  not  much  in  demand,  and  many 
improvements  were  not  made  in  the  manu- 
facture. In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  manufacture  was  introduced  into 
the  colonies.  Mr.  J.  M.  Willcox,  a  paper 
maker  near  Philadelphia,  stated  that  in  1725 
his  grandfather,  who  had  been  educated  a 
paper  maker,  came  over  and  settled  where 
the  mill  now  is,  and  he  erected  in  1732  a  mill 
for  the  manufacture  of  paper.  The  kind  of 
paper  then  made  was  of  the  description*used 
by  clothiers  for  press-boards,  for  the  pressing 
of  cloth.  There  existed  at  that  time  an  act 
f  parliament  against  the  manufacture  of  any 
other  kind  of  paper  in  the  colonies.  There 
were  at  that  time  two  other  mills  in  the  same 


292 


PAPER:  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


business,  one  near  Boston  and  another  near 
Philadelphia.  The  demand  for  paper  at  that 
time,  either  for  books  or  newspapers,  was 
small,  and  not  of  a  character  to  attract  much 
capital  into  the  business.  When  the  war 
came  on,  a  demand  sprung  up,  and  Mr.  Will- 
cox  manufactured  the  paper  for  the  conti- 
nental money,  and  at  the  same  time  com- 
menced making  writing  paper  for  the  first 
time  in  America. 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  assembly,  in  1728, 
passed  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
paper  manufacture.  They  granted  to  Daniel 
Henchman  and  others  the  right  of  making 
paper,  on  condition  that  within  the  first 
fifteen  months  they  would  make  140  reams 
of  brown  paper  and  sixty  reams  of  printing 
paper.  Of  this  the  board  of  trade  report  of 
1731  says:  "By  a  paper  mill  set  up  three 
years  ago,  they  make  to  the  value  of  £200." 
This,  with  the  mill  of  Willcox  and  another 
near  Philadelphia,  were  the  only  ones  exist- 
ing at  that  time ;  but  the  trade  grew  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Coxe,  in  his  "  Views  of 
the  United  States,"  says  there  were  in  1794 
forty-eight  mills  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1810, 
the  value  of  paper  made  in  the  United  States 
was  about  $2,000,000.  The  general  govern- 
ment, from  its  origin,  did  what  it  could  to 
encourage  the  manufacture,  by  making  rags 
free;  curiously  enough,  however,  after  the 
fall  of  Napoleon,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
paper  came  to  this  country,  and  was  bought 
up  by  the  contractors  to  supply  Congress ; 
and  for  a  long  time,  up  to  1 825,  the  paper  used 
by  the  United  States  Senate  bore  the  water 
line,  "Napoleon,  Empereur  et  Roi,  1813." 

It  was  about  the  year  1760  that  the  inven- 
tion of  wove  moulds  was  made  to  obviate  the 
roughness  of  laid  paper.  This  led  to  the 
manufacture  in  France  of  what  is  called 
vellum  paper.  In  Holland,  soon  after,  the 
manufacture  was  improved  by  the  invention 
of  cylinders  with  long  steel  knives  to  reduce 
the  rags  to  pulp,  thus  superseding  the  old 
plan,  which  was  by  stampers.  It  was  then 
customary  to  pile  the  rags  in  large  stone 
vats,  and  let  them  remain  for  a  month  or  six 
weeks  to  ferment  and  rot  by  soaking  and 
stirring  in  water.  By  these  means  the  fibres 
became  loosened,  and  sufficiently  soft  to  be 
reduced  to  pulp  in  the  large  wooden  stampers. 
The  vats  were  now  supplanted  by  engines. 
These  aro  arranged  in  pairs.  That  which  first 
receives  the  rags  is  called  the  washer,  working 
the  rags  coarsely,  while  a  stream  of  water  runs 
through  them.  The  contents  of  this  vat, 


when  ready,  is  called  half  stuff,  and  is  lex 
off  into  the  other  engine,  which  is  on  a 
lower  level,  and  this  beats  or  grinds  the 
whole  into  pulp  for  making  paper. 

From  the  date  of  the  Revolution  until  the 
year  1820,  there  was  very  little  improvement 
in  the  mode  of  making  paper  by  machinery. 
The  number  of  mills  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  demand  for  material  for  newspapers 
and  book-making.  This  grew  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  by  the  year  1810  the  ordinary  sup- 
plies of  material  for  paper  making  began  to 
fail,  and  rags  from  Europe  were  imported  in 
greater  quantities  for  that  purpose.  The 
principal  supplies  of  rags  in  the  United 
States  came  from  the  economy  of  families, 
purchased  by  ragmen  who  called — some- 
times paying  money,  and  at  others  exchang- 
ing tinware  and  other  commodities.  It  is 
only  of  late  years,  and  that  in  the  large 
cities,  that  the  European  chijfonniers,  or  rag- 
pickers, have  made  their  appearance.  These 
are  now  to  be  seen,  male  and  female,  with 
the  early  dawn,  armed  with  a  bag  and  a  long 
iron  hook,  watching  the  opening  and  sweep- 
ing out  of  stores,  to  pick  up  every  shred  of 
rag  or  paper,  and  following  the  gutters  the 
live-long  day,  thrusting  the  iron  hook  into 
filth  of  all  descriptions  to  fish  out  matter  for 
the  paper  maker.  This  they  rinse  in  the 
nearest  puddle,  and  deposit  in  their  bag.  Many 
of  them  earn  a  fair  living  at  this  unpromising 
occupation.  Nevertheless,  the  supply  is  very 
inadequate,  and  large  importations  are  re- 
sorted to.  The  quantity  of  imports  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 


IMPORTATION    OF    BAGS    INTO    THE 

Hags  imported.     Of  which 


1846, 
1847, 
1848, 
1849, 
1850, 
1851, 
1852, 
1853, 
1854, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 


Ibs. 
9,897,706 
8,154,886 
17,014,587 
14,941,236 
20,696,875 
26,094,701 
18,288,458 
22,766,000 
32,615,753 
40,013,516 
38,727,017 
44,582,080 


from  Italy. 
8,002,865 
6,529,234 
13,803,036 
11,009,608 
15,861,266 
18,512,673 
12,220,579 
14,171,292 
24,240,999 
23,948,612 
20,817,204 
27,317,580 


UNITED    STATES. 

Value      Per  lb' 
vame<         cts. 

$385,020     3.89 

304,177 

626,136 

524,437 

747,157 

902,876 

622,876 

985,465 
1,007,826 
1,224,413 
1,239,168 
1,448,125 


3.73 
3.68 
2.51 
3.61 
3.46 
3.42 
4.31 
3.69 
3.06 
3.20 
3.27 


Total,   293,192,815    196,404,948  $10,016,014 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  export  of 
linen  rags  is  strictly  prohibited  from  Holland, 
Belgium,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal.  The 
import  from  Italy  has  been  nearly  70  per 
cent.  The  rags  thence  derived  are  mostly 
linen  which  has  been  used  for  outer  gar- 


MATERIALS PROGRESS. 


293 


ments,  and  which  have  become  whitened  by 
exposure  to  sun  and  air.  That  circumstance 
formerly  gave  them  a  value  which  they  have 
lost  since  the  improvements  in  bleaching  all 
descriptions.  The  linen  rags  from  the  north 
of  Europe  are  stronger  and  darker.  The 
quantity  of  rags  used  in  the  United  States  in 
1850  was,  according  to  the  value  reported  in 
the  census,  nearly  200,000,000  Ibs.,  and  20,- 
696,875  Ibs.  were  imported  in  that  year. 
The  importation  has,  it  appears,  since  more 
than  doubled,  and  it  is  now  estimated  that 
the  quantity  used  is  400,000,000  Ibs. ;  and 
as  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  rags  give 
one  pound  of  paper,  the  product  Avould  be 
270,000,000  Ibs.  This  compares  with  the 
English  and  French  returns  as  follows: — 

Rags  consumed.  anmially.0  head  con- 

lbs-  Ibs.     '      sumed. 

United  States 400,000.000  270,000,000     10.80 

Great  Britain 436,800,000  291,200,000       4.55 

France 235,200,000  140,083,447       3.89 

At  one  time  there  were  serious  apprehen- 
sions that  the  supply  of  linen  rags  would 
fail,  and  various  researches  were  entered  upon 
by  ingenious  individuals  to  find  substitutes. 
A  book  written  in  Germany  by  M.  Schaffer, 
so  long  ago  as  1772,  contains  sixty  spec- 
imens of  paper  made  of  different  materials. 
This  ingenious  person  made  paper  from  the 
bark  of  the  willow,  beech,  aspen,  hawthorn, 
lime,  and  mulberry;  from  the  down  of  the 
asclepias,  the  catkins  of  black  poplar,  and  the 
tendrils  of  the  vine ;  from  the  stalks  of  net- 
tle, mugwort,  dyer's  weed,  thistle,  bryony, 
burdock,  clematis,  willow-herb,  and  lily ; 
from  cabbage-stalks,  fir-cones,  moss,  potatoes, 
wood-shavings,  and  sawdust.  Paper  has  been 
likewise  made  from  straw,  hopbind,  lic- 
orice root,  the  stalks  of  the  mallow,  and 
the  husks  of  Indian  corn.  These  experi- 
ments are  now  continued,  and  an  attempt  to 
make  paper  from  reeds  has  recently  been 
made  in  Baltimore.  The  process  of 
bleaching  the  coarser  rags,  so  as  to  render 
them  fit  for  the  purposes  to  which  only  those 
of  the  finest  qualities  were  formerly  applied, 
will,  however,  render  the  use  of  these  inferior 
substances  unnecessary  for  many  years.  The 
advance  of  a  people  in  civilization  has  not 
only  a  tendency  to  make  the  supply  of  rags 
abundant,  but,  at  the  same  time,  to  increase 
the  demand.  The  use  of  machinery  in  man- 
ufactures renders  clothing  cheap  ;  the  cheap- 
ness of  clothing  causes  its  consumption  to 
increase,  not  only  in  the  proportion  of  an  in- 


creasing  population,  but  by  the  scale  of  indi- 
vidual expenditure ;  the  stock  of  rags  is 
therefore  increasing  in  the  same  ratio  that 
our  looms  produce  more  linen  and  cotton 
cloth.  But  then  the  increase  of  knowledge 
runs  in  a  parallel  line  with  this  increase  of 
comforts,  and  the  increase  of  knowledge  re- 
quires an  increase  of  books. 

The  use  of  cotton  for  clothing  has  become 
so  general  as  to  have  an  important  influence 
upon  the  supply  of  rags.  It  has  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  superseded  linen.  When  cot- 
ton cloth  has  been  much  worn,  it  is  of  little 
value  for  pulp,  since  the  paper  made  from  it 
will  hardly  bear  its  own  weight.  To  remedy 
this,  imported  rags,  which  are  supposed  to  be 
about  80  per  cent,  linen,  are  mixed  with  the 
domestic  cotton  rags,  giving  the  paper  a 
strength  and  firmness  it  would  not  otherwise 
have.  The  best  qualities  of  writing  and 
printing  papers  contain  30  to  50  per  cent, 
of  linen,  which  is  entirely  derived  from 
abroad.  The  use  of  cotton  clothing  is,  how- 
ever, rapidly  spreading  all  over  the  civilized 
world,  and  the  effect  of  this  is  that  the  pro- 
portion of  linen  contained  in  the  imported 
rags  decreases  from  5  to  10  per  cent, 
every  year.  An  ultimate  resource  is,  how- 
ever, new  raw  cotton,  which,  mixed  with  the 
worn  rags  of  the  same  material,  makes  a 
beautiful  paper.  Some  twenty  years  since, 
after  the  great  revulsion  of  1837,  cotton  was 
so  cheap  that  large  quantities  were  manufac- 
tured into  paper.  It  is  ordinarily  too  dear 
for  that  purpose.  Some  years  since  the  pro- 
ject was  started  of  importing  the  mummy 
wrappers  from  Egypt,  to  convert  them  into 
paper.  Old  Mehemet  All,  who  was  chief  man- 
ufacturer in  his  own  dominions,  stopped  the 
project,  by  forbidding  the  export  and  monop- 
olizing that  valuable  material  for  his  own 
mills.  A  curious  thing  that,  that  the  cloth- 
ing which  swathed  dead  Egyptians,  three 
to  four  thousand  years  since,  should  now  be 
the  medium  of  knowledge  in  this  nineteenth 
century. 

The  quality  of  the  paper  depends  greatly 
upon  that  of  the  linen  worn  in  the  country 
where  it  is  made.  Where  that  is  coarse 
and  brown,  the  rags  and  the  paper  made 
from  them  must  be  so  too.  The  quality  of 
the  rags  depends  very  much  upon  the  state 
of  civilization  of  the  countries  which  pro- 
duce them ;  the  lower  the  state  of  civiliza- 
tion, the  more  coarse  and  filthy  the  rags. 
When  the  rags  are  received  at  the  mill,  they 
are  sorted  according  to  their  respective 


294 


PAPER  :    ITS    MANUFACTURE. 


qualities;  for  if  rags  of  different  qualities 
were  ground  together  at  the  same  engine, 
the  finest  and  best  parts  would  be  ground 
and  carried  off  before  the  coarser  were  suffi- 
ciently reduced  to  make  a  pulp.  In  the 
sorting  of  rags  intended  for  the  manufacture 
of  fine  paper,  hems  and  seams  are  kept  apart, 
and  coarse  cloth  separated  from  fine.  Cloth 
made  of  tow  should  be  separated  from  that 
made  of  linen ;  cloth  of  hemp  from  cloth  of 
flax.  Even  the  degree  of  wear  should  be 
attended  to,  for  if  rags  comparatively  new 
are  mixed  with  those  which  are  much  worn, 
by  the  time  the  first  are  reduced  to  a  good 
pulp,  the  others  are  so  completely  ground  up 
as  to  pass  through  the  hair  strainers,  thus 
occasioning  not  only  loss  of  material  but  loss 
of  beauty  in  the  paper;  for  the  smooth,  vel- 
vet softness  of  some  papers  may  be  pro- 
duced by  the  finer  particles  thus  carried  off. 
The  pulp  produced  from  imperfectly  sorted 
rags  has  a  cloudy  appearance,  in  consequence 
of  some  parts  being  less  reduced  than  others, 
and  the  paper  made  from  it  is  also  cloudy  or 
thicker  in  some  parts  than  in  others,  as  is 
evident  on  holding  a  sheet  up  before  the 
light.  When  it  is  necessary  to  mix  differ- 
ent qualities  of  materials,  the  rags  should  be 
ground  separately,  and  the  various  pulps 
mixed  together  afterward.  The  rag  mer- 
chants sort  rags  into  five  qualities,  known  as 
Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5.  No.  1,  or  superfine, 
consisting  wholly  of  linen,  is  used  for  the 
finest  writing  papers.  No.  5  is  canvas,  and 
may,  after  bleaching,  be  used  for  inferior 
printing  papers.  There  is  also  rag-bagging, 
or  the  canvas  sacks  in  which  the  rags  arc 
packed,  also  cotton  colored  rags  of  all  colors, 
but  the  blue  is  usually  sorted  out  for  making 
blue  paper.  Common  papers  are  made  from 
rag-bagging  and  cotton  rags.  An  operation 
sometimes  required  after  unpacking  the 
rags  is  to  put  them  into  a  duster,  which  is  a 
cylinder  four  feet  in  diameter  and  five  feet 
long,  covered  with  a  wire  net,  and  inclosed 
in  a  tight  box  to  confine  the  dust.  A  quan- 
tity of  rags  being  put  into  this  cylinder,  it 
is  made  to  rotate  rapidly  on  its  axis,  and 
thus  a  great  deal  of  dust  is  shaken  out,  which 
might  otherwise  vitiate  the  air  of  the  rag- 
cutting  room.  The  sorting  is  done  by  wo- 
men and  children  in  a  large  room.  The  rags 
are  sorted,  according  to  their  fineness,  into 
the  superfine,  the  fine,  the  stitches  of  the  fine, 
the  middling,  the  seams  and  stitches  of  the 
middling,  and  the  coarse.  These  divisions 
are  more  or  less  observed  at  the  present  day. 


The  very  coarse  parts  are  rejected,  or  laid 
aside  for  making  white-brown  paper. 

The  paper  was  formerly  made  into  sheets 
by  means  of  the  mould  and  deckle.  The  mould 
was  a  square  frame  or  shallow  box  of  ma- 
hogany, covered  at  the  top  with  wire  cloth ; 
it  is  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  wider 
than  the  sheet  of  paper  intended  to  be  made 
upon  it.  The  wire  cloth  of  the  mould  varies 
in  fineness  with  that  of  the  paper  and  the 
nature  of  the  stuff;  it  consists  of  a  number 
of  parallel  wires  stretched  across  a  frame  very 
near  together,  and  tied  fast  through  holes  in 
the  sides ;  a  few  other  stronger  wires  are 
also  placed  across  at  right  angles  to  the 
former;  they  are  a  considerable  distance 
apart,  and  are  bound  to  the  small  wires  at 
the  points  of  intersection  by  means  of  fine 
wires.  In  several  kinds  of  writing  paper  the 
marks  of  the  wires  are  evident,  from  the  pa- 
per being  thinner  in  the  parts  where  the 
pulp  touches  the  wires.  In  what  is  called 
wove  paper,  there  are  no  marks  of  the  wires; 
these  are  avoided  by  weaving  the  wire  in  a 
loom  into  a  wire  cloth,  which  is  stretched 
over  the  frame  of  a  mould,  and  being  turned 
down  over  the  sides  is  fastened  by  fine 
wire. 

The  water-mark  in  paper  is  produced  by 
wires  bent  into  the  shape  of  the  required 
letter  or  device,  and  sewed  to  the  surface  of 
the  mould ;  it  has  the  effect  of  making  the 
paper  thinner  in  those  places.  The  old 
makers  employed  water-marks  of  an  eccen- 
tric kind.  Those  of  Caxton  and  other  early 
printers  were  an  ox  head  and  star,  a  collared 
dog's  head,  a  crown,  a  shield,  a  jug,  etc.  A 
fool's  cap  and  bells  employed  as  a  water- 
mark gave  the  name  to  foolscap  paper ;  a 
postman's  horn,  such  as  was  formerly  in  use, 
gave  the  name  to  post  paper.  Connected 
with  the  sizing  of  papers  is  the  blueing, 
which  is  said  to  have  originated  in  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  paper  maker's  wife,  who  thought 
that  the  practice  of  improving  the  color  of 
linen  while  passing  through  the  wash,  by 
means  of  a  blue-bag,  might  also  be  advanta- 
geously applied  to  paper.  A  blue-bag  was 
accordingly  suspended  in  the  vat,  and  the 
effect  proved  to  be  so  satisfactory  that  it  led 
to  the  introduction  of  the  large  and  impor- 
tant class  of  blue  writing  paper.  It  was  soon 
found  that  smalt  gave  a  better  color  than 
common  stone-blue,  and  smalt  continued  to 
be  used  for  many  years  ;  but  when  artificial 
ultramarine  came  to  be  manufactured  at  a 
very  low  cost,  and  in  a  great  variety  of  tints, 


INVENTIONS MANUFACTURE. 


295 


this  beautiful    color   gradually   superseded 
smalt  in  the  manufacture  of  writing  paper. 

From  1820  to  1830,  some  efforts  were 
made  to  introduce  into  the  United  States 
machinery  from  Europe.  England  and 
France  were  before  us  in  its  introduction. 
Several  machines  were  sent  out  from  Eng- 
land ;  some  very  imperfect,  and  the  cost  too 
great  for  our  manufacture.  The  patronage 
then  offered  was  no  inducement  to  our  own 
machinists  to  construct  so  expensive  a  ma- 
chine until  1830,  about  which  time  Phelps 
&  Spofford  of  Windham,  Connecticut,  made 
one  which  answered  very  well.  Soon  after, 
the  country  was  supplied  at  a  reasonable 
cost,  and  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  English. 
Not  long  afterward,  Howe  &  Goddard,  of 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  commenced  mak- 
ing the  Fourdrinier — the  shaking  endless 
wire-web  machine.  The  cylinder  machine, 
more  simple  and  less  costly  than  the  other, 
is  in  more  general  use  ;  but  the  paper  made 
on  it  is  not  equal  in  quality.  Notwith- 
standing, it  does  very  well  for  news,  and  the 
various  purposes  which  a  coarser  article  will 
answer  for.  These  are  made  in  various 
places  throughout  the  United  States.  The 
interval  from  1830  to  1840  was  important 
for  the  vast  improvements  in  the  manufacture, 
by  the  application  of  this  kind  of  machinery 
for  that  purpose  ;  also,  by  the  introduction 
of  the  use  of  chlorine  in  the  form  of  gas,  of 
chloride  of  lime,  and  the  alkalies,  lime  and 
soda-ash,  in  bleaching,  cleansing,  and  dis- 
charging the  colors  from  calicoes,  worn  out 
sails,  refuse  tarred  rope,  hemp  bagging,  and 
cotton  waste,  the  refuse  of  the  cotton  mills. 
These  articles,  which  heretofore  had  been 
considered  only  applicable  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  coarse  wrapping  paper,  have,  through 
the  application  of  this  bleaching  and  cleans- 
ing process,  entered  largely  into  the  com- 
position of  news  and  coarse  printing  papers, 
and  consequently  have  risen  in  value  300 
per  cent.  A  few  mills  possess  machinery 
and  adopt  a  process  by  which  they  are  pre- 
pared for  the  finest  printing  and  letter  paper. 
A  beautiful  paper  is  made  of  cast-off  cable 
rope.  Hemp  bagging  is  an  excellent  ma- 
terial for  giving  strength,  and  is  in  great  de- 
mand, especially  for  making  the  best  news 
paper.  The  cost  of  making  paper  by  ma- 
chinery, compared  with  that  of  making  it  by 
the  old  method  (by  hand),  not  taking  into 
account  the  interest  on  cost  and  repair  of 
machinery,  is  about  as  one  to  eight.  The 
present  low  price  resulting  from  improved 


machinery  and  the  cheap  printing  by  steam 
power,  has  placed  newspapers  and  books  in 
the  hands  of  all ;  and  a  great  increase  of 
production  has  followed  within  the  last  few 
years.  The  quantity  now  made  might  be 
nearly  ascertained,  if  the  deputy  marshals 
could  report  the  number  of  engines  in  opera- 
tion :  300  pounds  of  paper  would  be  the 
average  daily  produce  of  each  engine — 
taking  into  consideration  the  loss  of  time 
and  power  from  a  deficiency  of  water  in  the 
summer  season.  There  has  been  a  greater 
proportional  increase  of  mills  in  the  middle 
and  western  states  within  the  last  ten  years, 
than  in  the  east.  Ten  years  ago,  80  per 
cent,  of  the  supplies  for  Philadelphia  came 
from  the  east  of  the  North  River ;  at  present 
there  probably  does  not  come  20  per 
cent.  Formerly,  a  much  greater  quantity 
was  sent  west  of  the  mountains,  and  large 
quantities  of  rags  brought  in  return.  In 
consequence  of  the  greater  number  of  mills 
in  the  west,  particularly  in  Ohio,  New  Or- 
leans is  to  some  extent  getting  supplies 
there.  Formerly,  they  all  went  from  the 
Atlantic  states. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IN  VENTIONS— MANUFACTURE. 

THE  slow  and  difficult  process  of  moulding 
the  separate  sheets  of  paper  by  hand,  has  to 
a  very  great  extent  been  superseded  by  the 
introduction  and  gradual  improvement  of 
the  very  beautiful  machinery  of  Fourdrinier. 
By  means  of  this  machine,  a  process  which, 
under  the  old  hand  system,  occupied  a  couple 
of  weeks,  is  now  performed  in  a  few  min- 
utes. Within  this  brief  space  of  time, 
and  the  short  distance  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet,  a  continuous  stream  of  fluid  pulp  is 
made  into  paper,  dried,  polished,  and  cut  up 
into  separate  sheets  ready  for  use.  The 
paper  thus  produced  is  moderate  in  price, 
and,  for  a  large  number  of  purposes,  superior 
in  quality  to  that  which  was  formerly  made 
by  hand.  In  fact,  the  machine-made  papers 
can  be  produced  of  unlimited  dimensions ; 
they  are  of  uniform  thickness ;  they  can  be 
fabricated  at  any  season  of  the  year  ;  they  do 
not  require  to  be  sorted,  trimmed,  and  hung 
up  in  the  drying-house — operations  which 
formerly  led  to  so  much  waste  that  about 
one  sheet  in  every  five  was  defective.  The 
paper  machine  moves  at  the  rate  of  from 


296 


PAPER:  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


twenty-five  to  forty  feet  per  minute,  so  that 
scarcely  two  minutes  are  occupied  in  con- 
verting liquid  pulp  into  finished  paper,  a 
result  which,  by  the  old  process,  occupied 
about  seven  or  eight  days.  If  the  machine 
produce  ten  lineal  yards  of  paper  per  minute, 
or  six  hundred  yards  per  hour,  this  is  equal 
to  a  mile  of  paper  in  three  hours,  or  four 
miles  per  day  of  twelve  hours.  The  paper 
is  about  fifty-four  inches  wide,  and  suppos- 
ing three  hundred  machines  to  be  at  work  on 
an  average  twelve  hours  a  day,  the  aggregate 
length  of  web  would  be  equal  to  1,200 
miles,  and  the  area  3,000,000  square  yards. 
Paper  is  sent  into  market  in  various  forms 
and  sizes,  according  to  the  use  for  which  it 
is  intended.  The  following  table  contains 
the  names  and  dimensions  of  various  sheets 
of  paper. 

Inches. 
Foolscap 14  by  17 


Crown  15 

Folio  post 16 

Demy 17 

Medium 19 

Royal 20 

Super-royal 22 

Imperial 22 

Medium  and  half. 24 

Royal  and  half 25 

Double  Medium 24 

Double  super-royal 27 

Double  imperial 32 


20 
21 
22 
24 
25 
27 
32 
28 
29 
38 
42 
44 


Many  of  the  papers  above  enumerated 
are  made  by  hand  of  the  exact  size  indica- 
ted, but  if  made  by  the  machine,  the  roll 
of  paper  has  to  be  cut  to  the  required  di- 
mensions. In  order  to  do  this  with  pre- 
cision and  expedition,  various  cutting  ma- 
chines have  been  contrived,  in  which  the 
paper,  as  it  comes  from  the  manufacturing 
machine,  is  cut  to  any  size  required.  Fine 
papers  are,  in  many  cases,  hot-pressed  and 
glazed.  In  hot-pressing,  a  number  of  stout 
cast  iron  plates  are  heated  in  an  oven,  and 
then  put  into  a  screw  press  in  alternate 
layers,  with  highly  glazed  paste-boards, 
between  which  the  paper  is  placed  in  open 
sheets  ;  and  the  hard-polished  surface  of  the 
pasteboards,  aided  by  the  heat  and  pressure, 
imparts  that  beautiful  appearance  which  be- 
longs to  hot-pressed  paper.  A  yet  more 
smooth  and  elegant  surface  is  produced  by 
the  process  of  glazing.  The  sheets  of  paper  are 
placed  separately  between  very  smooth,  clean, 
copper  plates.  These  are  then  passed  through 
rollers,  which  impart  a  pressure  of  twenty  to 
thirty  tons.  After  three  or  four  such  pres- 
sures the  paper  acquires  a  higher  surface, 


and  is  then  called  glazed.  The  general  in- 
troduction of  steel  pens  has  increased  the 
demand  for  smooth  papers,  and  has  led  to 
improvements  in  finishing  them.  As  an 
improvement  in  the  manufacture  of  paper 
sized  by  the  machines  now  in  use,  it  is  pro- 
posed to  conduct  the  web  of  paper,  after  it 
has  been  either  partially  or  completely  dried, 
through  a  trough  of  cold  water,  then  to  pass 
it  through  a  pair  of  pressing  rollers,  and  after- 
ward to_  dry  it  on  reels,  or  over  hot  cylin- 
ders. The  paper  which  has  been  thus  treated 
will  be  found  to  "bear"  much  better,  and 
admit  of  erasures  being  made  on  its  surface, 
and  written  over,  without  the  ink  running  in 
the  way  it  does  when  the  paper  is  sized  and 
dried  in  the  usual  manner.  It  has  been 
found  that  when  paper  is  dried,  after  sizing, 
by  the  drying  machines  in  present  use,  the 
paper  is  very  harsh,  and  until  it  stands  for 
some  time  to  get  weather  (as  it  is  technically 
termed)  great  difficulty  is  experienced  in 
glazing  the  paper.  This  inconvenience  is 
proposed  to  be  overcome  by  passing  the 
paper  partially  round  a  hollow  cylinder, 
through  which  a  small  stream  of  cold  water 
is  made  to  run.  By  this  means  the  heat  is 
carried  off,  and  the  paper  is  rendered  more 
tractable,  and  brought  to  a  proper  state  for 
undergoing  the  glazing  operation. 

We  may  describe  the  modern  process  of 
paper  making,  by  detailing  the  operations 
as  carried  on  in  large  mills.  The  visitor 
goes  up  to  the  second  story,  into  a  room 
some  sixty  by  eighty  feet,  in  which  girls  are 
engaged  assorting  the  rags.  Here  are  nu- 
merous bales  of  white  rags,  foreign  and  do- 
mestic. The  imported  are  linen,  the  others 
cotton.  In '  the  same  room  these  rags  are 
cut  by  a  machine,  driven  by  power,  which 
fits  them  for  the  subsequent  processes.  They 
are  next  sent  into  a  rotary  boiler  of  about 
two  tuns  capacity,  into  which  steam  is  ad- 
mitted, and  the  rags  boiled.  Next  they  are 
cast  down  on  a  floor  in  the  first  story,  where 
they  are  put  into  cars,  on  which  they  are 
conveyed  to  the  washing  engines.  Two 
engines  are  employed  in  washing,  called  rag 
engines.  These  engines  play  in  tubs  of  an 
oval  form,  of  large  capacity,  each  containing 
perhaps  200  Ibs.  of  rags.  The  impelling 
power,  steam  or  water,  causes  the  revolution 
of  a  roller,  set  with  knives  or  bars  of  cast 
steel  inserted  in  it  longitudinally.  This 
roller  is  suspended  on  what  is  called  a  lighter, 
by  which  it  may  be  raised  or  lowered  at 
pleasure  upon  a  plate,  consisting  of  bars  of 


INVENTIONS — MANUFACTURE. 


297 


steel,  set  up  edgewise.  Passing  now  between 
this  and  the  plate,  the  rags  are  reduced  to 
fibre.  A  stream  of  pure  water  is  then  con- 
veyed into  the  rag  engine,  and,  by  means  of 
a  cylinder  covered  with  gauze  wire,  the  dirty 
water  is  passed  off.  This  cylinder,  called  a 
patent  washer,  is  octagonal  in  shape,  some 
thirty  inches  in  length,  revolving  in  the  en- 
gine, and  having  buckets  within  it,  corres- 
ponding with  the  sides  of  the  washer.  By 
this  process  the  rags  are  washed  perfectly 
clean  in  from  three  to  six  hours. 

The  bleaching  process  is  performed  by  the 
insertion  into  this  engine  of  a  strong  solution 
of  the  chloride  of  lime  and  some  acid,  to  cause 
a  reaction.  The  pulp  is  then  emptied  into 
large  cisterns,  covered  with  the  bleach  liquor 
it  contains,  where  it  is  allowed  to  remain 
from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  to  bleach. 
It  is  then  drained,  put  into  the  beating  en- 
gine, and  reduced  to  a  pulp,  the  consistency 
of  milk,  which  it  much  resembles.  This 
pulp  is  emptied  into  a  large  cistern,  in  a 
vault  beneath,  and  kept  in  motion  by  means 
of  an  agitator  revolving  in  it.  It  is  then 
raised  by  a  lifting  pump  into  a  small  cistern, 
from  which  it  is  drawn  off  by  a  cock — which 
is  opened  more  or  less,  according  to  the 
thickness  of  the  paper  intended  to  be  made — 
on  to  a  strainer,  which  removes  the  knots, 
sand,  or  hard  substances  that  may  damage 
the  paper,  and  then  flows  upon  a  leathern 
apron,  which  conducts  it  to  an  endless  wire 
cloth,  over  which  the  web  of  paper  is  form- 
ed. This  wire  cloth  is  kept  constantly 
vibrating,  which  both  facilitates  the  escape 
of  water  and  the  felting  together  of  the 
fibres  of  the  pulp.  The  wire  cloth,  with  the 
pulp  upon  it — the  edges  being  protected  by 
deckle-straps — passes  on  until  it  comes  to  a 
couple  of  wet-press  cylinders,  as  they  are  call- 
ed, the  lower  of  which  is  of  metal,  but  cover- 
ed with  a  jacket  of  felting  or  flannel ;  the 
upper  one  is  of  wood,  made  hollow,  and  cov- 
ered first  with  mahogany,  and  then  with 
flannel.  These  cylinders  give  the  gauze  with 
the  pulp  upon  it  a  slight  pressure,  which  is 
repeated  upon  a  second  pair  of  wet-press 
rolls  similar  to  the  first.  The  paper  is  then 
led  upon  an  endless  felt  or  blanket,  which 
travels  at  exactly  the  same  rate  as  the  wire 
cloth,  while  the  latter  passes  under  the  cyl- 
inders, and  proceeds  to  take  up  a  new  supply 
of  pulp.  The  endless  felt  conveys  the  paper, 
still  in  a  very  wet  state,  between  cast  iron 
cylinders,  where  it  undergoes  a  severe  pres- 
sure, which  rids  it  of  much  of  the  remaining 


water,  and  then  between  a  second  pair  of 
press-rollers,  which  remove  the  mark  of  the 
felt  from  the  under  surface  ;  and  finally  it  is 
passed  over  the  surface  of  cylinders  heated 
by  steam,  and  when  it  has  passed  over  about 
thirty  lineal  feet  of  heated  surface,  it  is 
wound  upon  a  reel  ready  for  cutting.  Forty 
years  ago  three  men  could  by  hand  manu- 
facture 4,000  sheets  in  a  day.  The  same 
number  now  by  the  aid  of  machinery  will 
make  60,000. 

From  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  quan- 
tity of  paper  imported  has  been  gradually 
decreasing  ;  and  before  the  revision  of  the 
tariff  in  1846,  had  dwindled  to  perhaps  not 
more  than  2  per  cent,  of  the  amount  con- 
sumed, with  the  exception  of  wall  papers,  of 
which  large  quantities  Avere  imported,  and 
still  continue  to  be,  from  France.  Since 
1846,  there  has  been  an  increase  of  cheap 
French  letter  paper,  but  the  amount  is  small 
compared  with  the  whole  amount  of  letter 
paper  consumed,  probably  not  more  than  3 
per  cent.  There  is  also  a  small  quantity  of 
ledger  and  letter  paper  brought  from  Eng- 
land, but  as  the  American  is  quite  equal  in 
quality,  the  importation  is  gradually  dimin- 
ishing. Within  the  last  few  years  great  in- 
genuity has  been  exercised,  both  in  England 
and  the  United  States,  in  trying  to  make  a 
paper  by  machinery  to  resemble  the  old- 
fashioned  hand-made  laid  paper  (yet  pre- 
ferred by  many).  To  the  eye  it  is  a  pretty 
good  imitation,  but  lacks  the  toughness, 
firmness,  and  surface  of  the  hand-made.  By 
an  experienced  judge  the  difference  is  easily 
discovered.  Notwithstanding,  lai-ge  quan- 
tities have  been  used  under  the  supposition 
that  they  were  hand-made.  The  reduced 
price  of  machine  paper  has  forced  almost  all 
manufacturers  to  abandon  the  old  method. 
There  were  a  few  years  since  only  two 
mills  in  operation  in  the  United  States  in 
which  it  was  made  by  hand — one  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  one  in  Pennsylvania.  There  is  a 
limited  quantity  of  peculiar  kinds,  that  can 
be  better  made  by  hand  than  on  a  machine, 
such  as  band-note,  laid  letter,  deed  parch- 
ments, and  such  as  are  used  for  documents 
that  are  much  handled,  and  require  great 
strength  and  durability.  Within  the  last 
few  years  some  improvement  has  been  made 
in  the  finish  of  writing  and  printing  papers, 
by  the  introduction  of  iron  and  paper  calen- 
ders for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  smooth  sur- 
face. The  finish  of  American  papers  is  now 
equal  to  any  in  the  world. 


298 


PAPER:  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 


The  quantity  of  paper  required  for  the 
newspaper  service  of  the  country  is  probably 
150,000,000  Ibs.  per  annum,  which  would 
allow  a  circulation  of  750,000,000  sheets. 
There  would  remain  250,000,000  Ibs.  of 
paper  for  the  service  of  the  book  trade,  and 
the  trade  and  publications  of  the  religious 
societies. 

The  use  of  paper-hangings,  which  has  become 
so  common  in  the  past  ten  years,  superseding 
hard  finish  and  painted  walls  for  city  dwell- 
ings, absorbs  a  large  amount  of  paper.  In 
Philadelphia,  which  has  been  the  leading 
place  for  the  manufacture  of  paper-hangings 
until  more  recently,  when  the  business  has 
been  carried  on  in  New  York  and  Boston, 
the  consumption  of  paper  for  hangings  has 
been  yearly  1,500  tons,  or  3,000,000  Ibs. 
The  paper  used  for  this  purpose  is  heavy, 
and  comes  from  the  mill  in  rolls  1,200  yards 
long,  and  from  20  to  35  inches  wide.  It 


costs  from  9  to  14  cents  per  pound.  In 
the  preparation  of  this  paper  the  pattern 
is  first  carefully  drawn  from  original  designs, 
and  then  printed.  The  outlines  of  the 
various  tints  are  made  each  upon  a  separate 
block,  made  of  pear-tree  mounted  with  pine. 
The  color  is  contained  in  sieves,  and  the 
blocks  thus  applied  to  these  are  laid  upon 
the  paper,  following  each  other  upon  the 
guide-marks  left  by  the  previous  impressions. 
It  is  stated  that  a  paper-hanging  exhibited 
at  the  World's  Fair,  and  representing  a  chase 
in  a  forest  with  birds  and  animals,  was  per- 
fected by  the  application  of  12,000  blocks. 

In  making  what  is  called  flock  (shearings 
of  broadcloth)  paper,  the  pattern  is  printed 
in  size  and  varnished ;  the  wool  then  being 
sifted  on  the  varnished  pattern,  adheres  to  it. 

The  census  of  1860  gave  the  localities  of 
the  paper  mills  and  their  comparative  im- 
portance as  follows : — 


MANUFAOTOKIE8    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


States  and  Territories.      ! 

No.  of 
Establish- 
ments. 

Capital. 

Cost  of  raw 
material. 

Connecticut  

55 

$1,860,000 

$1,527,672 

Delaware  

2 

280,000 

286,439 

Georgia  

4 

171,000 

72,400 

Illinois  

2 

47,103 

43,075 

Indiana  

10 

147,500 

56,785 

Kentucky  

1 

125,000 

68,500 

Maine  

14 

519,100 

535,539 

Maryland  

25 

272,800 

300,759 

Massachusetts  

99 

3,589,860 

3,313,162 

Michigan  

5 

46,500 

62,837 

New  Hampshire  

24 

425,000 

378,596 

New  Jersey  

36 

990,000 

997,109 

New  York  

126 

2,039,000 

1,394,210 

North  Carolina  

6 

121.850 

54,600 

Ohio  

29 

875,500 

737,246 

Pennsylvania  

84 

1,917,920 

1,313,841 

Iowa  

'  1 

12,000 

6,600 

South  Carolina  

3 

111,000 

53,000 

Tennessee  

2 

14,500 

10,200 

Vermont  

12 

139,500 

152,396 

Virginia  

9 

154,500 

130,165 

Wisconsin  

5 

133,000 

99,135 

California  

1 

60,000 

8,000 

Cost  of  labor. 

Value  of 
product 

$342,996 

$2,453,258 

29,292 

385,000 

20,904 

146,300 

13,080 

59,938 

25,548 

140,200 

19,200 

122,000 

100,834 

949,645 

51,228 

513,690 

800,692 

6,170,127 

16,248 

127,000 

95,580 

701,209 

179,940 

1,582,703 

433,028 

3,059,776 

53,916 

165,703 

197,448 

1,382,241 

256,656 

2,367,268 

3,924 

17,400 

16,044 

96,500 

4,500 

28,000 

35,688 

2^7,800 

41,678 

270,000 

23,988 

193,114 

4,800 

40,000 

Total  in  U.  S . . . 
Total  in  1850.... 


Increase. 


555 
443 

112 


14,052,683      11,602,266       6,519       4,392 
5,523,929        5,523,929       3,835       2,950 


2,767,212      21,216,802 
1,497,792      10,187,177 


3,048,337     $6,048,337       2,684       1,442     $1,269,420  $11,029,625 


There  were  produced  in  these  555  paper 
mills,  in  1860,  131,508,000  pounds  of  print- 
ing paper,  22,268,000  pounds  of  writing 
paper,  33,379  tons  of  wrapping  paper,  and 
8,150  tons  of  straw  boards.  The  mills 
which  manufacture  tarred  boards,  that  is, 


those  made  of  oakum,  hemp  rope  and  bag- 
ging, &c.,  were  not  enumerated.  During 
the  war,  the  price  of  paper  rose  more  than 
one  hundred  per  cent.,  and  the  product  has 
been  greatly  increased  since  1860. 


HAND  CARDING. 


WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES  —  CARDING  — 
WEAVING— FELTING. 

THE  manufacture  of  woollen,  or  any  other 
goods,  having  been  prohibited  in  the  colo- 
nies under  that  harsh  principle  which 
prompted  the  Earl  of  Chatham  to  exclaim 
that  the  "  colonists  had  no  right  to  manu- 
facture so  much  as  a  horse-shoe  nail,"  much 
progress  could  not  have  been  expected. 
Nevertheless,  progress  was  made,  since  the 
home  manufacture  of  woollen  cloth  became 
very  general.  The  people  spun  and  wove 
their  own  cloth,  and  the  merchant  found 
little  sale  for  the  imported  article.  The 
oppressions  of  the  home  government  were 
continued,  until  finally,  in  1765,  a  society 
was  started  in  New  York  with  great  zeal, 
not  only  repudiating  all  foreign  goods,  but 
taking  measures  to  encourage  the  home 
manufacture  of  cloth  from  sheep's  wool,  and 
from  all  other  materials.  This  was  very  pop- 
ular ;  and  an  agreement  was  extensively  en- 
tered into,  in  order  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  wool,  to  eat  no  mutton  or  lamb,  and  to 
purchase  no  meat  of  any  butcher  who  should 
kill  a  sheep  or  lamb.  The  economist  of  the 
present  day  will  smile  at  such  a  mode  of  en- 
couraging the  farmer  to  keep  sheep,  viz. :  by 
cutting  off  his  market  for  the  mutton.  Never- 
theless, it  showed  zeal.  Manufactures  are 
not,  however,  to  be  established  by  resolu- 
tion. For  their  development  there  are  neces- 
sary, 1st,  the  supply  of  skilled  labor ;  2d,  the 
material  for  its  use ;  3d,  the  capital  to  em- 


ploy it ;  and  4th,  the  demand  for  the  goods. 
This  latter  existed  to  a  considerable  extent, 
on  certain  conditions,  among  which  was,  that 
it  should  come  within  the  means  of  the  con- 
sumers. There  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  much  scarcity  of  wool,  since  home-made 
goods  were  generally  used.  There  was  an 
absence,  however,  of  capital,  and  of  that 
skilled  labor  which  is  always  the  result  of 
extensive  experience  in  the  same  employ- 
ment. There  came  great  numbers  of  art- 
isans from  Europe,  and  it  was  stated  that 
30,000  weavers  left  Ulster  in  1774.  The 
war  came,  peace  succeeded,  and  the  new 
government  was  formed  in  1791 ;  on  which 
occasion,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  made  his  famous  report  on 
manufactures.  He  stated,  that  of  woollen 
goods,  hats  only  had  reached  maturity,  and 
supplied  the  demand.  At  Hartford,  a  mill 
for  cloths  and  cassimeres  was  in  operation, 
and  produced  excellent  wares,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  he  remarked,  that  "  it 
was  doubtful  if  American  wool  was  fit  for 
fine  cloths."  The  quality  of  wool  grown 
in  the  country  must,  since  then,  have  chang- 
ed very  much,  since  the  American  wool  is 
used  entirely  for  the  fine  goods,  and  the 
imported  wools  only  are  used  for  carpets  and 
coarse  manufactures.  The  manufacture  of 
cloths  did  not  progress  rapidly,  since  we  find 
that,  in  1810,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
Treasury  department,  ordered  by  Congress, 
the  manufacture  of  wool  was  still  mostly  in 
families.  The  progress  of  the  manufacture, 
according  to  that  report,  has  been  as  fol- 
lows : — 


1810. 


"Woollen  manufacture,     $25,608,788 


1820. 
4,413,068 


1830. 
14,528,166 


1840. 
20,696,999 


1850. 
43,207,545 


This  value,  in  1810,  was  nearly  all  in  fam- 
ilies, and  the  figures  subsequently  are  the 
product  of  regular  manufactures  as  the  busi- 
ness progressed.  The  family  manufacture 
was  necessarily  of  a  rude  description.  The 
wool,  being  washe'd,  was  carded  between 


two  cards  held  in  the  hands  of  the  operator, 
who  continued  to  card  until  the  wool  was 
formed  into  a  long  roll,  which  was  then  spun 
upon  the  single  spindle,  driven  by  the  wheel 
that  the  busy  hand  of  the  housewife  kept  in 
motion.  There  are  many  still  living  who 


CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 


301 


were  employed  in  sticking  the  teeth  for  those 
cards,  and  in  tending  the  wheel.  The  cloth, 
woven  also  by  hand,  was  subsequently  sent 
to  mill  to  be  fulled,  and  dyed,  and  dressed ; 
which  was  the  first  regular  business  branch 
of  the  manufacture.  The  dyeing  was  rather 
an  imperfect  process.  The  operator  did  not 
then  understand  the  art  of  fixing  colors. 
Daniel  Webster  somewhere  relates  his  mis- 
fortune, when,  dressed  up  in  a  new  suit  of 
home-spun  blue,  he  accompanied  his  father 
on  the  way  to  a  new  school,  and,  being  over- 
taken by  a  shower,  had  the  color  washed 
from  his  new  coat  into  his  shirt.  With  the 
lapse  of  time  dyeing  became  better  under- 
stood. Not  many  years  have  elapsed,  how- 
ever, since  the  distinctive  mark  of  American 
cloth  was,  that  it  wore  "white  on  the  edges ;" 
in  other  words,  its  color  was  not  fast.  With 
the  introduction  of  machinery,  and  the  im- 
proved condition  of  the  people,  home  manu- 
factures necessarily  gave  way  to  machine 
work.  Other  occupations  paid  the  time  of 
the  farmer  better,  and  the  use  of  machines 
gradually  made  a  market  for  the  raw  wool, 
at  a  price  which,  compared  with  falling 
prices  of  the  cloth,  would  give  the  wool- 
grower  his  cloth  without  labor.  This  we 
may  illustrate  by  extreme  figures.  Suppose, 
there  being  no  factories,  wool  is  worth  10 
cts.  per  lb.,  and  cloth  imported,  $2  per  yard, 
a  pound  of  wool  will  make  two  yards,  or  $4  ; 
if  not  as  good  cloth,  at  least  good  enough. 
The  farmer,  by  turning  his  wool  into  cloth, 
makes  a  large  saving.  Soon,  however,  ma- 
chine labor  sinks  cloth  to  50  cts.  per  yard, 
and  raises  wool  to  60  cts.  The  farmer  can 
now  no  longer  afford  to  make  his  own  cloth, 
but  his  wool  trade  has  become  profitable. 
Thus,  machine  goods  supplant  hand  goods. 
In  this  line,  the  inventions  have  been  very 
remarkable. 

In  1797,  Asa  Whittemore,  of  Massachu- 
setts, invented  a  machine  for  making  cards. 
Instead  of  sticking  them  by  hand,  as  before, 
a  strip  of  leather,  by  passing  between  a 
cylinder  and  a  scraper,  becomes  of  equal 
thickness.  This  strip  of  leather,  in  passing 
through  the  machine,  is  stuck  full  of  teeth, 
that  are  also  made  from  steel  wire  by  the 
machine  at  the  same  time.  The  ingenuity 
of  this  machine  was  such,  that  the  famous 
John  Randolph,  on  inspecting  it,  exclaimed, 
that  "  it  operated  as  if  it  had  a  soul !"  ?>here 
have  been  100  patents  since  issued  f (  r  im- 
provements in  this  machine.  The  hand 
cards  were  then  supplanted  by  the  warding 


machine.  This  has  a  drum  of  about  3  ft. 
diameter,  and  as  many  long,  covered  with 
the  cards.  Smaller  cylinders,  also  covered 
with  cards,  are  placed  so  as  to  revolve  against 
the  circumference  of  the  cylinder,  and  in  the 
contrary  direction.  There  is  a  feed  apron, 
on  which  the  wool  is  laid,  and,  being  drawn 
in  between  two  rollers,  is  caught  by  the  cards 
of  the  revolving  drum,  and  combed  out  be- 
tween it  and  the  smaller  cylinders.  The 
wool  is  thus  spread  on  the  surface  of  all, 
and  is  finally  taken  up  by  the  "  doffer,"  or  a 
cylinder  in  front  of  the  main  drum ;  from 
this  it  flows  in  a  broad,  thin,  gauzy  fleece, 
which  passes  through  a  funnel,  and  in  so 
doing  is  contracted  into  a  ribbon,  or  sliver, 
which  is  delivered  into  a  can,  ready  for  the 
"  drawing  frame."  Long  wools  and  short 
wools  are  subjected  to  different  treatment  in 
this  stage  of  the  manufacture.  The  long 
wools  are  sometimes  called  combing  wools, 
in  consequence. 

In  the  manufacture  of  worsted,  the  long 
staple  is  used  mostly^  because  a  smooth,  fine 
yarn  is  required,  not  much  liable  to  full,  or 
shrink,  or  curl.  In  order  to  form  such  a 
thread,  the  first  object  is  to  lay  or  stretch 
the  fibres  into  lines,  as  parallel  as  possible. 
If  it  were  possible  to  procure  a  single  fibre 
of  wool  of  a  length  sufficient  to  weave  like  a 
fibre  of  silk,  the  beauty  and  finish  of  the 
fabric  would  be  as  nearly  perfect  as  could 
be  desired.  As  that,  however,  is  not  pos- 
sible, the  object  of  the  manufacturer  is  to 
draw  out  the  fibres  into  parallel  lines,  in 
order  that  they  may  twist  into  a  thread  as 
fine  and  smooth  as  can  be  obtained.  The 
old  mode  of  doing  this  was  by  hand.  When 
the  wool  has  been  washed  with  lye,  or  soap 
and  water,  and  dried,  it  passes  into  a  ma- 
chine called  the  "  picker,"  tended  by  a  boy, 
who  lays  the  wool  as  evenly  as  he  can  upon 
the  feed  apron,  which  carries  the  wool  be- 
tween rollers,  when  it  is  caught  by  revolving 
teeth,  torn  asunder,  and  scattered  in  the  air. 
The  fibres  are  thus  cleared  and  straightened 
to  some  extent.  They  were  then  taken  to  the 
comber,  who,  in  a  close  room,  employed 
combs  with  long,  heated  teeth.  The  work- 
man oiled  the  wool,  and  combed  it  with  these 
heated  instruments,  until  it  became  suitable, 
when  it  was  arranged  in  "  slivers."  This 
was  a  very  laborious  and  unhealthy  task,  and 
many  machines  have  been  invented  to  super- 
sede the  hand  labor.  Some  of  them  are  very 
ingenious,  and  they  have  advanced  the 
stage  of  the  manufacture  in  an  eminent  de- 


302 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


gree.  When  the  "  slivers"  are  thus  pre- 
pared, they  are  carried  to  the  "breaking 
machine."  There  the  first  sliver  is  placed 
upon  an  apron,  which  carries  it  between  two 
rollers,  that  seize  and  draw  it  forward,  and  it 
passes  from  them  through  other  sets  of  rollers, 
which  move  three  times  as  fast.  As  a  con- 
sequence, the  sliver  is  drawn  out  to  three 
times  its  original  length.  When  it  has  half 
passed  into  the  first  set  of  rollers,  the  end  of 
another  sliver  is  laid  upon  it,  passing 
thence  with  it,  and  becoming  incorporated 
with  it  in  the  drawing.  All  the  slivers  thus 
become  incorporated  in  one  of  three  times 
the  aggregate  length  of  all  the  original  sliv- 
ers, and  it  is  coiled  in  a  can.  Three  of 
these  cans  are  carried  to  the  "  drawing 
frame,"  which  has  five  »eets  of  rollers,  oper- 
ating in  the  same  manner  as  the  breaking 
frame.  As  fast  as  the  sliver  comes  through 
one  set  of  rollers,  it  coils  into  a  can,  and  the 
slivers  of  three  cans  are  then  united,  and  pass 
through  another  set  of  rollers.  These  draw- 
ings thus  take  place  1,500  times  with  some 
wool,  and  the  process  reduces  the  sliver  to 
one-fourth  its  original  bulk.  There  are  many 
variations  of  the,  detail  of  drawing  by  differ- 
ent machines,  but  the  result  is  the  same. 
After  the  drawing  is  finished,  a  pound  of  the 
sliver  is  taken  and  measured,  in  order  to 
test  the  accuracy  of  the  drawing.  This 
done,  the  sliver  is  passed  to  the  "  roving" 
frame,  where  two  slivers  are  drawn,  as  be- 
fore, into  a  "  roving,"  which  has  now  become 
so  attenuated,  that  it  must  have  a  twist  to 
hold  it  together.  This  twist  is  imparted  to 
it  as  it  is  wound  upon  spindles,  of  which  the 
frame  contains  a  great  many.  The  bobbins 
from  the  roving  frame  spindles  are  then  car- 
ried to  the  spinning  frame.  They  are  placed 
upon  skewers,  and  the  roving  proceeds  from 
them  between  rollers,  of  which  there  are 
three  sets :  the  first  pair  turns  slowly,  the 
middle  twice  as  fast  as  the  first,  and  the 
third  from  twelve  to  seventeen  times  as  fast 
as  the  first  pair.  The  spindles  that  receive 
the  thread  from  the  rollers  must  turn  very 
fast  to  give  the  required  twist  to  the  thread. 
The  hardest  thread  is  tammy  warp,  and, 
when  this  is  of  size  of  twenty-four  hanks  to 
the  pound,  the  twist  is  ten  turns  to  an  inch. 
The  least  twist  is  given  to  thread  for  fine 
hose,  and  it  is  then  five  to  the  inch.  The 
threads  are  then  reeled.  The  bobbins  are 
placed  in  a  row  upon  wires,  before  a  long 
horizontal  reel,  which  is  exactly  a  yard  in 
circumference.  When  this  has  revolved 


eighty  times,  it  rings  a  bell.  It  is  then 
stopped,  and  a  thread  passed  round  the 
eighty  turns  of  each  thread.  The  reel  then 
proceeds.  Each  of  these  eighty  turns  is 
called  a  ley ;  seven  such  are  a  "  hank :" 
which  is,  consequently,  560  yards.  When 
this  quantity  is  reeled,  the  ends  of  the 
threads  are  tied  together,  and  each  hank  is 
weighed  by  a  machine,  which  denotes  the 
number  of  hanks  to  a  pound,  and  this  is  the 
number  of  the  yarn:  thus,  No.  24  means 
that  twenty-four  hanks  of  560  yards  each 
will  weigh  1  Ib.  A  hank  of  cotton  measures 
840  yards. 

Short  wool,  for  the  cloth  manufacture,  re- 
sembles cotton  in  some  respects.  The  wool 
being  oiled  and  "  picked,"  is  passed  through 
the  carding  machine,  whence  it  proceeds 
through  the  drawing  process,  as  with  the 
long  staple,  until  it  assumes  the  form  of  yarn 
for  the  weaver. 

In  woollen  cloths,  cassimeres,  broad  cloths, 
narrow  cloths,  etc.,  all  wool  is  used  :  that  is, 
both  warp  and  weft  are  wool,  but  the  wool 
is  combined  with  many  other  articles,  ac- 
cording to  the  dearness  of  each.  The  cotton 
warp  is  used  in  satinets ;  and  in  most  descrip- 
tions of  dress  goods  there  is  a  combination 
of  wool  with  silk  or  cotton.  If  these  articles 
are  very  high,  more  wool  is  used ;  and  the 
reverse,  if  wool  is  high,  and  cotton  is  cheap, 
more  cotton  is  introduced  into  the  fabric. 
There  are  also  a  great  variety  of  styles  and 
patterns  constantly  produced,  to  attract  at- 
tention. 

The  weaving  process  on  the  improved 
power-looms  has  been  greatly  facilitated  of 
late  years,  and  the  labor  has  been  diminish- 
ed. Thus,  formerly,  one  person  was  re- 
quired to  tend  one  loom,  at  a  certain  speed ; 
but,  by  various  improvements,  one  person 
may  now  tend  four.  In  large  factories,  great 
numbers  of  looms  are  placed  in  one  room, 
and,  as  the  cloth-rolls  become  full,  they  are 
placed  upon  a  little  rail-car,  which  carries 
them  off  to  the  dyeing  and  finishing  depart- 
ment. 

The  woven  cloth  is  carried  to  the  fulling- 
mill,  to  have  the  oil  applied  in  spinning,  and 
other  greasy  matters  removed,  and,  by  a 
partial  felting,  to  give  the  fabric  more  com* 
pactness.  The  first  process  is  to  scour  the 
ck  th.  This  is  done  by  placing  it  in  troughs, 
so  Arranged  as  to  contain  the  liquids — stale 
urine  and  hog's  dung,  then  urine  alone,  and 
to  be  followed  by  fullers'  earth  and  urine. 
Heavy  oaken  mallets,  or  pounders,  slide 


CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 


303 


down  with  force  into  one  end  of  the  trough, 
and  mash,  or  roll  over  the  cloths.  The 
pounders  are  lifted  by  wooden  cams,  kept  in 
motion  by  horse-power  for  many  hours.  In 
this  process  the  oil  is  detached  from  the 
wool,  the  urine  is  absorbed  by  the  earth, 
and  both  washed  off  by  the  water.  When 
this  is  complete,  soap  is  applied  liberally, 
•and  the  pounding  continued,  to  full  the  cloth. 
Instead  of  soap,  in  some  cases  steam  is  applied, 
and  the  pounders  made  of  iron.  The  process 
of  fulling  is  also  effected  without  pounders, 
the  cloth  being  pushed,  or  squeezed,  through 
a  long  trough.  After  the  fulling,  the  soap  is 
washed  out,  and  the  cloth  is  ready  for 
teasling.  To  full  a  piece  of  broadcloth  re- 
quires sixty  to  sixty-five  hours,  and  lllbs.  of 
soap  are  usually  applied.  In  the  process, 
the  cloth  will  shrink  in  length  from  fifty -four 
to  forty  yards,  and  from  twelve  quarters 
wide  to  seven  quarters. 

When  cloth  is  returned  from  the  fulling- 
mill,  it  is  stretched  upon  the  tenter  frame, 
and  left  to  dry  in  the  open  air.  As  cloth  in 
the  fulling-mill  shrinks  nearly  one-half,  it 
must  be  woven  nearly  double  its  intended 
breadth.  Superfine  six-quarter  broadcloths 
arc  therefore  woven  twelve  quarters  wide. 

The  cloth  is  minutely  examined,  when  dry, 
in  every  part,  freed  from  knots  and  uneven 
threads,  and  repaired,  by  sewing  any  little 
rents,  or  inserting  sound  yarns  in  the  place 
of  defective  ones. 

In  order  to  raise  up  the  loose  filaments  of 
woollen  yarn  into  a  nap  upon  one  of  the  sur- 
faces of  the  cloth,  it  is  scratched  with  the 
hea"ds  of  the  teasle  plant,  or  with  teasling  cards 
made  of  wire.  In  large  factories  the  operation 
is  performed  in  the  gig-mill,  which  is  a  cylinder 
covered  all  over  with  teasles,  and  made  to 
revolve  rapidly,  while  the  cloth  is  drawn 
over  it.  This  operation  requires  attention, 
lest  the  goods  become  tender.  Indeed, 
every  branch  of  the  wool  manufacture  re- 
quires the  supervision  of  a  practical  man.  If 
a  piece  of  cloth  comes  from  the  press  dam- 
aged, or  inferior,  he  must  be  able  himself  to 
discover  where  the  fault  lies,  without  taking 
any  other  man's  word  for  it ;  if  the  wool  is 
not  properly  cleaned  and  dyed,  the  dyer 
must  be  called  to  account,  not  the  carder,  or 
the  weaver ;  and  if,  through  the  carelessness 
of  the  shearer  or  gigger,  the  goods  are  made 
tender,  they  must  answer  for  it,  not  the 
spinner.  Therefore,  the  manager  of  a  wool- 
len establishment  must  be  a  thorough  prac- 
tical manufacturer,  conversant  with  all  the 


branches  of  his  business,  and  able  to  assume 
and  maintain  the  responsibility  of  each  and 
every  one.  This  individuality  of  the  manu- 
facturer is  well  divided  among  the  different 
branches  of  the  manufacture  in  England, 
where  the  business  has  grown  up  in  the 
hands  of  practical  men ;  but  in  this  country, 
where  manufacturing  was,  as  it  were,  im- 
provised on  the  formation  of  the  govern- 
ment, it  came,  necessarily,  under  the  con- 
trol of  corporations,  where  the  supervising 
power  could  not  be  so  well  exercised  as 
where  each  branch  is  produced  by  an  in- 
dividual on  his  own  responsibility,  and  to 
meet  the  consequences  of  defect  himself. 
In  a  corporation,  many  of  the  appointments 
are  independent  of  the  general  direction, 
and  the  resulting  defects  in  fabrics  are  placed 
to  the  account  of  the  wrong  party,  or  not 
fixed  upon  any. 

The  art  of  dyeing  and  printing  fabrics  is 
one  of  the  most  progressive  connected  with 
manufacturing.  The  materials  of  human 
clothing  are  mostly  from  silk  and  wool,  of 
animal  origin,  and  cotton  and  flax,  of  vege- 
table origin.  These  two  classes  differ  in  the 
facility  with  which  they  imbibe  coloring 
matter.  The  animal  fibre  takes  much  more 
brilliant  shades  than  the  vegetable,  and  the 
color  may  be  applied  to  either  class  in  the 
raw  state,  in  the  spun  yarn,  or  in  the  fabric : 
hence,  great  diversity  in  the  processes.  The 
coloring  matters  are  themselves  of  the  most 
various  origins — animal,  vegetable,  and  min- 
eral— and  their  substances,  brought  together, 
act  upon  each  other,  and  produce  the  most 
intricate  changes.  The  leading  vegetable 
colors  are  yellow,  brown,  and  red;  blue  is 
derived  only  from  litmus  and  indigo  ;  black 
is  afforded  by  nutgalls,  sumach,  and  cashew 
nut.  These  are  generally  obtained  by  water; 
but  some  of  the  substances  require  either 
alcohol  or  some  of  the  fixed  oils.  From  the 
animal  kingdom  come,  from  the  bodies  of 
the  cochineal  and  kermes  insects,  the  bril- 
liant scarlet  and  crimson  dyes.  The  ancient 
dye,  called  Tyrian  purple,  was  long  supposed 
to  be  lost ;  but  a  French  chemist  has  lately 
discovered  it.  Hoofs,  horns,  etc.,  give  Prus- 
sian blue.  Many  brilliant  colors  are  derived 
from  the  salts  of  various  metals.  The  same 
metal  is  caused  to  give  various  colors.  Iron 
gives  that  buff  known  as  nankeen ;  it  gives 
various  shades  of  blue,  and  is  made  to  yield 
black,  slate  color,  and  other  shades.  Chrome, 
and  lead  salts,  give  an  interesting  variety  of 
colors.  The  materials  to  be  dyed,  of  what- 


304 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


ever  nature,  are  seldom  found  to  have  such 
an  affinity  for  the  dyes  used  that  they  will 
retain  them.  They  will  soon  wash  out,  un- 
less a  remedy  is  applied.  Chemistry  dis- 
covered this  in  certain  substances  that  will 
fix  themselves  permanently  upon  the  fibre, 
and  then,  by  uniting  chemically  with  the 
color,  "  fix"  that  permanently  also.  These 
applications  are  called  "  mordants,"  from  the 
Latin,  mordeo,  because  they  were  thought  to 
bite  into  the  fibre.  It  is  sometimes  the  case 
that,  in  thus  combining  with  the  color,  the 
mordant  will  modify  or  alter  its  tone,  and 
those  having  this  effect,  are  sometimes  called 
"  alterants." 

Thus,  if  a  decoction  of  madder  be  applied 
directly  to  cloth,  it  gives  a  dirty  red  color, 
that  will  not  remain.  If  the  cloth  is  first 
prepared  with  acetate  of  alumina,  the  color 
will  not  only  become  entirely  fast,  but 
will  assume  a  fine  red  hue,  which  will  re- 
sist the  action  of  air,  light,  and  water.  If, 
instead  of  the  alumina,  oxide  of  iron  is  used 
as  a  mordant,  a  purple  color  will  be  ob- 
tained. In  dyeing  with  cochineal,  if  crim- 
son is  required,  alumina  is  used  for  a  mor- 
dant ;  if  oxide  of  iron  is  used,  the  color 
will  be  black.  It  follows,  that  mixing  mor- 
dants will  multiply  shades,  and  the  variations 
of  proportions  and  strength  of  solution  give 
a  wide  field  for  the  production  of  effects.  It 
sometimes  is  the  case,  that  two  solutions, 
neither  of  which  will  give  any  color  at  all  to 
the  fabric,  will  impart  a  fast  color  by  follow- 
ing each  other  in  the  application.  Thus,  a 
solution  of  nitrate  of  potash  gives  no  color  to 
cloth,  and  may  be  washed  out ;  the  same  is 
true  of  bichromate  of  potash ;  but  if  one 
of  these  is  applied  after  the  cloth  has  receiv- 
ed the  other,  a  fast  yellow  is  obtained.  In 
the  process  of  mandarining,  an  acid  is  made 
to  act  directly  upon  the  fibre  of  the  wool. 
In  a  large  factory,  the  dye  stuffs  are  ground 
and  mixed  in  an  appropriate  room.  The  in- 
fusions are  made  in  tubs  or  vats,  some  in  cold 
water,  and  others  in  boiling  water.  Some 
of  the  dyes  are  introduced  in  the  shape  of  a 
coarse  powder,  and  others  in  bags,  through 
which  the  color  oozes.  The  cloth  is  first 
prepared  by  thorough  cleansing,  in  order 
to  remove  all  extraneous  matters  that  may 
be  attached  to  the  fibre.  When  this  is  com- 
pleted, the  mordant  is  applied  by  soaking 
the  cloth  in  appropriate  solutions.  It  is 
then  hung  up  to  dry  in  long  folds,  if  intend- 
ed for  printing,  as  in  the  case  of  muslin-de- 
laines, a  fabric  in.  which  the  American 


manufacturer  has  come  to  surpass  the  im- 
ported article,  and  to  monopolize  the  market. 

The  art  of  printing  goods  may  be  said  to 
have  been  created  in  the  last  fifty  years.  As 
practised  in  the  early  part  of  the  century, 
it  was  comparatively  rude.  The  figures  to 
be  impressed  upon  the  cloth  were  engraved 
upon  a  square  block  of  wood,  and  the  color 
being  applied  to  this,  it  was  impressed  upon 
the  cloth,  which  was  then  drawn  forward, 
and  a  new  application  of  the  block  made. 
This  was  the  style  of  printing  practised  orig- 
inally by  Robert  Peel,  grandfather  of  the  late 
prime  minister  of  England,  and  founder  of 
that  family.  An  improvement  was  then 
made  by  engraving  the  pattern  upon  a  cop- 
per cylinder,  and  by  passing  the  cloth  over 
this,  the  work  Avas  done  with  more  pre- 
cision and  continuity.  This  was  costly,  how- 
ever; and  one  such  cylinder  laboriously  en- 
graved, would  print  only  1,500  pieces  of 
cloth.  Perkins,  of  Newburyport,  Massachu- 
setts, then  invented  the  die.  This  is  a  small 
steel  roller,  on  which  the  figure  is  engraved, 
and  made  exceedingly  hard.  From  this,  the 
figure  is  conveyed  to  a  soft  steel  roller  by 
pressure.  From  this  last  the  design  is  im- 
pressed upon  a  copper  roller  by  pressure. 
This  last  prints  the  cloth.  In  this  manner, 
the  design  on  the  steel  die,  once  engraved, 
may  be  multiplied  to  any  number.  The 
original  block-printing  would  take  but  one 
color.  Numbers  of  improvements  were  made 
to  increase  the  number  of  colors  that  might 
be  printed.  This  is  now  done  by  engraving 
the  dies  and  rollers  with  portions  of  the 
designs  that  are  to  take  different  colors. 
The  rollers  are  placed  upon  the  printing 
machine  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  cloth 
passes  up  slowly  over  the  large  drum  of  the 
machine.  They  each,  in  succession,  impress 
it  with  the  design  and  color  with  which  they 
are  fed.  Almost  any  number  of  colors  may 
thus  be  printed.  The  style  and  quality  of 
ladies'  dress  goods  of  wool,  have  thus  made 
rapid  strides  in  the  last  few  years. 

The  faculty  of  felting  possessed  by  the 
wool,  arises  from  the  barbs  upon  each  fibre, 
like  those  that  are  to  be  seen  on  each  fibre 
of  a  feather,  locking  into  each  other.  The  pro- 
cess of  rubbing  in  hot  water  causes  those  in 
the  wool  to  become  more  closely  interlocked, 
until  the  whole  becomes  a  compact  mass. 

The  making  of  hats  of  wool  was  a  large  busi- 
ness in  the  New  England  colonies  early  in  the 
18th  century — so  much  so,  as  to  draw  upon 
them  the  interference  of  the  government  for 


CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 


305 


the  suppression  of  the  business.  It  con- 
tinued, however,  locally,  and  was,  in  1791, 
mentioned  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
as  one  of  the  most  successful.  The  manu- 
facturing process  was  mostly  the  same,  al- 
though the  form  of  the  hat  underwent  many 
changes,  from  the  "  cocked"  to  the  "  stove- 
pipe," and  latterly  to  "Wide  Awake,"  "  Kos- 
suth,"  and  other  styles.  The  wool — mostly 
lambs  or  short  wool — was  washed  in  urine 
to  remove  all  grease  that  prevented  felting. 
The  wool  then,  being  dried,  was  "  bowed." 
This  was  performed  by  the  operative,  who 
laid  about  3  oz.  of  wool  upon  a  board,  and 
then,  holding  in  his  left  hand  a  bow  with  a 
ptiff  string,  he  vibrated  the  string  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  strike  the  wool,  and  cause  it  to 
fly  out  clear  and  loose.  When  quite  clear, 
it  was  formed  by  hand  into  a  cone  form 
nearly  three  times  as  large  as  the  proposed 
hat  body.  To  keep  the  light  wool  to- 
gether, it  was  placed  between  two  cloths. 
It  was  then  immersed  in  water,  and  con- 
tinually rolled  in  different  directions  upon  a 
short  round  stick  held  in  the  hands  of  the 
operator.  This  operation  caused  the  hat  to 
felt  or  shrink  into  the  proper  size  and  shape. 
Being  then  in  the  sugar-loaf  form,  it  was 
stretched  upon  the  hat  block  that  gave  it  its 
shape,  and  the  manufacture  proceeded  with, 
until,  napped  with  fur  and  trimmed,  it  was 
ready  for  sale.  About  30  years  since,  machines 
for  forming  the  bodies  were  introduced,  and 
these  soon  supplanted  the  old  hand  system. 
The  wool  was  washed  with  soft  soap  as  a 
substitute  for  urine,  the  lye  of  the  soap  being 
equally  efficacious  in  removing  the  grease. 
When  dry  and  clean,  the  wool  was  passed 
through  the  "  picker,"  made  with  a  cylinder 
covered  with  long  teeth.  As  this  revolved 
with  great  velocity,  it  took  from  a  pair  of 
rollers  the  wool,  separated  it,  straightening 
the  fibres,  and  cleaning  it  of  dust  at  the 
same  time.  This  wool  was  then  passed 
through  the  breaker,  or  carding  machine, 
as  in  preparation  for  spinning;  but  as  the 
broad  fleece  comes  off  the  doffer,  instead  of 
being  drawn  into  a  ribbon,  it  is  received 
upon  a  pair  of  light  wood  cones,  placed  with 
their  bases  together.  To  these  a  vibratory 
motion  is  given  at  the  same  time  that  they 
revolve.  The  result  is,  that  the  fleece  of 
wool  winds  over  them  in  contrary  directions, 
until  they  appear  like  a  large  cocoon.  When 
about  3  oz.  are  wound  upon  the  cones,  the 
boy  who  tends  cuts  them  apart  with  shears, 
and  by  a  rapid  movement  removes  the 

19 


woolly  cap  from  the  cone,  which  instantly 
resumes  its  motion.  These  caps,  so  removed, 
are  perfectly  formed  "  bodies,"  ready  to  be 
felted  in  the  usual  manner.  The  regularity 
and  rapidity  of  the  formation  enables  a 
"  body"  to  be  formed  with  much  less  wool 
than  bv  the  hand  system.  Instead  of  3  to 
4  ozs.  for  a  hat,  a  perfect  body  was  now 
formed  of  1  oz.  weight.  This  process  of  the 
wool  manufacture  grew  rapidly,  until  a  ma- 
chine was  invented  to  form  hat  bodies  of 
fur.  The  difficulty  in  that  respect  had  been 
that  the  fur  could  not  be  carded  into  a  fleece 
like  the  wool.  A  machine  was  then  in- 
vented, by  which  the  air  was  exhausted 
under  a  fine  wire  gauze,  and  the  fur  flying 
was  drawn  upon  this  and  partly  felted  into 
a  ribbon,  which  was  wound  upon  cones  for 
the  hat  bodies.  The  next  process  was  to 
form  the  cone  itself  full  of  holes,  and,  by  ex- 
hausting the  air,  the  fur  is  caused  to  settle 
upon  it  evenly,  in  weight  sufficient  for  a 
body.  These  fur  hats  caused  those  of  wool 
to  rank  second. 

The  felting  qualities  of  wool  have,  how- 
ever, paused  it  to  be  used  for  many  other 
purposes,  such  as  piano-covers,  drugget,  and 
for  the  manufacture  of  cloth  without  weav- 
ing. This  is  called  beaver  cloth,  and  is 
difficult  to  detect,  by  the  eye,  from  woven 
cloth.  Several  manufactories  of  this  descrip- 
tion are  in  operation  in  Connecticut.  The 
wool  being  worked  and  "picked,"  is  carded 
in  a  machine  which  is  double  the  width  of 
the  ordinary  one,  in  order  to  deliver  a  fleece 
or  web  six  feet  wide  instead  of  three.  This 
"  web"  is,  as  it  is  delivered  by  the  machine, 
carried  out,  in  a  horizontal  direction,  21 
feet,  and  so  doubled  in  folds  until  it  gets  a 
proper  thickness  for  felting.  Inasmuch  as 
that  the  process  of  felting  causes  a  web  to 
contract  more'  in  breadth  than  in  length,  it 
becomes  necessary,  to  give  the  cloth  a  proper 
consistency,  that  the  webs  should  cross. 
To  do  this  two  machines  are  placed  at  right 
angles  with  each  other,  and  as  the  web  of 
one  is  extended,  that  of  the  other  crosses  it. 
When  the  proper  thickness  is  thus  attained, 
the  whole  is  rolled  upon  a  beam,  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  felting  table.  Here  a  number 
of  cloths  are  laid  together  upon  an  endless 
apron,  the  movement  of  which  carries  them 
forward  over  an  iron  plate,  perforated  with 
holes,  through  which  steam  ascends,  and 
thoroughly  heats  and  saturates  the  cloths, 
which  proceed  under  a  platen,  to  which 
steam  power  imparts  a  rapid  vibratory  mo- 


306 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


tion,  which  felts  the  cloth.    When  this  is  com- 
pleted, the  cloth  is  dyed  of  the  requisite  color, 
and  then  subjected  to  the  fulling  and  teasling 
process,  like  a  woven  cloth.    For  those  heavy 
coat  cloths  that  are  in  the  style  called  Peter- 
shams, another  process   is   substituted.     It 
consists  in  passing  the  cloth  under  a  sort  of 
press,  of  which  the  lower  side,  on  which  the 
cloth   rests,    is    stationary,  and   the   upper, 
being  covered  with  sand,  receives  a  rapid, 
rotatory,  vibratory  motion,  which  rolls  up 
the  nap  into  those  little  knots  that  are  the 
distinctive  feature  of  Petersham.    The  nature 
of  these  cloths  permits  of  giving  them  two 
colors.     Thus  a  dark  and  a  drab  color  may 
be   felted   together   to   form  one   cloth,  of 
which  the  inside  is  of  a  different  color  from 
the  outside.     These  cloths  are  used  to  some 
extent  by  the  clothiers,  but  their  durability 
is  said  not  to  be  such  as  to  recommend  them. 
Of  all  people,  the  American  shows  the 
most  remarkable  inclination  for  good  car- 
pets.    It  seems  to  be  impossible  for  him  to 
walk   comfortably   through   life   without   a 
carpet  under  his  feet.     Every  man  who  oc- 
cupies a  few  square  feet  of  house-room  must 
have  the  brick  or  the  boards  protected  from 
his  tread  by  so  much  carpeting.     Here  car- 
peting appears  in  a  thousand  places  where, 
in  other  parts  of  the  world,  it  is  never  seen. 
The    English    shopkeeper   thinks   the   bare 
boards  good  enough  for  the  reception   of 
his   customers,  and   seldom   does  the  mer- 
chant think  of  adding  to  the  elegance  of  his 
counting-room  by  laying  down  a  square  of 
Brussels.     Only  those  churches  devoted  to 
the  service  of  the  more  aristocratic  worship- 
pers, are  furnished  with  the  comforts  of  Kid- 
derminster— the   bare  wood,  or  bricks,  or 
stone,  being  considered  more  consonant  with 
"  the  self-denying  duties  of  the  sanctuary." 
Widely  different  is  it  with   the  well-to-do 
American.     He  believes  in   enjoying  life; 
and  considering  that  carpets  contribute  to 
life's   enjoyment,  he   does   not  hesitate   to 
spread  every  place  where  he  is  accustomed 
to  tread  with  a  due  quantity  of  three-ply,  or 
tapestry,  or  Brussels,  or  Turkey.   Yet,  with- 
al, the  quantities  imported  are  apparently  in- 
adequate   to    this    general    demand.     The 
number  of  yards,  of  all   descriptions,  im- 
ported,   is   about    1,500,000    per   annum — 
a   quantity    that    might    suffice  for  15,000 
houses;  but  in  1850,  according  to  the  cen- 
8U8,  there  were  3,362,000  dwellings  in  the 
Union,     It  follows,  that  by  far  the  largest 
portion  of  carpets  are  furnished  by  home 


manufacture.  The  carpets  most  in  use  in 
this  country  are  known  as  :<  rag  carpets,"  as 
ingrain,  three-ply,  Venetian,  tapestries,  Brus- 
sels, velvets,  Wilton.  The  Turkey,  Axmin- 
ster,  and  Persian  carpets  are  used  but  little, 
and  manufactured  not  at  all.  The  ingrain 
carpet  is  made  with  two  sets  of  worsted 
warp,  and  two  sets  of  woollen  weft.  It  con- 
sists of  two  distinct  webs,  incorporated  into 
each  other  by  the  warp  threads  passing  from 
one  to  the  other  to  bring  the  required  colors 
to  the  surface.  Each  web  is,  however,  a 
cloth  of  itself,  which,  if  separated  by  cutting 
from  the  other,  would  present  a  coarse  sur- 
face, like  baize.  Two  colors  only  are  used 
with  effect  in  this  kind  of  carpet.  The 
three-ply  is  similar,  but  produced  by  three 
webs,  making  a  thicker  carpet,  with  a 
greater  number  of  colors.  The  pattern  in 
this  does  not  appear  in  opposite  colors,  as 
in  the  two-ply.  This  fabric  was  long 
thought  not  adapted  to  power  looms,  but  in 
1839,  Mr.  Bigelow,  of  Lowell,  improved  the 
matter,  so  that  weavers,  who  were  then 
making  8  yards  per  day  by  hand,  could  make 
12  yards  per  day  by  power.  This  plan  has 
since  been  so  improved,  that  power  looms 
are  now  wholly  used,  with  such  economy  of 
labor  as  greatly  to  reduce  the  cost  of  car- 
pets. The  hand  weaver  could  always  tighten 
the  weft  thread,  if  he  found  it  too  loose  to 
make  the  selvage  regular,  and  if  he  saw  that 
the  weft  thread  was  too  irregular  to  make 
the  figure  a  just  proportion,  he  imparted 
more  or  less  force  in  beating  it  up.  The 
judgment  and  skill  of  the  weaver  was  thus  a 
great  element  in  the  production  of  the  goods. 
Mr.  Bigelow,  in  his  first  loom,  contrived  to 
take  up  the  woven  cloth  by  an  unerring 
motion,  the  same  amount  for  every  beat  of 
the  lathe.  His  next  step  was  to  regulate 
the  tension  of  the  threads,  so  as  to  keep  the 
selvage  smooth,  and  the  figure  regular.  In 
this  he  succeeded  so  as  to  bring  the  two- 
ply  loom  to  27  yards  per  day,  and  the 
three-ply  loom  to  18  yards.  His  method 
of  producing  figures  that  will  match  was 
patented  in  1845.  The  same  machine  was 
found  to  be  applicable  to  Brussels  and  tap- 
estry carpets,  the  weaving  of  which  by 
power  was  before  thought  to  be  impractica- 
ble. They  were  made  at  the  rate  of  4  yards 
per  day  by  hand.  This  has  been  increased 
to  20  yards  per  day  by  the  new  process. 
The  figures  of  the  carpets  are  also  made  so 
as  to  match  perfectly,  and  surpass  the  best 
carpets  made  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 


CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 


307 


These  looms  are  used  in  factories  built  for 
them  in  Lowell  and  Clinton,  Massachusetts ; 
Thompsonville  and  Tariffville,  Connecticut ; 
a  large  factory  is  in  operation  in  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia  and  other  cities 
have  lately  established  them.  The  Brussels 
carpet  takes  its  name  from  the  capital  of 
Belgium,  whence  it  was  introduced  into 
England  in  the  last  century.  It  is  made 
upon  a  ground  of  linen  weft,  which  is  con- 
cealed by  the  worsted  threads  that  interlace 
and  cover  it.  The  threads  are  generally  of 
five  different  colors.  In  weaving,  these  run 
the  length  of  the  web,  and  are  so  managed 
that  all  those  required  by  the  pattern  are 
brought  up  together  across  the  line  of  the 
carpet.  Before  they  are  let  down,  a  wooden 
instrument  called  a  sword  is  passed  through, 
to  hold  up  the  threads.  This  is  replaced  by 
a  wound  wire,  which  being  at  last  removed, 
leaves  a  row  of  loops  across  the  carpet.  In 
a  yard  there  are  sometimes  320  successive 
lifts  of  the  sets  of  colors  required,  each  of 
which  forms  a  row  of  loops.  Four  colors 
must  always  lie  beneath  the  5th,  which  ap- 
pears on  the  surface,  and  thus  the  carpet  is 
thick  and  heavy.  The  Wilton  carpet  differs 
from  the  Brussels  in  that  the  loops  are  cut 
before  the  wire  is  removed.  A  groove  runs 
in  the  wire  to  receive  the  edge  of  the  cut- 
ting knife.  The  soft  ends  of  the  cut  loops 
give  the  carpet  its  velvet  appearance.  In 
Imperial  Brussels,  the  loops  of  the  figures 
only  are  cut.  Here  a  new  invention  was 
brought  into  use  to  make  "tapestry  and 
velvet  pile."  This  is  a  combination  of  the 
arts  of  printing  and  weaving.  The  principle 
is  this:  if  a  rose-bud  occurs  a  thousand 
times  in  the  length  of  a  web,  at  4  feet  apart, 
the  block  printer  must  apply  his  block  a 
thousand  times  to  print  the  bud.  By  the 
new  process  the  thread  is  wound  a  thousand 
times  round  a  cylinder  4  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, and  a  turning  wheel,  charged  with 
color,  passes  across  the  coil.  The  thread 
unwound  is  found  to  be  marked  in  a  thou- 
sand places  exactly  where  it  is  wanted.  The 
threads  are  thus  all  parti-colored,  and  singly 
show  no  regular  figure ;  but  when  arranged  in 
the  proper  order  for  the  weaver's  beam,  the 
figures  come  into  view  much  elongated. 
Sometimes  1 8  feet  of  warp  will  be  gathered 
into  4  feet  of  cloth,  in  order  to  secure  the 
due  proportion  of  the  intended  object.  By 
this  system  the  number  of  colors,  that 
could  not  exceed  6  or  7  by  the  old  plan,  is 
now  increased  to  20  or  30,  or  any  number; 


and  instead  of  a  change  of  blocks  for  every 
pattern,  the  same  blocks  serve  for  all  pat- 
terns. 

The  wool  used  for  carpets  is  imported 
from  South  America  and  the  East  Indies.  Of 
that  obtained  from  South  America,  the  best 
is  the  Cordova,  which  is  worth  here  22^-  and 
23  cents  per  lb.,and  next  in  grade  to  it  ranks 
the  Buenos  Ayres,  worth  13  and  14  cents 
per  Ib.  The  East  India  wools  all  rank  still 
lower,  and  are  generally  of  a  dark  color.  It 
may  be  interesting  to  follow  the  wool  in  its 
passage  through  the  various  processes  which 
transform  it  from  its  hard,  dirty,  and  oily 
mass,  lying  in  bales,  to  the  brilliant  velvety 
pile  worthy  the  foot  of  Flora  McFlimsey. 
The  material  passes  in  the  usual  way,  from 
the  wash  to  the  combing  machines,  which 
separate  the  long  from  the  short  fibres.  The 
long  are  passed  through  rollers,  and  assume 
a  form  entitled  a  "  sliver,"  which  is  allowed 
to  fall  into  a  hollow  cylinder  set  for  the  pur- 
pose, while  the  short  fibres  disappear  in  a 
mysterious-looking  box  at  one  side  of  the 
room.  These  slivers  are  then  passed  through 
a  drawing  frame,  twenty  or  more  of  them 
united,  and  drawn  out  so  as  to  equalize  the 
thread;  eight  or  ten  of  these  threads  are 
again  subjected  to  the  drawing  process  and 
reduced  to  one,  which  operation  is  repeated 
as  often  as  is  necessary  to  produce  uniform- 
ity. These  long  fibres,  so  carefully  put 
through  this  process,  are  intended  to  form 
the  warp  of  the  carpets,  while  the  short 
fibres  are  used  for  the  "woof"  or  "filling." 
In  the  spinning-room,  both  staples  of  wool 
come  together  to  be  spun  on  the  long,  clash- 
ing, clattering  "spinning  jacks,"  twelve  in 
number,  some  of  them  spinning  256  and 
others  308  threads  at  once.  When  it  leaves 
the  "jacks"  it  is  in  the  form  of  coarse  yarn, 
tightly  rolled  on  large  spools,  from  which  it 
is  wound  into  skeins  and  is  ready  for  the  dye 
house.  By  a  curious  system  of  folding,  of  a 
recent  American  invention,  part  of  the  yarn 
skeins  are,  after  being  scoured  (a  process  ap- 
plied to  all  yarns  to  free  them  from  their 
natural  oil),  subjected  to  a  parti-colored  dye- 
ing— and  thus  the  same  skein,  or  frame  of 
skeins,  may  sometimes  bear  half  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent colors.  These  parti-colored  yarns  are 
used  for  warp.  Other  bundles  of  yarn  are 
submerged  in  rolling,  steaming  floods  of  col- 
ored liquids  of  every  hue.  That  portion  in- 
tended to  be  used  white,  is  bleached  by 
means  of  sulphur  in  houses  erected  for  the 
purpose  on  the  river  bank.  From  the  dye- 


308 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


ing-room,  the  yarn  is  conveyed  to  the  drying- 
room,  immediately  over  the  engine  boilers, 
and  after  it  has  become  thoroughly  dried,  is 
conveyed  to  the  winding-room,where  winding 
machines,  worked  by  girls,  are  at  work,  fill- 
ing spools  and  bobbins  from  the  skeins;  and 
no  sooner  are  the  spools  filled  than  they  are 
unfilled  by  the  warping  machines,  five  of 
which  are  constantly  in  operation.  The 
threads  are  here  wound  upon  the  large  cylin- 
ders for  the  printers,  and  each  filling  of  this 
great  cylinder  makes  but  a  single  thread  in 
the  warp  of  a  single  pattern,  so  that  for  a 
piece  having  208  threads  in  its  width,  the 
cylinder  must  be  filled  and  carefully  printed 
a  corresponding  number  df  times.  These 
monster  skeins,  after  being  printed,  some- 
times with  100  or  more  shades  of  colors, 
each  laid  on  in  straight  lines  by  a  small 
printing  roller,  travelling  across  beneath  the 
large  cylinder,  are  packed  at  full  length  in 
rice  chaff,  and  having  been  placed  in  boxes 
on  a  little  railroad  car,  are  shoved  into  a 
boiler,  where  from  4  to  6  Ibs.  pressure  of 
steam  is  applied.  When  the  colors  have 
been  thoroughly  fixed  by  the  means  we  have 
stated,  the  skeins  are  dried  and  passed 
through  what  are  termed  setting  machines, 
when  the  yarn  is  ready  for  the  Bigelow 
loom.  These  have  on  the  end  of  each  of  the 
little  wires  used  to  raise  the  pile  of  the  Brus- 
sels carpet,  a  small  knife,  which,  while  it 
weaves,  cuts  the  pile  and  makes  it  "  velvet." 
The  next  machines  to  which  the  fabric  is  sub- 
jected, are  for  shaving  the  velvet,  and  girls  are 
employed  in  trimming  the  under  side  of  the 
goods  and  preparing  them  for  the  rolling  ma- 
chine. Here  the  carpets  are  rolled,  marked 
with  the  number  of  the  pattern  of  each  roll, 
number  of  yards,  etc.,  and  thus  prepared  for 
removal  to  the  warehouse.  The  lengths  of 
the  pieces  usually  are :  velvets,  from  40  to 
50  yards ;  tapestries,  50  to  60  yards ;  and  in- 
grains, from  100  to  110  yards. 

The  quantity  of  carpets  made  in  New 
York  and  Massachusetts,  according  to  the 
respective  state  censuses  of  1855,  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"Wool  used.  Carpets  made. 

Ibs.  yards. 

New  Tork 3,707,500  1,820,500 

Massachusetts....   2,880,974  1,988,460 


Total  two  states. .  6,588,474       3,808,960 

The  manufacture  of  long  shawls,  for  men's 
use,  was  pushed  to  a  great  extent  a  few  years 
since,  when  the  fashion  was  more  prevalent 


than  now.  The  Bay  State  Mills  became 
famous  for  that  description  of  goods,  the 
manufacture  of  which  required  3,000,000  Ibs. 
of  wool  per  annum. 

The  delicate  yarn,  known  as  zephyr 
worsted,  is  much  used  on  these  machines, 
greatly  promoting  the  manufacture  of  those 
articles  Avhich  it  has  been  the  rage  to  knit 
of  late.  The  demand  for  that  yarn  causes 
frauds  to  enter  into  the  sale.  Each  pound 
of  zephyr  is  divided  into  16  laps,  which  are 
sold  without  weighing,  as  containing  each 
one  ounce  of  wool.  Full  weight  would  be 
16  drachms  to  the  ounce  lap,  or  if  stored  in 
over  dry  atmosphere,  15!  drachms;  but  the 
fraud  consists  in  putting  up  only  15,  14,  12, 
or  10  drachms  in  each  ounce  lap,  the  num- 
ber of  laps  in  a  pound  being  the  correct 
number — 16.  These  frauds  are  difficult  to 
detect,  as  the  dishonest  dealer  is  provided 
with  false  weights,  which  make  his  goods 
appear  on  trial  to  be  correct.  The  ounce  of 
the  apothecary  shops  contains  more  grains 
than  the  true  standard  avoirdupois  ounce,  so 
that  it  cannot  be  tested  there.  The  proper 
remedy  would  be  to  inquire  continually  of 
dealers  whether  their  goods  are  full  weight 
or  short  weight,  to  show  that  public  atten- 
tion is  directed  to  the  matter,  and  to  com- 
pare articles  bought  at  different  stores,  by 
putting  them  on  the  opposite  scales  of  a  bal- 
ance, and  noticing  where  goods  are  sold  by 
true  or  best  weight. 

The  production  of  hosiery  and  fancy  knit 
work  has  become  very  important  in  the  last 
ten  or  fifteen  years.  The  supply  of  those 
articles  came  previously  from  England,  but 
within  that  time  the  manufacture  of  these 
articles  has  received  a  great  development, 
particularly  in  Philadelphia.  The  fine  Amer- 
ican wool  is  well  adapted  to  the  manufac- 
ture. The  business  is  largely  carried  on  in 
families  and  by  hand  looms.  There  are 
large  factories  devoted  to  the  production  of 
opera  hoods,  scarfs,  comforters,  etc.  The 
wool  is  prepared  in  the  usual  way,  by  card- 
ing and  spinning,  and  is  bleached,  dyed,  and 
printed  according  to  the  designs  required. 
In  the  weaving,  some  fifteen  or  twenty  differ- 
ent kinds  of  looms  are  employed.  One  has 
recently  been  invented  for  weaving  neck- 
comforts.  It  weaves  four  neck-comforts  of  a 
double  fabric,  and  each  of  a  different  pat- 
tern. The  Jacquard  principle,  used  in  car- 
pets for  years,  is  applied  to  it,  and  almost 
any  design  may  be  produced.  The  machin- 
ery is  changed  to  suit  the  goods — hoods, 


CLOTHING    TRADE TOTAL    MANUFACTURE. 


309 


talmas,  opera  cloaks,  neck-comforts,  scarfs, 
hose  of  every  description.  A  large  estab- 
lishment in  Philadelphia  uses  250,000  Ibs.  of 
wool  per  annum  in  these  articles. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CLOTHING  TRADE— TOTAL  MANUFACTURE 
—SHODDY. 

UNTIL  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
the  ready-made  clothing  trade  was  confined 
almost  entirely  to  the  furnishing  of  sailors' 
sea  fit-outs,  or  slops.  The  stores  for  this 
purpose  were  mostly  in  the  neighborhood  of 
shipping  offices,  and  kept  to  some  extent  by 
sailor  landlords,  whose  business  philanthropy 
led  them  to  coax  "  poor  Jack"  into  their 
"  cribs"  on  his  arrival,  and  feast  him  high 
while  his  earnings  lasted;  and  as  soon  as 
these  were  nearly  gone,  ship  him  on  board 
some  vessel,  obtain  his  advance  pay,  which 
is,  in  the  navy,  three  months,  or  $36, 
and  in  the  merchant  marine,  one  month, 
varying  from  $12  to  $20,  according  to  the 
demand  for  seamen.  If  this  is  not  all  due 
the  landlord,  he  supplies  slops  at  enormous 
rates  for  the  balance,  gets  Jack  dead  drunk, 
and  puts  him  on  board  at  the  last  moment 
in  that  condition.  In  such  a  business, 
ready-made  clothing  was  indispensable,  but 
otherwise  there  was  little  market  for  made- 
up  goods.  Most  families  in  the  country  made 
their  own  clothes.  But  as  taste  and  wealth 
improved,  the  difficulty  of  "  cutting  out" 
called  into  being  a  special  trade,  and  most 
villages  and  towns  in  the  country  were  visited 
by  professional  persons,  who  boarded  round 
in  the  families  where  cutting  and  fitting,  as 
well  for  males  as  females,  was  in  requisition. 
Another  trade  also  grew  up  in  the  cities ;  it 
was  the  dealing  in  second-hand  clothing, 
mostly  by  Jews.  These  industrious  persons 
bought  up  all  the  old  clothing  that  could  be 
had,  cleaned,  repaired,  and  redressed  them, 
and  sold  them  to  those  who  sought  to  econ- 
omize. The  cleaning  and  repairing  of  these 
clothes  occupied  great  numbers  of  poor  peo- 
ple. The  repairing  soon  grew  into  fabricat- 
ing very  cheap  cloths  bought  at  auction, 
"half-burnt,"  "wet  goods,"  etc.,  to  sell  them 
in  connection  with  the  old  garments.  Vis- 
itors from  the  country  found  that  garments 
could  be  bought  in  this  way  to  better  advan- 
tage than  even  to  have  them  made  at  home, 
and  the  boarding-round  system  began  to 


wane.  It  was  soon  found  in  New  York  that 
the  great  crowd  of  visitors  who  passed  rap- 
idly through  the  city,  and  had  little  time  to 
wait  for  measures,  or  to  be  inconvenienced 
with  tailors'  delays  and  misfits,  would  become 
buyers  of  a  better  class  of  ready-made  cloth- 
ing, and  the  manufacture  began  to  spread  by 
tailors  keeping  assortments.  The  visitors 
who  thus  bought  at  retail  were  disposed  to 
extend  orders  for  resale  at  home,  and  in 
1834  and  1835  the  wholesale  manufacture 
commenced  in  New  York.  One  of  the  first 
of  these,  a  shrewd  judge  of  cloth  and  a  close 
reckoner,  commenced  with  little  capital,  slept 
under  his  counter,  and  kept  his  personal  ex- 
penses very  small,  devoting  his  whole  time 
to  the  cheap  purchase  of  cloth,  and  the  most 
economical  way  of  making  it  up.  This  trade 
grew  rapidly  to  an  expenditure  of  $80,000 
per  annum  for  labor,  mostly  to  sewing  girls, 
at  ridiculously  low  prices.  This  work  was 
done  to  a  considerable  extent  by  girls  who, 
living  with  their  parents,  wished  to  increase 
their  allowance  for  dress.  It  is  obvious  that 
where  the  purchase  of  goods,  the  cutting, 
and  making  are  attended  to  by  experienced 
men,  on  a  large  scale,  the  cost  of  the  goods 
must  be  very  much  less  than  that  at  which  in- 
dividuals could  get  them  up,  and  the  compe- 
tition of  the  clothiers  guarantees  that  the 
profits  shall  not  be  exorbitant.  There  were 
many  in  the  trade  when  the  revulsion  of 
1837  ruined  them.  The  trade  was  soon  again 
re-established,  and  it  has  not  since  ceased  to 
grow,  not  only  in  New  York,  but  to  spread 
into  all  the  cities  of  the  Union.  The  census 
of  1850  gave  the  clothing  business  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Number 4,278 

Capital $12,509. 1 61 

Cost  of  material $25,730,258 

Males  employed 35,151 

Females  employed 61,500 

Cost  of  labor $15,032,340 

Value  produced $48,311,709 

This  production  in  amount  ranks  third  of 
the  occupations  of  the  Union.  Since  then 
the  increase  has  been  very  much  greater,  and 
the  business  is  now  so  extensive,  that  the 
"  purchases  of  the  clothiers"  are  a  regulating 
feature  in  the  goods  market.  These  pur- 
chases take  place  many  months  before  the 
goods  are  sold.  The  cloths  for  winter  goods 
are  bought  in  the  previous  spring,  in  order 
to  give  time  for  the  making  up.  In  a  large 
clothing  establishment,  the  business  proceeds 
with  great  method.  The  cloth,  as  soon  as  it 


310 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


comes  in,  is  subjected  to  a  rigid  scrutiny, 
and  blemished  portions  are  removed.  Tlie 
piece  is  then  taken  to  the  superintendent,  a 
statement  of  the  number  of  yards,  the  cost, 
and  of  whom  purchased,  is  then  entered  in 
a  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  There  is  also 
entered  the  number  and  description  of  the 
goods  to  be  made,  how  they  are  to  be  trim- 
med, the  name  of  the  cutter,  the  price  of 
making,  etc.  The  cloth  is  then  transferred 
to  the  cutter,  with  directions  as  to  kind  of 
garment,  style  of  cut,  sizes,  etc.  The  gar- 
ments being  cut,  are  passed  to  the  trimmer, 
who  supplies  buttons,  thread,  lining,  etc. 
The  goods  then  come  under  the  control  of 
the  foremen,  of  whom  there  are  several,  and 
these  give  them  out  to  be  made.  The  num- 
ber who  do  this  part  of  the  business  is  very 
large,  and  are  mostly  females.  They  take 
home  pantaloons,  vests,  etc.,  and  when  not 
well  known  to  the  foreman,  are  required  to 
leave  a  deposit  in  money  for  the  return  of 
the  goods.  This  is  necessary  in  large  cities, 
since  it  happens  that  if  there  is  no  deposit, 
the  person  may  be  tempted  to  pawn  or  sell 
the  goods;  or,  if  she  is  honest,  she  may  have 
a  drunken  husband,  who  will  seize  and 
pawn  the  goods.  It  often  happens,  however, 
that  poor,  deserving  women  have  no  money 
to  deposit,  and  go  hungry  in  face  of  work 
that  they  might  do.  There  are,  on  the  other 
hand,  knavish  dealers,  who,  taking  advantage 
of  the  position  of  the  depositor,  require  it, 
and  when  the  goods  are  returned,  declare 
the  work  ill  done,  and  retain  the  deposit  to 
pay  for  the  alleged  spoiling  of  the  cloth. 
There  are  also  great  numbers  of  men  em- 
ployed in  doing  the  heavy  work,  and  since 
the  introduction  of  sewing  machines,  these 
have  been  greatly  employed.  The  large  immi- 
gration into  New  York  has  caused  a  great 
supply  of  German  and  other  families,  who 
take  in  sewing,  and  these  nearly  all  have 
a  sewing  machine.  This  demand  for  the 
machines  is  supplied  by  the  liberality  of  the 
competing  patentees.  They  deliver  a  machine 
upon  the  payment  of  a  small  sum,  and  allow 
the  buyer  to  pay  up  a  dollar  or  two  a  month 
until  the  purchase  is  completed.  In  this 
manner  the  supply  of  labor  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  clothing  is  greatly  increased,  but  the 
pressure  is  harder  upon  those  who  have  no 
machines.  The  women  may,  however,  earn 
from  $3  to  $5  per  week ;  the  former  price  on 
coarse  work  was  as  low  as  25  to  37£  cts.  for 
common  silk  vests,  and  as  much  for  panta- 
loons, of  which  two  pair  a  day  is  a  large  pro- 


duction. For  custom-made  silk  vests,  $1  is 
paid.  The  finer  coats  are  made  by  regular 
tailors,  employed  in  fashionable  city  shops 
during  the  dull  season,  and  these  earn  &7  to 
$12  per  week.  The  supply  of  labor  is  not, 
however,  confined  to  the  city,  but  embraces  a 
broad  circle  of  country,  to  which  goods  are 
sent  by  rail  and  express  to  be  made  up. 
Many  clothing  concerns  have  agencies  in  the 
country  towns.  These  keep  vehicles  to 
travel  round  to  farmers'  and  other  dwellings 
where  good  sewing  is  done  in  the  winter, 
with  his  goods,  and  bring  them  back  when 
done.  This  reverses  the  old  system  of  board- 
ing round  to  cut  out  family  goods,  since  tlie 
goods  go  round  to  get  made  up.  The  ener- 
gy with  which  the  trade  is  driven,  therefore, 
produces  two  competitions,  one  to  get  the 
work  done,  and  the  other  to  get  the  goods  sold. 

The  cutting  is  an  "  art "  of  itself,  and  re- 
quires a  certain  talent.  It  is,  in  fact,  the 
most  important  part  of  the  manufacturing, 
since  the  style  and  "  set "  of  the  goods  de- 
pend upon  it.  The  large  New  York  clothing 
stores  employ  the  best  "talent"  in  this  line. 
The  majority  of  the  goods  made  up  in  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  is  for  the  south  and 
west.  The  capital  required  is  large,  since 
the  goods  are  to  be  purchased  some  four  or 
five  months  in  advance  of  the  season  ;  much 
cash  is  paid  out  in  the  manufacturing,  and 
finally,  sales  made  at  six  to  eight  months. 
This  manufacture  includes  all  styles  of  boys' 
clothing  as  well  as  men's.  The  house  of 
Brooks  Brothers  sell  81,000,000  per  annum, 
and  pay  out  $200,000  for  sewing.  This  is 
stated  at  one-hundredth  part  of  the  clothing 
business  of  New  York. 

The  clothing  trade  of  Boston  has  also  re- 
ceived a  great  development  of  lute  years, 
and  by  a  combination  of  circumstances  which 
have  had  their  influence  everywhere.  In 
1840  there  were  only  two  houses  in  the 
trade  in  Boston,  and  the  aggregate  sales 
were  about  $200,000.  These  have  now  in- 
creased to  thirty-five  houses,  with  sales  not 
much  short  of  $15,000,000  per  annum. 
The  supply  of  goods  of  home  manufacture 
is  large  in  Boston — as  well  from  the  man- 
ufacturers direct,  as  through  commission 
houses  who  advance  on  them  to  the  manu- 
facturers. The  cutting  is  done  in  Boston, 
but  the  sewing  is  mostly  done  in  the  fanners' 
families  throughout  New  England,  and  about 
60,000  females  in  such  situations  are  em- 
ployed. The  numerous  railroads  that  trav- 
erse the  country,  make  commodities  cheap ; 


CLOTHING    TRADE TOTAL    MANUFACTURE. 


311 


and  as  sewing  machines  improve  in  the  qual- 
ity of  the  work  they  do,  and  in  the  cheap- 
ness with  which  they  can  be  furnished,  hard- 
ly a  house  is  without  one,  and  all  seek  em- 
ployment for  them.  In  1857,  when  the 
financial  pressure  caused  so  many  mills  to 
stop,  throwing  hands  out  of  employment, 
these  sought  sewing  as  a  substitute ;  and 
their  savings  enabled  them  to  buy  machines. 
The  same  event  threw  large  quantities  of 
goods  upon  the  market,  through  the  auction 
houses,  and  also  through  the  hands  of  the 
commission  houses,  to  whom  the  manufac- 


WOOLLEN  MANUFACTURES 

OF   THE   UNITED    STATES   FOB   1860. 

. 

Pounds 

Value  of 

Number  of  hands 

Value 

of 

all 

emplc 

>yed. 

of  entire 

wool  used. 

raw  material. 

Male. 

Female. 

products. 

Maine  

$932,400 

2,414,300 

$1,003,366 

539 

488 

$1,717,007 

New  Hampshire  

1,421,300 

3,829,404 

1,612,578 

846 

672 

2,601,353 

Vermont  

1,746.300 

4,047,010 

1,662,650 

895 

1,178 

2,938,626 

Massachusetts  

8,993,903 

33,516,797 

12,520,675 

7,659 

5,310 

19,655,787 

Rhode  Island  

3,168,500 

6,832,600 

4,070,224 

2,593 

1,636 

6,915,205 

Connecticut   

2,491,000 

7,179,819 

4,043,124 

2,308 

1,459 

6,840,220 

New  York  

3,115,700 

7,453,004 

3,424,614 

2,504 

1,716 

5,870,117 

Pennsylvania  

4,339,310 

7,128,529 

4,427,138 

3,738 

2,350 

8,191,675 

New  Jersey  

583,400 

1,175,800 

548,578 

532 

303 

1,085,104 

Delaware  

117,000 

140,000 

75,807 

76 

38 

153,035 

Maryland  ... 

318,200 

1,055,272 

267,355 

248 

133 

605,992 

Ohio  

658,750 

1,190,751 

476,833 

543 

185 

825,231 

Indiana  

464,341 

940,000 

352,362 

436 

97 

649,771 

Michigan  

103,950 

163,100 

69,010 

77 

49 

139,246 

Illinois  

207,600 

324,300 

110,462 

128 

34 

187,613 

Wisconsin  

100,600 

265,000 

85,743 

74 

31 

172,720 

Iowa  

82,500 

168,700 

67,293 

96 

24 

127,640 

Missouri  

103,750 

191,400 

56,745 

53 

17 

143,025 

Kentucky  

408,500 

1,452,500 

510,902 

350 

87 

845,226 

Virginia  

463,600 

1,131,000 

389,204 

381 

113 

717,827 

North  Carolina  

223,000 

504,500 

151,005 

113 

140 

291,000 

South  Carolina.  

50,000 

250,000 

60,000 

37 

55 

80,000 

Georgia  

242,500 

1,008,600 

260,475 

167 

216 

464,420 

Alabama  

140,000 

264,435 

80,790 

95 

103 

191,474 

Texas  

60,000 

81,900 

25,980 

36 

7 

38,796 

Mississippi  

75,500 

270,597 

119,849 

202 

33 

158,507 

Louisiana  

75,000 

69,150 

31,300 

40 

20 

45,200 

Tennessee  

6,000 

10,000 

5,225 

8 

2 

8,100 

California  

100,000 

400,000 

50,000 

40 

20 

150,000 

Oregon  

70,000 

150,000 

27,000 

27 

3 

85,000 

turers  pledged  them  for  money.  Thus,  there 
was  a  large  supply  of  goods  and  labor  at 
less  than  former  rales ;  clothing  could  be 
furnished  much  cheaper,  and  this  circum- 
stance was  not  advantageous  to  the  old 
stocks.  That  circTimstnr.ee,  temporary  in 
itself,  gave  an  impulse  to  the  clothing  busi- 
ness, as  bringing  more  within  its  scope. 

The  national  census  returns  of  1850  and 
1860  gave  some  details  of  the  manufacture 
of  woollen  in  each  state,  at  each  of  those 
periods.  That  of  1860  was  the  most  full, 
and  is  as  follows : — 


Yards  of 

cloth 
manufactured. 

2,509,100 

5,782,641 

3,975,882 

34,899,348 

19,343,660 

14,301,043 

7,951,679 

23,405,469 

1,754,575 

427,200 

1,153,857 

1,078,266 

680,355 

172,723 

176,960 

285,000 

133,315 

358,000 

2,230,246 

1,007,714 

639,000 

300,000 

1,435,000 

613,410 

94,976 

569,203 

48,800 

18,000 

52,500 


Total $30,862,654    83,608,468  $36,586,887     24,841     16,619  $61,895,217      124,897,862 


There  were  produced  in  these  1,260  wool- 
len mills,  the  same  year,  in  addition  to  the 
cloth  specified  above,  6,401,206  pounds  of 
woollen  yarn,  610,400  shawls,  296,874  pairs 
of  blankets,  18,000  table  covers,  155,000 
yards  of  felt  (all  made  in  New  Jersey),  and 
600  coverlets  (made  in  Ohio).  The  annual 
product  in  1850  was  valued  at  $43,542,288, 
and  in  1840  at  $20,696,699,  so  that  the  pro- 
duction was  tripled  in  20  years.  In  the  re- 
turns from  the  state  censuses  of  1855  and 
1857,  the  production  of  all  classes  of  woollen 
goods  increased  considerably.  Massachu- 


setts and  New  Hampshire  showed  the  largest 
increase.  The  manufacture  appears  to  con- 
fine itself  mostly  to  the  middle  states;  cu- 
riously enough  to  those  states  which  are 
most  exposed  to  the  competition  of  the  im- 
ported goods. 

We  should  have  stated  above,  that  the 
manufacture  of  woollens  in  the  United  States 
increased  from  $20,000,000  in  1840,  to  $43,- 
000,000  in  1850,  according  to  the  national 
census.  The  statistical  accounts  of  the  gen- 
eral  progress  are  very  meagre.  The  statistics 
of  woollen  goods  manufactured  in  1855, 


S12 


WOOLLEN    MANUFACTURES. 


in  the  states  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts 
were  given  as  follows  : — 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


Broadcloth yards  759,627 

Cassimeres "    6,444,585 

Satinets "    6,736,082 

Jeans "    1,948,609 

Flannels  and  blankets "10,279,227 

Yarn Ibs.     689,957 

Carpets '.  yds.  1,988,460 

Wool  used Ibs.  21,667,272 

NEW   YOBK. 

Cloth yds.  4,836,834 

Yarn Ibs.     506,178 

Shawls no.      188,000 

Blankets prs.       48,000 

Knit  goods doz.       15,384 

Shoddy Ibs.      348,000 

Carpets yds.  1,820,500 

Wool  used Ibs.  15  325,283 

These  figures  show  that  there  has  been  an 
increase  of  nearly  12,000,000  pounds  of  the 
wool  used  since  1857  in  Masachussetts,  and 
a  considerable  increase  in  the  quantity  of 
goods  produced.  In  New  York,-  the  quan- 
tity of  wool  used  has  fallen  off  more  than 
one  half  in  five  years.  This  has  been  partly 
owing  to  the  lessened  production  of  shawls, 
which  took  so  large  an  amount  of  wool.  The 
following  figures,  from  a  well-informed  source, 
show  the  number  of  factories,  sets  of  ma- 
chines, and  quantity  of  wool  required  to  feed 
them,  in  New  England  and  New  York,  at 
this  moment: — 

Factories.  Sets.  Wool  required. 

Maine 32  91  Ibs.  2,065,000 

New  Hampshire.     56  228  5,670,000 

Vermont 56  122  2,375,000 

Massachusetts  . .  154  999  31,017.000 

Connecticut 93  410  12.155JOOO 

Rhode  Island  ...  56  225  5,625,000 

New  York 468  10,59o'ooO 

Ibs.  69,497,000 

The  production  of  cloths  labors  under  dis- 
advantage from  the  sharp  competition  which 
the  English,  Belgians,  and  French  have  kept 
up  to  obtain  the  American  market.  Up  to 
1840,  19-20ths  of  the  cloths  and  cassimeres 
imported  into  the  United  States  were  of 
English  manufacture.  At  that  date  they 
lost  ground,  but  have  since  recovered.  The 
importations  have  been  as  follows  : — 

IMPORTS     OF    CLOTHS     AND     CASSIMERES     INTO    THE 
UNITED  STATES. 


Germany.  Belgium.  France.  England.          Total 

1840,          16,fil2        93,135  89,767  4,490,830      $4  690  £44 

1848,        71C,93i      396,712  2,4(56,302  8777612 

478,532  1,988.181 


185 1,     1,411,282 

1857,     2,574,871       909,331 


,  3,785,070 

1,059,470     5,711,933 


6.357,557 
7,463,(lri;i 
10,h55.605 


The  tariff  of  1841  and  1842  approached, 
by  the  biennial  reductions,  the  20  per  cent. 


horizontal  rate   contemplated   by  the  com- 
promise tariff,  for  the  last  and  "subsequent 
years  of  its  operation  :  that  is  to  say,  cloth 
paid   50  per  cent,  in  1822,  38  per  cent,  in 
1840  and  1841,  and  29  per  cent,  in  1842  to 
June  30.     By  the  tariff  of  1842   it  paid  40 
per  cent.,  and  by  the  present  tariff  30  per 
cent.     It  may   be   observed,  that  with  the 
advance  of   duty  from  29  per  cent,  under 
the  last  year  of  compromise,  to  40  per  cent 
in  1844,  the  import  of  cloths  in  the  aggre- 
gate increased,  but  this  increase  came  from 
the  continent,  and  the  maximum  importation 
was  in  1 845.    In  the  year  1 848  the  quantities 
received  from  France,  stimulated  by  the  ex- 
port bounty  of  the  revolutionary  government, 
increased. 50  per  cent.,  and  the  same  influ- 
ence caused  cloths  to  come  from  Germany 
in  greater  quantities.      The    Belgians   and 
Germans  were  here  in  great  numbers,  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  exhibition,  seeking  to  intro- 
duce their  Avares,  and  with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess.   The  result  is,  that  the  aggregate  value 
of  foreign   cloths  consumed  in  the  United 
States  did  not  increase,  although  the  popu- 
lation increased  at  least  5,000,000  of  people. 
The  superior  dye  and  finish  of  the  German 
and  French  cloths  have  been  the  main  reasons 
for  their   supplanting    the   English    in  our 
markets.     The  English  manufacturers  have 
now,  by  outlay  of  capital  and  increased  ex- 
ertions, obtained  more  or  less  success  in  re- 
covering   their   ground;    and    against   this 
sharp  competition  of  France,  Germany,  and 
England,   our  manufacturers   have  hitherto 
rally,  maintained  their   ground,  as  appears 
Tom  the  fact,   that  while   the  increase   of 
population  and  the  wealth  of  that  population 
aas  been  very  large  within  ten  years,  and  the 
market  for  foreign  goods  has  been  extend- 
;d,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  most  of  the  in- 
;reased  consumption  of  the  country,  in  the 
double  ratio  of  greater  number  and  enhanced 
neans,  has  been  supplied  from  our  own  pro- 
duction under  shield  of  a  30  per  cent.  duty. 
The  importation   of  shawls  was  very  much 
increased  in  the  same  period  of  time,  under 
similar  conditions  in  reference  to  the  suc- 
:essful  competition  of  Europe  against  Eng- 
and.     But  the  manufacture  of  these  articles 
n  this  country  has  also  immensely  increased 
n  the  same  time.     The  attention  of  farmers 
n  the  last  two  years  has  been  powerfully 
lirccted  to  this  great  staple,  and  the  degree 
of  prosperity  which  it  manifests  is  well  cal- 
culated to  extend  their  enterprise  not  only 
,o  the  number  of  sheep,  but  to  the  quality — 


CLOTHING    TRADE TOTAL    MANUFACTURE. 


313 


in  respect  not  merely  of  breeds,  but  in  keep- 
ing clean  and  packing.  The  fact  has  been 
developed  by  the  most  elaborate  scientific 
researches,  that  the  climate  and  soil  of  the 
United  States  are  better  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  fine,  long  stapled  wools,  suitable  for  the 
cloth  manufacturer,  than  any  other  mawufac- 
turing  country,  and  the  article  produced  ex- 
ceeds the  Australian  wool.  Under  the  ap- 
pliances of  increased  capital,  and  the  stimulus 
which  the  competition  of  England  with  the 
continent  may  impart  to  the  quality  of  the 
fabric,  the  United  States  will  probably  assume 
the  superiority ;  but  our  manufacturers  should 
not  neglect  the  necessary  exertion  to  procure 
as  fine  a  finish  and  as  durable  a  dye  for  their 
cloths  as  those  of  the  continent  exhibit. 
The  United  States  wools  are  rapidly  gaining 
a  character  which  will  bring  the  foreign 
manufacturers  into  sncli  competition  for  their 
purchase  as  will  permanently  sustain  their 
price. 

The  supply  of  wool  in  the  United  States 
has  never  been  equal  to  the  demand.  In 
1840  and  1850  the  census  gave  the  quan- 
tities raised  in  the  country.  If  to  these  we 
add  the  quantities  imported,  we  approximate 
the  quantity  used  as  follows  : — 

1840.  1850. 

United  States  product.  .Ibs.  35,802, 114  52,516,969 
Imported 15006,410  18,669,794 


Total  manufactured,  .lbs.50,808,524     71,186,763 

These  wools,  imported  into  the  United 
States,  are  mostly  of  the  coarser  descrip- 
tions used  for  carpets,  etc.,  and  the  average 
value  is  about  10  to  11  cts.  These  are 
qualities  which  do  not  compete  with  the  fine 
wools  of  American  growth  ;  but  the  growth 
of  manufactures  was  found  to  be  impeded  by 
the  want  of  greater  supply.  In  consequence, 
Congress,  in  1857,  made  all  wools  costing 
less  than  20  cents  at  the  place  of  growth, 
free  of  duty.  These  had  paid  30  per  cent., 
ad  valorem,  previously.  This  law  had  not 
much  effect  in  increasing  the  supply,  for  the 
reason  that  the  supply  is  everywhere  short. 
There  were  quantities  of  South  American 
wool  imported  of  a  fine  quality,  but  so  filled 
with  the  burr  peculiar  to  that  country,  as  to 
make  them  nearly  useless.  Many  machines 
were  invented  to  remove  these  burrs,  but 
with  partial  success.  One  was  of  the  form 
of  a  number  of  circular  saws,  8  to  10  inches 
in  diameter,  set  close  together  upon  a  shaft, 
which  revolved  with  much  velocity.  The 
wool  was  fed  to  this  cylinder,  through  two 


rollers.  The  saw  teeth  seized  the  wool, 
which,  passing  between  the  saws,  left  the 
burr  on  the  surface,  whence  it  was  removed 
by  the  motion  of  the  cylinder  against  a  sta- 
tionary knife  placed  longitudinally  across  it. 
The  general  impulse  given  to  manufactures 
at  home  and  abroad,  has  caused  the  demand 
to  outrun  the  supply  of  wool.  This  was  the 
more  the  case  that  manufactures  spread  in 
those  countries  that  formerly  were  most  de- 
pended upon  for  raw  wools.  The  supply  of 
England  has  been  kept  up  by  the  extended 
exports  of  Australia  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Hence,  the  lower  duty  did  not  im- 
prove the  supply  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  home  supply  has  to  some  extent  been 
diminished  by  the  operation  of  railroads  and 
the  growth  of  large  cities.  These  latter  have 
raised  the  demand  for  mutton  and  lamb, 
while  the  easy  transportation  afforded  by  rail 
has  induced  the  farmers  to  send  the  animals 
to  market  instead  of  the  wool,  which  was 
formerly  alone  practicable^  The  price  of 
wool  accordingly  rose,  and  the  manufacturers 
naturally  sought  to  reduce  the  cost  of  the 
raw  material  by  hunting  up  a  substitute. 
This  is  usually  found  in  substituting  one  of 
these  four  chief  materials  of  human  clothing 
1 — cotton,  silk,  wool,  and  flax.  The  one  of 
these  that  is  relatively  dearest  is  mixed  with 
larger  proportions  of  the  others.  Hence,  the 
value  of  the  whole  becomes  in  some  degree 
equalized. 

Out  of  these  circumstances  has  grown  one 
of  the  most  curious  manufactures  that  have 
sprung  up  of  late  years.  This  is  the  shoddy 
manufacture.  It  has  recently  been  imported 
from  England ;  and  there  are  now  in  New 
York  state  six  factories — inWatervliet,  New- 
burg,  Troy,  and  Marlborough.  These  turn 
out  about  100,000  Ibs.  of  shoddy  per  annum. 

But  what  is  shoddy  ? 

In  the  somewhat  hilly  district  of  York- 
shire, between  Huddersfield  and  Leeds,  stand 
on  two  prominences  the  pretty  little  towns 
of  Dewsbury  and  Batley  Car.  The  stranger, 
on  alighting  from  the  railway  car,  is  struck 
with  the  unusually  large  warehouses,  built 
of  stone,  by  the  railway  company.  For  such 
small  stations,  these  are  mysterious  erections. 
But  if  he  enter  the  principal  warehouse,  he 
will  probably  find  piled  up  hundreds  of  bales, 
containing  the  cast-oft"  garments  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  continent  of  Europe.  Here, 
in  fact,  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  are 
brought  the  tattered  remains  of  the  clothes, 
some  of  which  have  been  worn  by  royalty  in 


814 


WOOLLBN    MANUFACTURES. 


the  various  courts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  by 
the  peers  and  peasants.  The  rich  broadcloth 
of  the  English  nobles  here  commingles  with 
the  livery  of  their  servants  and  the  worsted 
blouses  of  the  French  republicans;  while 
American  undershirts,  pantaloons,  and  all 
other  worsted  or  woollen  goods,  may  there 
be  found,  all  reduced  to  one  common  level, 
and  known  by  one  common  appellation  of 
"  rags." 

The  walls  of  the  town  are  placarded  with 
papers  announcing  public  auctions  of  "Scotch 
shoddies,"  "mungoes,"  "rags,"  and  such 
like  articles  of  merchandise,  and  every  few 
days  the  goods  department  of  the  railway  is 
besieged  by  sturdy-looking  Yorkshiremen, 
who  are  examining,  with  great  attention,  the 
various  bales,  some  of  which  are  assorted 
into  "  whites,"  "  blue  stockings,"  "  black 
stockings,"  "carpets,"  "shawls,"  "stuffs," 
"shirtings,"  "  linseys,"  "black  cloth,"  etc. 
A  jovial-looking  man,  of  doubtful  temperance 
principles,  at  last  steps  forward  and  puts  the 
goods  up  to  auction.  The  prices  which 
these  worn-out  articles  fetch  are  surprising  to 
the  uninitiated.  Old  stockings  will  realize 
from  $35  to  $50  a  ton ;  while  white  flannels 
will  sometimes  sell  for  as  much  as  $100  a  ton, 
and  even  more.  The  "  hards,"  or  black 
cloth,  when  clipped  free  from  all  seams  and 
threads,  are  worth  from  $100  to  $150  a  ton. 
There  are  common  mixed  sorts  of  coarse 
fabric  which  can  be  bought  as  low  as  from 
$15  to  $25  a  ton;  while  the  "rubbish," 
consisting  of  seams,  linseys,  and  indescrib- 
ables,  are  purchased  by  the  chemists  for  the 
manufacture  of  potash  crystals  for  from  $10 
to  $15  a  ton. 

It  will  be  seen  that  assorting  these  old 
woollens  is  equally  important  with  the  assort- 
ing of  the  different  qualities  of  new  wool ; 
and  there  is  the  additional  consideration  of 
colors  to  render  assorting  still  more  neces- 
sary. It  is  surprising,  however,  with  what 
rapidity  all  this  is  accomplished.  There  are 
some  houses  where  old  woollen  rags  are 
divided  into  upward  of  twenty  different  sorts, 
ready  for  the  manufacturer.  The  principal 
varieties  are  flannels,  of  which  there  are 
"  English  whites,"  "Welsh  whites,"  "Irish 
whites,"  and  "  drabs."  Each  of  these  com- 
mand a  different  price  in  the  market:  the 
English  and  Welsh  being  much  whiter  than 
the  Irish,  and  of  finer  texture,  are  worth 
nearly  double  the  price  of  the  Irish.  The 
Btockings  are  the  next  in  value  to  the  flan- 
nels, on  account  of  the  strength  and  elas- 


ticity of  the  wool.  The  peculiar  stitch  or 
bend  of  the  worsted  in  stocking  manufac- 
ture, and  the  hot  water  and  washing  to  which 
they  arc  submitted  during  their  stocking 
existence,  have  the  effect  of  producing  a  per- 
manent elasticity  which  no  after  process 
destroys,  and  no  new  wool  can  be  found  to 
possess.  Hence,  old  stockings  are  always  in 
great  demand,  and  realize,  for  good  clean 
colored  sorts,  as  much  as  $80  a  ton  in  busy 
seasons.  The  white  worsted  stockings  are 
the  most  valuable  of  the  "  softs,"  and,  when 
supplied  in  sufficient  quantity,  will  sell  for  as 
much  as  $140  a  ton.  Carpets,  and  other  col- 
ored sorts,  are  generally,  owing  to  their  rapid 
accumulation,  to  be  had  at  very  low  prices. 

"  Shoddy,"  so  well  understood  in  York- 
shire, is  the  general  term  for  the  wool  pro- 
duced by  the  grinding,  or,  more  technically, 
the  "pulling"  up  of  all  the  soft  woollens; 
and  all  woollens  are  soft,  except  the  super- 
fine cloths.  The  usual  method  of  convert- 
ing woollens  into  shoddy,  is  to  first  carefully 
assort  them,  so  as  to  see  that  not  a  particle 
of  cotton  remains  on  them,  and  then  to  pass 
them  through  a  rag  machine.  This  has  a 
cylinder  3  ft.  in  diameter  and  20  inches  long, 
with  steel  teeth  half  an  inch  apart  from  each 
other,  and  standing  out  from  the  cylinder, 
when  new,  one  inch.  This  cylinder  revolves 
five  hundred  times  in  a  minute,  and  the  rags 
are  drawn  gradually  close  to  its  surface  by 
two  fluted  iron  rollers,  the  upper  one  of 
which  is  packed  with  thin  stuff  or  skirting, 
so  as  to  press  the  rags  the  closer  to  the 
action  of  the  teeth.  The  cylinder  runs  up- 
ward past  these  rollers,  and  any  pieces  of 
rag  which  are  not  completely  torn  into  wool, 
are,  by  their  natural  gravity,  thrown  back 
upon  the  rags  which  are  slowly  creeping 
into  the  machine.  The  rollers  are  fed  by 
means  of  a  creeper,  or  slowly  moving,  end- 
less cloth,  on  which  a  man,  and  in  some 
instances  a  woman,  lays  the  rags  in  proper 
quantities.  One  of  these  machines  is  com- 
monly driven  by  a  seven-inch  band,  and  re- 
quires at  least  five  horse  power.  Half  a  ton 
of  rags  can  be  pulled  in  ten  hours  by  one  of 
these  machines.  The  dust  produced  sub- 
jects the  workpeople  on  first  commencing 
the  occupation,  to  what  is  there  called  the 
"  rag  fever."  But  after  a  time  the  imme- 
diate effects  are  warded  off,  and  although  it 
no  doubt  shortens  life,  the  remuneration 
being  considerable — in  England,  2s.  for  every 
240  Ibs.  of  rags  pulled — there  is  never  any 
difficulty  in  obtaining  workpeople. 


CLOTHIKG   TRADE TOTAL    MANUFACTURE. 


315 


The  "  mungo"  is  the  wool  produced  by 
subjecting  the  hards,  or  superfine  cloths,  to  a 
similar  operation  as  that  above  described. 
The  machine,  however,  for  the  mungo  trade, 
is  made  with  a  greater  number  of  teeth, 
several  thousand  more  in  the  same  sized 
cylinder,  and  the  cylinder  runs  about  700 
revolutions  in  a  minute.  The  rags,  previous 
to  being  pulled  in  this  machine,  are  passed 
through  a  machine  called  a  "  shaker."  This 
is  made  of  a  coarsely-toothed  cylinder,  about 
2£  ft.  in  diameter,  which  revolves  about  300 
times  in  a  minute,  in  a  coarse  wire  cylinder. 
This  takes  away  a  large  portion  of  the  dust, 
which  is  driven  out  at  a  large  chimney  by 
means  of  a  fan.  The  mungo  pulling  is, 
therefore,  a  cleaner  business  than  the  shoddy 
making,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  is  more  prof- 
itable. The  power  required  for  a  mungo 
machine  is  that  of  about  seven  horses. 

Both  the  better  kinds  of  shoddy  and  the 
mungo  have  for  some  years  been  saturated 
with  oil ;  but  recently,  milk  has  been  applied 
to  this  purpose,  and  found  to  answer  exceed- 
ingly well.  The  consequence  is  that  milk 
in  that  locality,  in  England,  has  risen  100 
per  cent,  in  price ;  and  even  in  that  district, 
where  cows  are  kept  in  large  numbers,  it  was 
feared  there  would  be  a  great  scarcity  of 
milk  for  the  supply  of  the  towns. 

When  well  saturated  with  oil  or  milk,  the 
shoddy  or  the  mungo  is  sold  to  the  woollen 
manufacturer.  There  are  scores  of  men  who 
attend  the  Huddersfield  market  every  Tues- 
day to  dispose  of  their  mungo.  It  is  as 
much  an  article  of  marketable  value  there, 
as  cloth  is  here.  It  is  not  unusual  for  good 
mungo  to  realize  as  much  as  eight  English 
pence  per  pound,  while  the  shoddy  varies  in 
price  from  one  penny  to  sixpence  per  pound, 
according  to  quality. 

The  common  kinds  of  shoddy  require,  of 
course,  to  be  subjected  to  the  scouring  pro- 
cess, for  which  large  wooden  heaters,  or 
"  stocks,"  are  employed.  The  dung  of  hogs 
is  largely  employed  in  this  purifying  pro- 
cess, as  well  as  human  urine,  which  is  exten- 
sively used  in  the  blanket  manufacture  of 
Yorkshire. 

The  white  shoddy  is  capable  of  being 
used  either  for  light-colored  goods  or  for 
the  common  kinds  of  blankets,  while  the 
dark-colored  shoddy  is  worked  into  all  kinds 
of  coarse  cloths,  carpets,  etc.,  which  are 
dyed  any  dark  color,  so  as  to  hide  the  vari- 


ous colors  of  the  old  fabrics.  Tt  is  mixed  in 
with  new  wool  in  such  proportion  as  its 
quality  will  permit,  without  deteriorating 
the  sale  of  the  material. 

The  mungo  is  used  in  nearly  all  the  York- 
shire superfine  cloths,  and  in  some  very  ex- 
tensively. It  produces  a  cloth  somewhat 
inferior,  of  course,  to  the  West  of  England 
goods  in  durability,  but,  for  finish  and  ap- 
pearance, when  first  made  up,  the  inferiority 
would  only  be  perceived  by  a  good  judge 
of  cloth.  This  substance  is  largely  intro- 
duced into  all  felted  fabrics.  Blankets,  car- 
pets, druggets,  table-covers,  and  Petersham 
coats,  are  sometimes  entirely  made  from  it, 
and  the  trade  is  rapidly  extending. 

The  effect  of  shoddy  in  the  cloth  of  an 
overcoat,  in  the  wear,  is  to  rub  out  of  the 
cloth  and  accumulate  between  it  and  the 
lining.  We  have  seen  a  gentleman  take  a 
handful  of  this  short  wool  from  the  corners 
of  his  coat. 

The  grounds  on  which  this  shoddy  and 
mungo  business  can  be  justified  are  the 
cheapening  of  cloth,  and  the  turning  to  a 
useful  purpose  what  would  be  otherwise 
almost  useless. 

The  business  in  Yorkshire  is  dignified 
by  the  title  of  the  "  Dewsbury  trade ;" 
and  to  it  Dewsbury  certainly  owes  its 
wealth,  and  we  might  almost  say  its  ex- 
istence. In  twenty  years  it  has  grown 
from  a  village  to  a  town  of  some  30,000  in- 
habitants, and  some  immense  fortunes  have 
been  made  by  this  extraordinary  trans- 
formation of  old  garments  into  new. 

Considerable  quantities  of  white  shoddy 
were  sent  from  England  and  Scotland  to  this 
country,  and  finally  a  machinist  sent  several 
of  his  rag  machines,  and  several  factories 
were  successively  started.  The  sale  of  the 
product  is  now  largely  conducted  in  Cedar 
street,  New  York. 

The  shoddy  trade  is  somewhat  fluctu- 
ating, being  affected  very  much  by  the  state 
of  the  wool  market.  So  great  is  the  com- 
petition in  the  markets,  that  as  soon  as  a 
rise  takes  place  in  the  price  of  new  wool,  the 
small  manufacturers,  instead  of  raising  their 
prices,  commonly  regulate  their  expenditure 
by  using  a  larger  proportion  of  the  old 
material,  and  they  are  thus  enabled  to  com- 
pete, in  prices  at  least,  with  the  larger  manu- 
facturers, who  can  lay  in  a  large  stock  of 
new  wool  when  the  prices  are  low. 


LEATHER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TANNING— BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 

ON  the  formation  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, much  solicitude  was  apparent  in  rela- 
tion to  the  growth  of  the  more  important 
branches  of  manufactures.  That  the  im- 
perial government  had  so  persistently  pre- 
vented the  establishment  of  any  considerable 
branches,  was  a  great  drawback,  because  it 
had  prevented  the  development  of  the  neces- 
sary experience  and  skill  in  manufacture  re- 
quired for  large  operations.  The  removal 
of  those  prohibitions  by  the  act  of  inde- 
pendence, attracted  attention  to  the  forbid- 
den industries,  and  they  began  to  flourish. 
The  tanning  and  manufacture  of  leather,  in 
all  its  branches,  was  one  of  the  first  that  be- 
gan to  thrive,  and  naturally,  because  the 
slaughter  of  animals  for  food  furnished  a 
greater  or  less  supply  of  skins,  that  required 
to  be  wrought  up  into  boots,  shoes,  harness, 
etc.  Parliamentary  committees,  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  mentioned  tanning  in 
the  colonies  as  a  branch  of  individual  in- 
dustry, which  supplied  most  of  the  local 
demands  for  leather  and  shoe-making,  as  one 
of  the  leading  handicrafts. 

In  1791,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Mr.  Hamilton,  in  his  report  on  manufactures, 
mentions :  "  Tanneries  are  not  only  carried 
on  as  a  regular  business  in  numerous  parts 
of  the  country,  but  they  constitute,  in  some 


places,  a  valuable  item  of  incidental  family 
manufacture."  He  went  on  to  mention,  that 
encouragement  had  been  asked  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  two  ways,  viz.:  by  prohibiting 
both  the  import  of  the  leather  and  the  ex- 
port of  the  bark.  It  was  alleged  that  the 
leather  trade  had  raised  the  price  of  bark 
from  $3  to  $4d  per  cord.  He  ascribed  the 
rise,  however,  rather  to  the  increase  of  tan- 
neries than  to  the  export,  of  which,  he  said, 
there  was  no  evidence.  Glue  was  then  a 
large  item  with  the  tanners,  who  used  up 
the  refuse  portions  of  the  skins  in  that  way. 
From  that  time  to  the  present,  tanners  have 
increased  in  all  the  states,  in  the  proportion 
nearly  of  the  growth  of  the  population. 
The  importation  of  boots  and  shoes  was 
always  insignificant,  comprising  high-priced 
articles  from  Paris  mostly.  Thus,  the  year 
1822  was  one  of  the  largest  import:  there 
were  then  14,979  pairs  of  shoes,  mostly  kid 
and  morocco,  imported,  for  $9,192  ;  and  207 
pairs  of  boots,  for  $792,  or  nearly  $4  per 
pair.  In  1858  the  importation  was  only 
39,826  pairs  of  leather  boots  and  shoes,  at  a 
value  of  $87,101 ;  and  the  export  of  do- 
mestic boots  and  shoes  in  this  year  was  609,- 
988  pairs,  or  a  value  of  $663,905  :  showing 
a  large  excess  of  exports  over  imports. 

The  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  has, 
therefore,  been  in  the  double  ratio  of  the 
number  of  people,  and  their  ability  to  buy, 
in  proportions  as  follows  : — 


Boots  and  shoes  ..... 
Gloves  ............. 

Leather  belting  ...... 

Morocco  dressers.  .  .  . 

Patent  leather  ...... 

Saddles  and  harness.  . 


Tanners  and  curriers.        6,040 


LEATHER    MANUFACTURE     OF    THE     UNITED     STATES    IN     1860. 


126 
46 

136 

12 

3,695 


Capital 

Kaw  material. 

Male. 

Female. 

Labor. 

Product 

523,357,627 

$42,728,174 

94,512 

28,514 

$30,938,080 

$91,889,298 

594,825 

537,589 

453 

976 

330,419 

1,176,795 

588,000 

915,271 

329 

25 

134,952 

1,481,750 

2,331,250 

3,896,522 

2,371 

331 

924,308 

6,291,075 

1,039,000 

1,395,400 

865 

317,460 

2,101,250 

6,616,034 

6,726,344 

12,443 

337 

4,333,041 

14,604,328 

35,655,370 

44,520,737 

22,622 

57 

6,933,740 

67,306,452 

Total 21,541  $70,182,106  $100,720,037    133,595      30,240  $43,912,000  $184,850,948 


The  total  value  was  thus  raised  to  $184,- 
850,948.     The  value  produced  by  the  tan- 


ners   and    curriers   was    $67,306,452.      Of 
this  leather  so  produced,  the  harness-makers 


TANNING BOOTS  AXD  SHOES. 


and  shoe-makers  used  $49,454,588.  The 
tanneries  lie  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole. 
They  use  the  skins  and  hides  of  animals 
slaughtered  in  the  whole  country,  and  re- 
quire, in  addition,  an  average  of  some  5,000,- 
000  of  foreign  hides,  imported  mostly  from 
Central  and  South  America,  and  the  British 
East  Indies,  to  make  good  the  demand.  The 
census  of  1 840  gave  the  sides  of  sole  leather 
tanned  at  3,463,611,  and  of  upper  leather 
3,781,868. 

The  supply  of  hides  in  the  country  origin- 
ally was  derived  mostly,  if  not  altogether, 
from  the  slaughter  of  animals  for  food.  Tan- 
neries were  started  where  bark,  mostly  hem- 
lock, was  most  easily  accessible,  and  the  tan- 
nery became  the  market  for  hides  and  skins 
for  many  miles  around,  as  well  for  the 
farmers  as  butchers.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  the  large  cities,  foreign  hides  became  the 
main  resource.  Thus,  in  1858,  the  value 
imported  was  89,719,683,  as  follows:  Bos- 
ton and  Salem,  $3,290,555;  New  York, 
85,629,027;  Philadelphia,  $377,635;  Bal- 
timore, $422,466.  The  importers  of  hides 
sell  to  the  tanners  for  cash  or  short  time,  and 
then  tanning  takes  place  in  localities  best 
suited  to  the  combination  of  the  materials. 
Boston  is  the  largest  leather  market  in  the 
states ;  but  there  is  not  tanned  in  Massa- 
chusetts half  the  leather  they  use.  They 
tan  the  upper  leather ;  but  the  sole  leather 
is  mostly  tanned  in  New  York.  The  hides 
imported  at  Boston  and  Salem  are  sold  to 
the  New  York  dealers,  by  them  supplied  to 
the  tanners,  and  then  resold  to  the  boot- 
makers of  Massachusetts.  One  reason  of 
this  is,  no  doubt,  that  the  newly  opened 
counties  of  New  York  supply  more  and 
cheaper  bark  than  can  be  had  elsewhere. 
When  the  Erie  railroad  was  opened  through 
the  southern  tier  of  counties,  tanneries  rapidly 
increased  along  its  line.  The  returns  of  the 
road  for  the  first  five  years  were  as  follows : — 


1846, 
1847, 
1848, 
1849, 
1850, 


Hides  sent  west.          Leather  sent  east 


Ibs.  976,950 

1,200,520 

1,111,580 

3,253,883 

10,140,022 


781,300 

480,040 

1,078,620 

3,696,592 

8,409,765 


So  rapid  was  the  effect  of  having  access 
to  new  hemlock  forests.  The  number  of 
hides  that  are  produced  each  year  in  the 
country,  although  a  very  important  item, 
the  census  has  not  furnished  in  any  definite 
manner.  That  of  1840  gave  the  number  of 
sides  tanned  in  1839  at  3,463,611,  which 


would  account  for  1,731,805  hides.  The 
number  of  neat  cattle  in  the  country  was 
then  14,971,586,  and  of  horses  and  mules 
4,335,669.  The  deaths  among  them  would 
give  about  400,000  hides,  and  the  neat 
cattle  would  give  3,000,000  hides.  The 
number  of  horses,  cattle  and  other  domestic 
animals  in  the  United  States,  in  1866,  is 
estimated  by  the  Agricultural  Department  as 
foUows : — 

Horses 6  691,220 

Mules l',054,337 

Cattle 26,935,616 

Swine 28,845,003 

Sheep 41,253,652 

The  census  gives  the  quantity  of  cattle 
slaughtered*  at  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 
This  would  give  6,733,904  neat  cattle.  The 
horse  hides  (ten  per  cent.)  would  be  about 
669,000.  The  census  of  1850  gives  6,128, 
970  hides  tanned,  and  8,653,865  skins,  in- 
eluding  6,000,000  sheep  skins.  If  we  com- 
pare the  census  of  1840  with  that  of  1850, 
for  tanneries,  we  have  results  as  follows : — 

No.        Capital.    Sides  tanned.    Skins.        Value. 
1840,     8,229    $I5,650,9:!9       3,643,611      3.781,808    $20,919.110 
1850,     6,263     18,90u,557      12,257,940     8,653,865     82,861,790 

The  census  of  1850  gives  6,128,970  hides 
tanned,  which  gives  12,257,940sides.  Under 
the  head  of  skins,  the  census  of  1840  has 
upper  leather,  calf,  horse,  etc.  The  census 
of  1850  includes  6,000,000  sheep-skins. 
Now,  these  12,257,940  sides  of  sole  leather 
by  no  means  account  for  all  the  shoes  made 
in  the  country.  The  rapid  rate  at  which 
shoes  and  boots  are  made  and  worn,  far 
exceeds  the  increase  of  cattle  and  hides; 
and  the  census  returns  do  not  obtain  any 
thing  like  the  quantities  that  are  made  in 
the  large  cities,  where  the  numbers  of  very 
poor  foreign  shoe-makers  are  large.  The 
census  of  1855  gave  24,804  boot  and  shoe- 
makers in  the  state  of  New  York,  while 
the  United  States  census  of  1850  gave  but 
10,439  in  the  state.  This  difference,  to 
some  extent,  no  doubt,  grew  out  of  the  large 
migration,  there  being  among  the  emigrants 
very  many  shoe-makers  who  work  very  cheap 
and  well. 

The  skins  of  domestic  animals,  or  "  green 
hides,"  are  rated  of  higher  value  than  the 
foreign  or  salted  hides  ;  yet  these  latter  will 
give  a  great  weight  of  leather,  because  of  the 
water  in  the  green  hides,  which,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  more  easily  handled.  The  largest 
oxen  make  the  best  sole  leather.  The  skins 
of  the  bull  are  thickest  about  the  neck  and 


318 


LEATHER. 


parts  of  the  belly ;  but  the  back  is  thinner, 
and  are  inferior  in  fineness  of  grain  to  oxen 
or  cows.  The  best  are  made  into  the  heavy 
leather,  used  for  the  best  trunks,  shoe-soles, 
machine-belts,  harness,  etc.  The  lighter 
qualities  serve  for  uppers  of  common  boots 
and  shoes.  Kips,  or  skins  of  young  cattle, 
make  the  uppers  of  fine  boots  and  shoes. 
Those  hides  of  the  best  quality  only  are 
split  or  shaved  for  the  thin  enamelled  leather 
used  for  "ladies'  shoes,  and  are  made  into 
"lace  leather,"  or  thongs  for  belts.  In 
preparing  the  hides  for  tanning,  the  heavy 
ones  are  soaked  for  months  in  lime-water. 
The  hair,  at  last,  can  be  removed,  with  the 
epidermis,  by  the  two-handed  scraping-knife, 
rubbed  over  it  as  the  hide  is  laid  flat  down 
on  the  bench  prepared  for  this  purpose. 
The  fleshy  substance  on  the  other  side  is 
then  scraped  off,  and,  like  the  head,  cheeks, 
and  other  waste,  used  for  making  glue.  In 
large  establishments,  machines  are  used  for 
this  scraping.  The  lime  that  remains  in  the 
pores  of  the  hide  must  be  removed  by  soak- 
ing in  some  solution,  like  chlorine,  that  will 
form  a  soluble  compound  with  the  lime. 
Sometimes  hides  are  laid  in  piles,  and  allow- 
ed to  begin  to  putrefy,  great  care  being 
taken  to  stop  it  as  soon  as  the  hair  starts. 
By  the  United  States  plan,  the  object  is 
more  eifectively  obtained,  with  less  labor, 
and  no  injury  to  the  leather.  The  hides  are 
suspended  in  a  cool  vault,  protected,  like  an 
ice-house,  against  the  entrance  of  warm  air, 
and  furnished  with  a  covered  channel-way, 
that  answers  as  a  drain  and  as  a  conduit  for 
cool  damp  air.  Cool  spring  water  is  then 
conducted  into  the  vault,  to  fall  round  its 
sides  like  spray.  The  hides  are  thus  kept 
in  a  mist,  at  a  temperature  of  44  to  46  dcg., 
and,  in  six  to  twelve  days,  are  found  freed 
from  all  superfluous  matter.  The  cold  vapor 
has  been  absorbed,  and  its  action  by  melting 
has  distended  and  removed  the  epidermis 
with  the  roots  of  the  hair.  As  soon  as  this 
is  effected,  the  hides  are  ready  for  tanning. 
This  American  plan,  it  will  be  observed,  is 
far  in  advance  of  that  of  the  old  systems, 
still  practised  in  Europe. 

Of  the  hides  brought  into  New  York  in  a 
year,  the  disposition  was  as  follows : — 

Domestic  hides,  slaughtered 250,000 

Imported 1,902,000 

Stock,  Jan.  1 375,000 

Supply 2,527,000 


Taken  for  sole  leather 1,877,000 

upper     "      250,000 

patent    "      100,000 

"    by  western  tanners  . . .      100,000 
"         neighboring  cities  . .      150,000 

Stock,  Dec.  31 


2,477,000 
50,000 


These  figures  show  the  relative  disposition 
of  the  hides  sold  in  New  York. 

Leather,  tanned,  is  generally  divided  into 
three  kinds,  namely :  hides,  kips,  and  skins. 
The  stoutest  leather  employed  for  trunks 
and  soles  of  boots  and  shoes,  is  made  from 
butts  or  backs.     Buff  leather  was  formerly 
made  for  defensive  armor  from  the  hide  of 
the  buffalo,  but  it  is  now  furnished  by  the 
cow-hide,  and  is  used  chiefly  for  soldiers' 
belts.     Bull-hide  is  thicker  than  cow-hide, 
while  kip-skin,  from  young  cattle,  is  lighter 
than  the  latter.     The  name  kip  is  also  giv- 
en to  Calcutta,  Brazil,  and  African   hides. 
Calf-skin  supplies  the  great  demand  for  the 
upper  part  of  boots  and  shoes  ;  sheep-skins 
form  a  thin,  cheap  leather ;  lamb-skins  are 
used  for  gloves  ;  goat  and  kid-skins  form  a 
light  leather  of  fine  quality  ;  deer  or  ante- 
lope are  usually  bi-dressed  in  oil ;  horse-hide 
is  prepared  for  harness  work,  etc.,  and  this, 
with  seal-skin,  is  used  for  making  enamelled 
leather ;  dog-skin  makes  a  thin,  tough  leath- 
er,  but  most   of  the  gloves   sold  as  dog- 
skin are    made   of    lamb-skin.      Hog-skin 
makes  a  thin,  porous  leather,  and  is  used  for 
covering  the  seats  of  saddles  ;  ass  and  mule- 
skins  are  for  shagreen  leather,  used  mostly 
for   scabbards.      There   is   a  large   import 
trade    in    skins.      The   great    demand    for 
leather  for  the  best  gloves  is  supplied  by 
lamb-skins  from   Italy,  Spain,  the  south  of 
France,  and   other  parts,  where,  in   conse- 
quence of  the  lamb  being  killed  quite  young, 
the  skin  is  small,  fine,  and  thin,  and  is  used 
instead  of  kid ;  but  it  is  neither  so  strong 
nor  so  glossy.     The  skins  of  lambs  that  die 
soon  after  their  birth,  are  sometimes  dressed 
with  the  wool,  and  arc  used  for  lining  gloves 
and  shoes.     The  best  kid-skins  are  from  the 
south    of  France ;  they  are   also   imported 
from  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Ire- 
land.    It  is  said  that  as  soon  as  the  kid  be- 
gins to  feed  on  herbage,  the  skin   suffers  in 
fineness  and  delicacy,  and  is  no  longer  suit- 
able for  the  best  gloves.     The  best  morocco 
leather   is    made   from    Swiss    goat-skins ; 
another  kind  is  from  Mogador  and  East  In- 
dian goat-skins,  which  are  often  made  into 
black  morocco,  known  as  "  black  Spanish 


TANNING BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


319 


leather,"  from  the  circumstance  of  the  first . 
supplies  having  been  obtained  from  Spain. 
The   leather   from   the  Cape   sheep-skin   is , 
nearly   equal  to  morocco.       Hippopotamus  ! 
hides  are    exported  from  South  Africa,  and 
when  tanned  with   oak  bark,  they  make  an  j 
extremely  thick   and   compact   leather.     In  | 
Canada,    recently,    leather   has   been   made 
from   the  white  whale  which  visits  the   St. 
Lawrence.     In  February,  1860,  some  speci- 
mens  of  this  leather   were   shown   at  the 
American  Institute.     There  are  various  sorts 
of  excellent  leather  made  from  their  skins. 
The  vegetable  substances  used  in  tanning 
have  of  late  years  become  almost  as  numer- 
ous  as  the  varieties  of  hides  and  skins  on 
which  they  are  employed.     The  active  vege- 
table   principle,     tannin,    varies    somewhat 
according   to    the    source   from  which  it  is 
derived ;  but   it   is   always   marked   by  an 
astringent  taste,  a  bluish-black  or  dark  green 
precipitate  in  aqueous  solution  by  admixture 
with   a  solution  of  one  of  the  salts  of  per- 
oxide of  iron  ;  while,  with  a  solution  of  gela- 
tine, it  gives  a  dirty  white  or  brown  precipi- 
tate.    During  a  long  period   the  principal 
tanning   material   has   been    oak  bark   and 
hemlock  bark.     That  which  is  stripped  in 
the  spring  is  the  most  esteemed,  for  it  then 
contains    a   larger   quantity  of  tannin  than 
that  stripped  in  autumn,  and  this  more  than 
the  bark  stripped  in  winter.    The  best  bark  is 
obtained  in  a  warm  spring,  from  coppice  trees 
about  twelve  years  of  age.     Oak  bark  con- 
tains from  4  to  22  per  cent,  of  tannin,  which 
is  contained  in  the  inner  white  layers  next 
the  alburnum,  as  in  the  case  of  other  astrin- 
gent barks.     The  tannin  of  bark  is  probably 
not   identical  with  that  of  galls,  as  it  does 
not  yield  pyrogallic  acid  when  subjected  to 
destructive    distillation ;    from   four   to    six 
pounds  of  oak  bark  are  required  for  every 
pound  of  leather.     After  the  stripping,  the 
bark  is   stacked  to  dry ;  should  the  season 
be    rainy,  a  portion  of  the   tannin   may  be 
washed  out,  and  the  bark  be  thus  deterio- 
rated.  When  the  tanned  leather  is  taken  in 
hand  bv  the  currier,  it  is  softened  by  being 
soaked   in  water.     It   is   next  beaten   by  a 
mallet  upon  a  hurdle,  and  then  placed  over 
a  plank  called  a  beam,  which  projects  slant- 
ingly from  the   floor.     The  workman  leans 
over  this  and   against  the  leather,  so  as  to 
keep  it  in  its  place,  and  with  a  broad  knife 
shaves  off  all  the  irregularities  from  the  flesh 
side.      The   knife   is   held   firmly   in   both 
hands,  and   the  operator  continually  exam- 


ines the  skin,  and  moves  it  to  bring  all  parts 
under  the  knife.  After  it  is  shaved,  it  is 
thrown  into  cold  water,  the  flesh  side  laid 
next  to  a  stone  slab,  and  the  other  well 
rubbed  with  a  tool  called  a  stretching  iron. 
This  process  forces  out  a  whitish  matter 
(bloom)  gathered  in  the  tan  pit,  and  reduces 
inequalities.  Many  tools  are  employed, 
having  the  same  object.  The  skin  then  un- 
dergoes "dubbing;"  an  ointment  of  cod 
oil  boiled  with  the  skins  of  sheep,  is  well 
rubbed  in  on  both  sides,  and  the  leather 
hung  up  to  dry.  It  is  afterward  rubbed 
with  the  graining  board — an  instrument 
shaped  somewhat  like  a  brush,  but  grooved, 
and  made  of  hard  wood.  The  leather  is  then 
ready  for  sale ;  or,  after  shaving  the  flesh 
side  with  a  very  sharp  knife,  it  is  waxed. 
A  color,  composed  of  oil  and  lamp-black,  is 
well  rubbed  inon  the  flesh  side,  with  a  hard 
brush,  until  the  surface  is  thoroughly  black ; 
upon  this  is  applied  a  size  and  tallow  with  a 
stiff  brush,  and  when  dry,  it  is  rubbed  with 
a  broad,  smooth  lump  of  glass ;  this  is  re- 
peated. This  leather  is  called  "waxed,"  or 
"  black  on  the  flesh,"  and  is  used  for  the 
uppers  of  men's  boots  and  shoes.  If  curried 
on  the  other  side  it  is  called  black  on  the 
grain,  and  is  used  for  ladies'  uppers.  In 
preparing  such  leather,  the  waxing  is  per- 
formed as  follows  :  a  solution  of  sulphate  of 
iron,  called  copperas  water  or  iron  liquor,  is 
applied  to  the  grain  side  of  the  wet  skin, 
when  the  salt,  uniting  with  the  gallic  acid 
of  the  tan,  produces  an  ink  dye ;  stale  urine 
is  then  applied  to  the  skin,  and  when  dry, 
the  stuffing  is  applied.  The  grain  is  raised, 
and  when  dry,  the  skin  is  whitened,  bruised, 
and  again  grained ;  after  which,  a  mixture 
of  oil  and  tallow  is  applied  to  the  grain  , 
side,  and  it  undergoes  carefully  the  treat- 
ment with  the  pommel  or  graining-board 
again,  and  several  other  processes  of  rubbing, 
polishing,  and  dubbing,  or  oiling.  These 
duly  performed,  with  due  regard  to  time  and 
circumstances,  complete  the  process. 

For  many  years  it  was  found  difficult  to 
cause  a  bright  varnish  to  adhere  to  leather 
without  cracking,  an  eft'ect  which  is  now 
produced  by  means  of  boiled  linseed  oil 
mixed  with  vegetable  black  and  Prussian 
bine.  This  composition,  of  the  consistence 
of  a  thick  paste,  is  rubbed  upon  the  surface  of 
the  leather,  and  then  dried  at  a  temperature 
of  from  150°  to  170°  Fahr.  The  process  is 
repeated  from  three  to  seven  times,  and 
when  quite  dry,  the  varnish  adheres  very 


320 


LEATHER. 


firmly,  and  will  bear  considerable  flexure 
and  tension  without  cracking.  By  mixing 
colored  pigments  with  the  varnish,  enamelled 
leather  of  various  colors  may  be  produced. 

The  process  of  tanning  differs  considerably 
in  the  mode  of  treatment  with  the  kind  of 
skin  and  the  result  desired.  A  large  num- 
ber of  thin  leathers  which  are  intended  to  be 
dyed,  are  tanned  in  various  ways.  White 
leathers  are  not  tanned,  but  tawed,  or  treated 
with  alum,  salt,  and  some  other  matters. 
Wash  leather  is  dressed  with  oil,  or  sham- 
oyed  ;  but  whatever  may  be  the  subsequent 
treatment,  the  preparatory  steps  somewhat 
resemble  each  other — whereby  hair,  wool, 
grease,  and  other  matters,  are  removed,  and 
the  skin  is  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  gelatinous 
membrane  called  pelt ;  the  hair  is  removed 
from  kid  and  goat-skin,  by  means  of  cream 
of  lime  ;  the  wool  is  generally  removed  by 
the  feltmongers  before  the  skin  is  passed  to 
the  tawers. 

Foreign  lamb-skins,  which  are  received 
with  the  wool  on,  are  washed,  scraped  on 
the  flesh  side,  and  sweated  in  a  close  room, 
until,  in  consequence  of  the  putrefactive  fer- 
mentation, the  wool  can  be  easily  removed. 
After  this,  fatty  matters  are  got  rid  of  by 
subjecting  the  skins  to  hydrostatic  pressure  ; 
they  arc  next  worked  at  the  beam  and  pared 
into  shape,  treated  with  lime,  and  next  with 
dogs'  or  pigeons'  dung,  if  the  skins  are  to  be 
tanned,  and  with  bran  and  water  if  they  are 
to  be  tawed,  the  object  being,  in  either  case, 
to  get  rid  of  the  lime.  During  these  opera- 
tions, the  skins  are  worked  a  few  times  at 
the  beam,  and  are  finished  by  washing  in 
clean  water.  Morocco  leather  is  prepared 
by  tanning  goat-skins  with  sumach,  and 
dyeing  on  the  grain  side.  Inferior  moroccos 
are  prepared  from  sheep-skins  similarly 
treated,  for  which  purpose  each  skin  of  pelt 
is  sewed  up  into  a  bag,  the  grain  side  outer- 
most, distended  with  air,  and  placed  in  a 
mordant  of  tin  or  alum.  They  are  next 
placed  in  a  warm  cochineal  bath  for  red,  in- 
digo for  blue,  orchil  for  purple,  and  are 
worked  by  hand  until  the  dye  has  properly 
struck.  For  certain  colors  the  tanning  pre- 
cedes the  dyeing.  The  tanning  or  sumach- 
ing  is  carried  on  in  a  large  tub,  containing  a 
weak  solution  of  sumach  in  warm  water; 
another  and  stronger  solution  is  contained 
in  an  adjoining  vessel,  a  portion  of  which, 
together  with  some  sumach  leaves,  is  poured 
into  the  bag;  some  of  the  weak  solution 
is  then  added,  the  bag  is  distended  with 


air,  and  the  skin  thrown  into  the  vat.  In 
this  way  about  50  skins  are  treated,  and  are 
kept  in  motion  a  few  hours  in  the  sumach 
tub,  by  means  of  paddles  worked  by  hand, 
or  by  machinery.  The  skins  are  then  taken 
out  and  heaped  upon  a  shelf  at  the  side  of 
the  tub,  the  pressure  thus  produced  causing 
the  liquor  to  escape  slowly  through  the  pores 
of  the  skin,  the  bags  being  shifted  about 
from  time  to  time.  The  bags  are  next 
passed  into  a  second  vat,  containing  a 
stronger  solution,  where  they  remain  for 
nine  hours.  The  bags  are  now  opened  and 
washed  ;  fine  red  skins  being  finished  in  a 
bath  of  saffron.  All  the  skins  are  next  struck 
on  a  sloping  board  until  they  are  smooth 
and  flat,  and  in  order  to  improve  their  ap- 
pearance in  the  currying,  a  little  linseed  oil 
may  be  rubbed  on  the  grain  side ;  they  are 
then  hung  up  in  a  loft  to  dry,  when  they  be- 
come horny  and  are  in  the  crust,  as  it  is 
called ;  they  next  pass  through  much  labor- 
ious friction  with  the  pommel,  and  with  a 
glass  ball ;  while  the  peculiar  ribbed  ap- 
pearance of  morocco  is  given  by  means  of  a 
ball  of  box-wood,  on  which  is  a  number  of 
narrow  ridges.  Sheep-skin  morocco  is  pre- 
pared from  split  skins;  the  skin-splitting 
machine  resembles  in  principle  that  hereafter 
described,  only  as  the  membrane  is  thinner, 
certain  variations  are  required.  Instead  of 
stretching  the  skin  on  a  drum,  it  is  passed 
between  two  rollers,  the  lower  one  of  gum- 
metal,  and  solid,  and  the  upper  made  of  gum 
rings;  while  between  the  two  rollers,  and 
nearly  in  contact,  is  the  edge  of  the  sharp 
knife,  which  is  moved  by  acrank,  ashereaft<  r 
mentioned.  When  a  skin  is  introduced  be- 
tween the  two  rollers,  it  is  dragged  through 
against  the  knife  edge  and  divided,  the  solid 
lower  roller  supporting  the  membrane,  while 
the  upper  one,  being  capable  of  moving 
through  a  small  space  by  means  of  its  rings, 
adjusts  itself  to  inequalities  in  the  mem- 
brane ;  where  this  is  thin  the  rings  become 
depressed,  and  when  it  is  thick  they  rise  up, 
so  that  no  part  escapes  the  action  of  the 
knife.  The  divided  skins  are  not  sewed  up 
into  bags,  as,  from  their  thinness,  they  can 
be  sumached  quickly. 

In  preparing  white  leather  by  "  tawing," 
the  pelt  is  made  as  pure  as  possible  ;  the 
best  kind  of  leather  being  prepared  from  kid- 
skins,  while  sheep  or  lamb-skins  make  the 
inferior  kinds.  They  are  first  fed  with  alum 
or  salt  in  a  drum  or  tumbler  made  like  a 
huge  churn  ;  about  three  pounds  of  alum 


TANNING BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


321 


and  four  pounds  of  salt  being  used  to  120 
skins  of  average  size.  The  alumina  of  the 
alum  forms  some  definite  compound  with 
the  gelatine  of  the  skins,  while  the  salt  serves 
to  whiten  them.  When  taken  out,  the  skins 
are  washed  in  water,  then  allowed  to  ferment 
in  bran  and  water  to  remove  the  surplus 
alum  and  salt,  and  to  reduce  the  thickness. 
They  are  next  dried  in  a  loft,  and  become 
tough  and  brittle,  but  they  are  made  soft 
and  glossy  by  means  of  a  dressing  of  twenty 
pounds  of  wheat  flour  and  the  yolks  of  eight 
dozen  eggs.  By  rotating  the  skins  in  drums 
for  some  time  the  dressing  is  absorbed,  and 
scarcely  any  thing  but  water  remains.  This 
dressing  is  usually  repeated,  and  the  skins 
hung  up  to  dry.  The  beautiful  softness  and 
elasticity  of  leather  is  now  given  by  manip- 
ulation. The  skins  are  first  dipped  in  clean 
water,  worked  upon  a  board,  and  staked  upon 
a  stretcher  or  softening  iron,  consisting  of 
a  rounded  iron  plate  fixed  to  the  top  of  an 
upright  beam,  by  which  the  skins  are  ex- 
tended and  smoothed  ;  they  are  then  finished 
by  being  passed  over  a  hot  iron. 

The  tanning  of  leather,  more  than  almost 
any  other  manufacture,  is  a  chemical  process, 
the  success  of  which  depends  almost  wholly 
upon  the  skill  and  judgment  with  which  its 
complicated  manipulations  are  conducted. 
To  attain  the  requisite  skill  in  the  laboratory 
of  the  chemist  is  evidently  impossible ;  it 
can  only  be  acquired  in  the  tanning  itself, 
by  long  and  careful  attention  and  observa- 
tion ;  and  perhaps  there  is  no  description 
of  manufacture  where  so  much  depends  upon 
practical  knowledge,  and  so  little  upon  mere 
theory,  as  in  the  tanning  of  leather.  The 
tanning  of  leather  consists  in  effecting  a 
combination  between  the  gelatine,  which  is 
the  main  constituent  of  raw  hides,  and  tan- 
nin, a  peculiar  substance,  found  in  the  bark 
,  of  several  species  of  trees — the  oak  and 
hemlock  chiefly.  The  processes  employed 
I  are  so' various,  and  the  modifications  occa- 
I  sioned  by  temperature,  strength  of  the 
liquor,  and  quality  and  condition  of  the 
hides,  are  so  numerous  and  so  different,  that 
hardly  any  branch  of  business  requires  for 
its  successful  conduct  a  greater  degree  of 
judgment  and  experience,  and  in  few  arts 
have  there  been  effected  greater  improve- 
ments. Within  twenty  years  the  gain  of 
weight  in  converting  hides  into  leather 
has  increased  nearly  fifty  per  cent. ;  that 
is,  from  a  quarter  to  a  third  more 
leather  can  now  be  obtained  from  a  given 

20 


quantity  of  hides  than  in  the  old-fashioned 
way. 

The  great  improvement  in  weight  seems 
to  have  been  gained  by  the  judicious  use  of 
strong  liquors,  or  "  ooze,"  obtained  from 
finely-ground  bark,  and  by  skilful  tanning. 
In  order  to  produce  heavy  weights,  the  hides 
should  not  be  reduced  too  low  in  the  beam^ 
house,  and  should  be  tanned  quickly  with 
good  strong  liquors,  particularly  in  the  latter 
stage  of  the  operation.  To  green  hides,  par- 
ticularly, nothing  can  be  more  injurious  than 
to  suffer  them  to  remain  too  long  in  weak 
"  ooze."  They  become  too  much  reduced, 
grow  soft,  flat,  and  flabby,  lose  a  portion  of 
their  gelatine,  and  refuse  to  "  plump  up." 
On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  effects  of 
an  early  application  of  "  ooze,"  that  is  too 
strong  and  too  warm,  to  green  hides,  is  very 
injurious.  It  contracts  the  surface  fibres  of 
the  skin,  tanning  at  once  the  external  layers, 
so  "  dead,"  as  it  is  termed,  as  to  shut  up 
the  pores,  and  prevent  the  tanning  from 
penetrating  the  interior.  This  renders  the 
leather  harsh  and  brittle. 

In  softening  hides,  and  preparing  them 
for  the  process  of  tanning,  a  great  deal  also 
depends  upon  the  judgment  of  the  person 
superintending  the  operation,  inasmuch  as 
the  diversities  in  the  qualities  and  charac- 
teristics of  hides  render  it  impossible  to  sub- 
ject them  to  any  thing  more  than  a  general 
mode  of  treatment.  In  "sweating,"  the 
character  of  the  hides  and  the  temperature 
are  essential,  but  ever-varying  considerations. 
As  a  general  rule,  however,  the  milder  the 
process  of  preparing  the  hides  for  the  bark, 
the  better.  Unnecessarily  severe  or  pro- 
longed treatment  is  inevitably  attended  with 
a  loss  of  gelatine,  and  a  consequent  loss  of 
weight  and  strength  in  the  leather.  Too 
high  a  temperature  is  particularly  to  be 
avoided. 

In  almost  every  lot  of  hides,  particularly 
the  Orinocos,  however,  there  are  generally 
some  that  prove  very  intractable,  resisting 
all  the  ordinary  modes  of  softening.  For 
such,  a  solution  of  ashes,  potash,  or  even 
common  salt,  will  be  found  to  be  bene- 
ficial. 

As  we  have  said,  no  precise  rule  can  be 
given  as  to  the  length  of  time  required  for 
the  preliminary  process  of  soaking  and 
"  sweating" — so  much  depending  upon  the 
qualities  of  the  hides,  and  the  tempera- 
ture at  which  these  operations  are  con- 
ducted. 


322 


LEATHER. 


The   following    table,  however,   may  be   to  a  definite  idea  of  the  practice  in  a  large 
found  useful  in  conveying  an  approximation  tannery : — 


Temperatures.  40° 

Days. 
Buenos  Ayres  hides 10  to  12 

Carthagena  and  Laguayra.. .     8       12 


8OAKING. 

50°  60" 

Days.  Days. 
8  to  12  6  to  8 
7  957 


70° 
Days. 
3  to  6 
2       5 


40° 

Days. 

15  to  20 

15       20 


SWEATING. 

50°  60° 

Days.  Days. 

12  to  16  8  to  12 

10       15  6         8 


701° 
Days. 
2  to  3 
2       3 


Salted  hides  do  not  require  more  than 
about  two-thirds  the  time  to  soak,  but 
about  the  same  time  to  sweat.  In  sweating, 
the  temperature  rises  as  the  hides  sweat,  so 
that  the  operation  is  seldom  performed  un- 
der 50°.  It  is  particularly  recommended 
that,  for  the  tougher  hides,  the  heat  should 
never  be  greater  than  60°  or  65°. 

After  the  hides  are  prepared  for  tanning, 
the  next  process  is  what  is  commonly  called 
"  handling,"  which  should  be  performed  two 
or  three  times  a  day  in  a  weak  ooze,  until 
the  grain  is  colored,  new  liquor  being  prefer- 
able to  old.     They  are  then,  after  a  fort- 
night, laid  away  in  bark,  and  changed  once 
in  two  to  four  weeks  until  tanned.     Much 
care  and  judgment  is  requisite  in  proportion- 
ing the  continually  increasing  strength  of 
the  liquors  to  the  requirements  of  the  leather 
in  the  different  stages  of  this  process.     The 
liquors  should  also  be  kept  as  cool  as  pos- 
sible, within  certain  limits ;  but  ought  never 
to  exceed  a  temperature  of  eighty  degrees. 
In  fact,  a  much  lower  temperature  is  the 
maximum  point,  if  the  liquor  is  very  strong 
— too   high   a  heat,   with   the   liquor  too 
strongly  charged  with  the  tanning  principle, 
being  invariably  injurious  to  the  life  and 
color  of  the  leather.     From  this,  it  would 
seem  that  time  is  an  essential  element  in  the 
process  of  tanning,  and  that  we  cannot  make 
up  for  the  want   of  it  by  increasing  the 
strength  of  the  liquor,  or  raising  the  tem- 
perature at  which  the  process  is  conducted 
any  more  than  we  can  fatten  an  ox  or  a  horse 
by  giving  him  more  than  he  can  eat.     It 
may  be  questioned  whether  any  patented 
schemes  for  the  more  rapid  conversion  of 
hides  into   leather,  will   be  found,  on  the 
whole,  to  have  any  practical  utility. 

We  have  mentioned  the  injurious  effects 
resulting  from  too  strong  a  solution  of  the 
active  principle  of  the  bark ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  use  of  too  weak  solutions  is  to 
be  avoided.  Hides  that  are  treated  with 
liquor  below  the  proper  strength,  become 
much  relaxed  in  their  texture,  and  lose  a 
portion  of  their  gelatine.  The  leather  neces- 
sarily loses  in  weight  and  compactness,  and 


s  much  more  porous  and  pervious  to  water. 
Che  warmer  these  weak  solutions  are  ap- 
)lied,  the  greater  is  this  loss  of  gelatine.    To 
iscertain  whether  a  portion  of  weak  liquor 
contains  any  gelatine  in  solution,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  strain  a  little  of  it  into  a  glass, 
and  then  add  a  small  quantity  of  a  stronger 
iquor.     The  excess  of  tannin  in  the  strong 
solution,  seizing  upon  the  dissolved  gelatine 
in  the  weak  liquor,  will  combine  with  it,  andj- 
be  precipitated  in  flakes  of  a  dark,  curdled! 
appearance,   to   the   bottom.     In  the   best 
tanneries,   the   greatest   strength   of  liquor 
used  for  handling,  as  indicated  by  Pike's  ba-^ 
rometer,  is  16°.    Of  that  employed  in  laying" 
away,  the  greatest  strength  varies  from  30 
to  45°. 

After  the  leather  has  been  thoroughly 
tanned  and  rinsed,  it  will  tend  very  much  to 
improve  its  color  and  pliability  to  stack  it 
up  in  piles,  and  allow  it  to  sweat  until  it 
becomes  a  little  slippery  from  a  kind  of 
mucus  that  collects  upon  the  surface.  A 
little  oil  added  at  this  stage  of  the  process,  or 
just  before  rolling,  is  found  to  be  very  useful. 
Great  caution  is  necessary  in  the  admis- 
sion of  air  in  drying,  when  first  hung  up  to 
dry.  No  more  air  than  is  sufficient  to  keep 
the  sides  from  moulding  should  be  allowed. 
Too  much  air,  or,  in  other  words,  if  dried 
too  rapidly  in  a  current  of  air,  will  injure 
the  color,  giving  a  darker  hue,  and  rendering 
the  leather  harsh  and  brittle.  To  insure 
that  the  thick  parts,  or  butts,  shall  roll 
smooth  and  even  with  the  rest  of  the  piece, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  leather  should  be 
partially  dried  before  wetting  down  for 
rolling,  and  that,  when  wet  down,  it  should 
lie  long  enough  for  every  side  to  become 
equally  damp  throughout. 

In  the  tanning  records  of  200,000  sides, 
an  average  of  the  whole  time  was  five  months 
and  twenty-seven  days.  The  average  weight 
of  the  leather  was  seventeen  pounds  per  side. 
This,  according  to  the  best  authorities  we< 
have  at  hand,  is  considerably  below  the  time 
employed  in  England.  There,  it  is  no  UB-' 
common  thing  for  eight  and  ten  months  to 
be  employed  in  tanning  a  stock  of  leather,; 


TANNING BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


323 


and  some  of  the  heaviest  leather,  it  is  said, 
takes  even  fourteen  and  fifteen  months. 

A  new  process  of  tanning  leather  has  been 
recently  introduced,  as  follows  :  — 

Sole  leather  hides  for  sweat  stock  are  pre- 
pared for  the  tan  liquors  in  the  usual  man- 
ner. Limed  stock  for  upper  and  sole  leather, 
for  either  hemlock  or  oak  tanning,  is  limed 
and  washed,  and  bated  by  the  paddle-wheel 
handlers  ;  after  being  properly  prepared  for 
the  tan  liquors,  it  is  then  handled  in  a  sec- 
tion of  vats,  with  the  liquors  communicating 
in  the  manner  long  known  as  press-leaches, 
except  the  order  of  running  the  liquors  is 
from  near  the  top  of  one  vat  to  the  bottom 
of  the  next,  and  so  on  through  the  whole 
section,  thus  "pressing"  the  weak  liquor 
ahead  on  to  the  greener  stock,  giving  a  per- 
fect gradation  of  strength  of  liquor  on  each 
pack,  stronger  or  weaker  according  to  the 
length  of  time  it  has  been  in  ;  each  vat  is 
fitted  with  a  paddle-wheel  handler,  patented 
June  19th,  1847,  and  Dec.  24th,  1850,  which 
is  used  for  stirring  the  stock  in  the  liquors, 
dispensing  with  the  necessity  of  handling  by 
hand  entirely;  in  this  section  stock  should 
be  kept  about  two  weeks,  then  taken  out  and 
hung  over  sticks  with  head  and  butt  down 
in  layaways,  patented  August  10th,  1858, 
and  not  again  moved  or  seen  till  well  tanned  ; 
the  layaways  are  all  in  one  section  with  the 
communicating  trunks,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  handlers  ;  when  a  pack  is  taken  out 
tanned,  a  pack  from  the  handlers  is  put 
into  its  place,  and  the  weakest  liquor  in  the 
section  is  allowed  to  fill  the  vat  ;  here  every 
part  of  every  side  is  in  contact  with  the 
liquor  at  all  times,  and  the  liquors  on  every 
pack  are  becoming  stronger  every  day  till 
tanned  ;  the  liquors  are  kept  in  motion  by 
small  paddle-wheels,  which  operate  on  the 
surface  of  the  liquor  over  the  suspended  sides, 
causing  the  liquors  to  pass  with  a  gentle  cur- 
rent among  the  sides,  bearing  them  up,  so 
that  they  do  not  rest  heavy  on  the  sticks. 

Two  men's  labor  is  sufficient  for  all  the 
yard  work  for  a  tannery  working  in  and  out 
150  sides  per  day,  including  washing  the 
tanned  stock  and  taking  it  to  the  loft. 

The  results  of  tanning  144,000  hides  were 
as  follows  :  — 


Hides  .......  144,000     3,229,155     22.22  $421,810 

Leather,  sides,  287,275     5,316,789     18.51     704.044 

This  gives  a  considerable  increase  in  the 
weight  of  the  hides,  and  the  increase  in  the  | 


value  of  the  article  is  much  greater.  That 
covers,  of  course,  commission,  labor,  interest, 
profits,  etc.  The  great  development  gives 
to  general  business  in  the  last  ten  years  has 
caused  an  almost  continuous  rise  in  the  value 
of  leather  and  hides.  The  latter,  on  being 
purchased  and  put  in  the  vats,  would  thus 
acquire  value  from  the  general  rise  in  the 
market,  in  addition  to  the  regular  value 
added  by  the  art  of  the  tanners.  There  was 
gradually  felt  a  growing  scarcity  of  hides,  and 
the  quantities  imported  by  no  means  kept 
pace  with  the  rising  value.  The  quantities 
and  values  of  hides  imported  for  the  few  last 
years  were  as  follows : — 

I860.         1855.          1856.          1857.  1858. 

No.  hides,  2,572,884  2,484,554  2,360,150  2,fi51,846  2,493,656 
Value,  $5,964,838  4,828,119  5,919,319  7,620,272  8,048,825 

This  shows  that  for  79,000  fewer  hides, 
there  was  paid,  in  the  year  1858,  $2,000,000 
more  money  than  in  1850,  a  rate  which  gives 
an  advance  of  37£  per  cent,  in  the  value  of 
hides,  without  inducing  a  greater  supply. 
Such  a  fact  indicates  the  growing  cost  of  the 
raw  material  for  boots  and  shoes,  and  also 
indicates  the  growing  value  of  the  hides  of 
animals  throughout  the  country. 

Leather  being  so  costly  a  substance,  great 
efforts  are  made  to  introduce  economies  in 
its  manufacture  and  use  in  every  direction. 
One  plan  for  getting  the  most  possible  sur- 
face out  of  a  given  weight,  is  to  split  the 
thick  hides  into  two  thinner  sheets.  This 
process,  formerly  difficult,  has  of  late  under- 
gone many  improvements.  When  the  hide 
is  sufficiently  tanned,  it  is  split  sometimes 
into  five  thicknesses,  from  a  single  one.  This 
is  done  by  various  machines,  in  one  of  which 
the  knife  is  72  inches  long,  or  as  long  as  a 
hide  is  wide.  A  late  improvement  in  Bos- 
ton makes  the  knife  80  inches  long,  and 
economises  25  per  cent,  in  the  stock  that 
before  was  shaved  away.  The  flesh  side  of 
the  sheet,  with  the  shanks,  are  used  by  the 
trunk-makers  to  cover  wooden  trunks,  and 
blackened  on  the  trunks.  Other  sheets  are 
subjected  to  a  process  called  "buffing," 
which  consists  in  shaving  off  about  half  the 
grain,  in  order  to  obtain  a  softer  surface  to 
receive  an  artificial  grain.  They  are  then 
returned  to  the  tan-yard,  and,  after  being 
scoured,  are  retanned  in  warm  liquors.  They 
are  then  sent  to  the  currier  to  be  prepared 
for  japanning.  A  new  patent  has  been 
issued  for  splitting  leather  with  a  circular 
knife,  which  is  of  thin  metal,  made  like  a 
disc,  convex  side  up.  This  revolves  hori- 


LEATHER. 


zontally,  with  its  sharp  edge  just  above  a 
table,  over  which  the  leather  is  stretched, 
and  held  down  firmly  to  it  by  springs.  Un- 
der the  table  is  a  roller,  which,  by  revolving, 
draws  the  leather  forward  against  the  edge 
of  the  revolving  knife.  The  upper  side  of 
the  leather  splits  off  in  curls  above  the  knife, 
which  may  be  nicely  adjusted  to  make  the 
leather  of  any  thickness. 

The  general  manufacture  of  boots  and 
shoes  had  undergone  few  changes  other  than 
those  produced  by  changing  fashions  and 
the  regular  improvements  of  business,  until 
the  introduction  of  sewing  and  pegging 
machines,  which  have  given  a  great  impulse 
to  the  production  by  affecting  prices  and 
disturbing  localities.  The  Massachusetts 
shoe-makers,  by  their  industry,  early  obtain- 
ed an  ascendancy  in  the  manufacture,  and  it 
is  one  that  is  easily  adopted  in  an  indus- 
trious community.  The  towns  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston  attracted  masons,  car- 
penters, and  other  workmen,  in  the  winter 
season,  when  their  own  professions  were  dull, 
to  pursue  shoe-making,  which  was  always  a 
resource.  The  town  of  Lynn  was  the  most 
famous;  and  the  facility  with  which  shoes 
were  turned  out,  led  to  the  legend,  that  the 
materials,  being  stuck  to  the  wall  by  an  awl, 
were  combined  in  the  proper  manner  by  a 
blow  of  the  lapstone  being  skilfully  aimed  at 
them.  There  were  others  who  asserted  that 
both  boots  and  shoes  grew  there  sponta- 
neously. Whatever  may  be  the  fact,  an 
affluence  of  these  useful  articffcb  was  always 
observable  there,  and  thirty  years  since  the 
sales  were  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  New 
York  merchants,  to  whom  most  of  the  New 
England  manufacturers  consigned  or  sold 
their  wares.  Gradually  this  changed.  The 
number  of  skilled  workmen  that  arrived  from 
al-road  became  so  great,  as  to  fill  most  of 
the  departments  into  which  the  boot  trade 
became  divided,  as  crimping,  bottoming, 
heeling,  and  finishing;  and  the  pay  of  the 
workpeople,  by  the  piece,  or  the  pair,  enables 
each  to  control  his  own  time,  Avorking  when 
they  please.  These  sometimes  club  their 
v.-ork,  and  appoint  an  agent  to  sell ;  others, 
by  economy,  save  their  pay,  and  employ  a 
few  men,  whose  work  they  direct.  These, 
in  the  cities,  are  called  "garret  bosses." 
'When  they  succeed  in  establishing  a  trade, 
they  conduct  the  manufactory  by  a  foreman, 
and  open  an  office  in  the  city,  where  they 
sell  their  wares,  and  purchase  the  stock  for 
manufacture.  The  materials  are  in  this 


manner  better  purchased ;  and  as  the  seller 
is  himself  the  manufacturer,  coming  in  con- 
tact with  buyers  from  all  sections,  he  be- 
comes conversant  with  the  styles  adapted  to 
all  localities,  and  the  manufactory  is  by  far 
the  better  conducted  for  it.  The  advan- 
tages of  this  system  have  made  Boston,  of  late 
years,  the  grand  centre  of  such  operators, 
and  have  drawn  thither  the  jobbers  from 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Cincin- 
nati, St.  Louis,  etc.,  until  Boston  has  become 
the  largest  shoe  market  in  the  world.  The 
sales  of  boots  and  shoes  there  are  $62,000,- 
000  per  annum.  The  number  of  pairs  made 
in  Massachusetts  in  the  year  1860  was  as 
follows : — 

Boots 11,578,885 

Shoes 32,678,167 

Boots  and  shoes 51,250 


Total  pairs 44,308,302 

Total  value $37,468,355 

This  was  a  number  sufficient  for  one  and 
a  half  pairs  for  each  person,  great  and  small, 
in  the  United  States ;  and  the  number  em- 
ployed in  making  them  was  43,907  males, 
and  32,652  females :  together,  76,559.  In 
1845,  the  value,  manufactured  in  Massachu- 
setts, was  $14,799,140 — an  increase  of  $22,- 
669,215  in  the  fifteen  years;  showing  the 
force  of  concentration  of  the  trade. 

The  number  of  eases  exported  from  Bos- 
ton, in  1859,  was  as  follows : — 

Total  year. 

Baltimore 62,461 

Charleston 17,177 

Louisville 21,119 

Lexington 2, 1 58 

Memphis 3,338 

Mobile 2,940 

Nashville    . 18,781 

Paducah 1,146 

Richmond 1,452 

Savannah,  Ga 2,526 

St.  Louis 55,774 

New  Orleans 37,686 

Philadelphia 56,119 

New  York 182,207 

All  others 253,107 

Total  cases 717,991 

This  gives  a  value  of  over  $30,000,000. 
The  class  of  shoes  sent  from  Boston  is  hot 
of  so  fine  a  character  as  those  which  are 
turned  out  in  Philadelphia.  The  largest 
quantity  of  morocco  is  made  there ;  and  the 
supply  of  skins  and  leather  is  ample,  and  of 
the  best  quality.  The  workmen  have  a, 
reputation  for  skill,  and  are  paid  by  the  piece. 


TANNING BOOTS    AND    SHOES. 


325 


The  work  is  divided  into  separate  branches. 
For  men's  dress  boots,  the  "  fitter"  is  paid 
75  cts. ;  for  crimping,  10  cts. ;  for  bottom- 
ing, $2  50;  heeling,  12  cts.  A  fast  work- 
man earns  about  $12  per  week.  The  pro- 
duction of  boots  and  shoes  in  Philadelphia 
has  been  placed  at  $4,141,000,  including  a 
quantity  made  in  the  state  prisons.  The 
introduction  of  sewing  machines  has  had  an 
important  effect  upon  the  manufacture  of 
both  boots  and  shoes,  and  more  recently,  the 
invention  of  a  machine  to  peg  soles  prom- 
ises to  make  a  still  greater  change  in  the 
principal  branch  of  the  Lynn  manufacture. 
The  machine  in  question,  for  which  a  pat- 
ent has  recently  been  issued,  punches  the 
leather,  and  inserts  the  pegs,  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  time,  with  the  utmost  accuracy 
and  efficiency.  The  sole,  when  pegged,  is 
perfectly  pliable,  the  pegs  forming,  apparent- 
ly, a  portion  of  its  substance.  The  use  of 
these  machines  is  as  well  adapted  to  the 
limited  wants  of  small  western  towns,  as  to 
the  grand  operations  of  metropolitan  manu- 
facturers, and  local  wants  may,  by  their  ac- 
tion, be  so  gradually  supplied,  as  to  dry  up 
those  streams  which  unite  in  so  extended  a 
demand  in  Boston. 

Let  us  go  into  an  eastern  machine  shoe 
factory.  In  a  small  room,  partitioned  off  for 
the  purpose,  is  a  neat  and  compact  steam 
engine,  which  carries  all  the  machinery,  even 
to  the  stitching  machines.  The  remainder 
of  the  basement  is  occupied  by  machines  for 
cutting,  stripping,  rolling,  and  shaping  the 
soles.  The  stock  is  then  passed  to  the  story 
above,  where  the  shoes  are  lasted,  and  the 
outer  soles  are  tacked  on  by  hand  ;  by  which 
process  they  are  prepared  for  pegging.  The 
pegging  machines  are  simple  in  their  con- 
struction and  mode  of  operation,  but  per- 
form the  work  with  great  despatch  and 
accuracy,  driving  the  pegs  at  the  rate  of 
fourteen  a  second.  One  of  the  most  curious 
operations  of  the  machine  is  the  manner  in 
which  it  manufactures  the  peg  for  its  own 
use.  A  strip  of  wood  of  the  required  width, 
and  neatly  laid  in  a  coil  100  ft.  in  length,  is 
put  into  the  machine,  and  at  every  revolu- 
tion it  is  moved  forward,  and  a  peg  cut  off 
and  driven  into  the  shoe.  The  rapidity  and 
unerring  accuracy  with  which  these  machines 
perform  the  work,  is  truly  astonishing.  After 
being  pegged,  the  shoes  are  passed  up  to 
the  third  story,  where  the  bottoms  are 
smoothed,  scoured,  and  brushed,  and  then 
sent  into  the  front  of  the  building  to  be 


packed,  ready  for  sale  and  transporta- 
tion. 

Another  part  of  the  building  is  occupied 
by  the  women  who  tend  the  stitching 
machines,  which  are  also  run  by  steam : 
thus  saving  them  from  what  otherwise  must 
prove  a  laborious  and  fatiguing  operation. 

A  dozen  hands  employed  in  the  manu- 
facture of  these  pegged  shoes  will  complete 
about  20  cases  per  week;  and  the  work 
being  almost  entirely  accomplished  by 
machinery,  gives  it  a  uniformity  as  to  style, 
shape,  and  general  appearance,  which  it  is 
impossible  to  obtain  by  hand.  The  pegging 
machine  has  been  invented  but  a  few  years. 
The  work,  even  now,  is  said  to  be  fully 
equal  to  that  performed  by  hand,  and  must, 
therefore,  we  think,  certainly  supersede  it 
when  the  machinery  is  brought  to  a  higher 
state  of  perfection,  which,  in  the  nature  of 
things  (it  being  impossible  to  stay  the 
progress  of  inventive  Yankee  genius),  must 
be  continually  taking  place. 

The  style  of  making  boots  and  shoes 
changes  in  some  degree,  and  is  leading  manu- 
facturers to  introduce  improvements,  like 
that  of  a  steel  shank,  so  called,  which  is  a 
steel  spring  fixed  firmly  in  the  heel,  and  ex- 
tending under  the  hollow  of  the  foot  between 
the  soles,  to  give  elasticity  to  the  step. 
The  grades  of  city  work  vary  with  the  qual- 
ity of  the  material  and  the  labor  bestowed. 
The  patent  leather  custom-made  boots  com- 
mand $10  per  pair;  and  the  high  Russia 
leather  Wellington  boots  $12  ;  and  so  down 
to  $10,  $8,  arid  $5  for  calf-skin;  with  lower 
rates  for  split  leather,  and  ordinary  material. 
The  scarcity  of  material,  and  the  high  prices 
of  stock,  have  driven  the  poorer  class  of 
shoe-makers  to  the  use  of  old  tops,  or  upper 
leathers,  for  both  boots  and  shoes.  These 
are  not  only  refooted  for  the  use  of  the 
wearer,  but  are  cut  down  to  make  new  shoes 
and  boots  of  a  smaller  size.  Many  take 
much  pains  to  buy  up  old  articles  of  that 
description,  and  reproduce  them  at  rates  far 
below  what  they  could  be  afforded  by  regu- 
lar shoe-makers  from  new  stocks.  Much  art' 
is  used  also  in  economising  the  soles  of 
cheap  goods.  A  thin  under-sole  is  used; 
between  which  and  the  in-sole,  pasteboard, 
old  slips  of  leather,  and  other  cheap  sub- 
stances, are  inserted,  to  give  an  appear- 
ance of  substance.  These  cheap  varieties 
of  shoes  supply  the  wants  of  those  whose 
means  are  small,  with  a  semblance  of  shoe- 
ing. 


326 


LEATHER. 


The  phrase,  "paper  soles,"  is  not  unfre-| 
quently  used  to  designate  the  extremely  thin 
substance  attached  to  the  casings  of  the 
dainty  little  feet  of  our  fair  sex,  but  still  that 
substance  is  leather.  Recently,  however,  a 
pair  of  veritable  paper  soles  were  put  upon  a 
customer,  and  worn,  though  for  a  very  lim- 
ited time.  The  victim  in  the  case  was  a 
strapping  negro  fellow,  who,  allured  by  the 
seductive  invitation  to  "walk  in  and  see  the 
cheap  clodings,"  entered  a  Jew's  museum, 
and  purchased  a  pair  of  laced  boots  for 
$1  50. 


Establishments.  Hands. 

Tanners 863          5,525 

Boots  &  shoes  1,463         10,372 


Harness,  &c. 

Pocket-books 
Hose,  Ac. 
Patent  leather 
Morocco.. . 


594 

12 
2 
5 

30 


1,613 

581 
19 
67 

609 


Capital. 

$3,367,013 

1,061,940 

481,571 

91,430 

1,000 

59,000 

223,300 


The  production  of  leather  by  tanners  ex- 
ceeds by  much  the  value  used  by  those  who 
work  up  leather.  A  great  deal  of  the  leather 
made  in  this  state  goes,  however,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  New  England  to  be  used. 

The  manufacture  of  gloves  has  not  ex- 
tended itself  in  this  country  so  much  as 
some  other  industries,  with  the  exception  of 
buckskin  gloves,  which  are  peculiarly  Amer- 
ican, combining  utility  with  dress.  The  use 
of  gloves  is  becoming  far  more  general  in 
cities  than  formerly.  In  early  times,  the 
practice  of  presenting  a  pair  of  gloves  at 
funerals  to  the  attending  clergy,  and  others, 
was  carried  to  such  an  extent  in  Massachu- 
setts, that  the  legislature  forbade  the  prac- 
tice, under  a  penalty  of  £20.  In  cold  re- 
gions, gloves  are  of  the  warmest  wool,  or 
skins,  with  the  fur  side  out.  Buckskin  lined 
with  soft  wool  is  often  used:  the  texture 
changes  with  the  climate  to  the  softest  kid 
and  silk.  India-rubber  gloves  are  used  for 
many  purposes,  such  as  saving  the  hands  of 
females  in  many  kinds  of  domestic  labor. 
Some  years  since,  the  French  government 
undertook  to  clear  the  sewers  of  Paris  from 
the  multitude  of  rats  that  infested  them,  and 
which  had  become  a  formidable  nuisance. 
These  rats  were  of  large  and  divers  breeds. 
It  was  stated  that  a  contract  was  entered 
into  with  a  Parisian  glover  to  purchase  the 
skins  for  the  glove  manufacture  at  a  certain 
price,  on  the  condition  that  they  should  not 
exceed  1,000,000.  It  resulted  that  many 
millions  were  procured^  and  the  Parisian 


Raw  material.  Value  produced. 
9,670,386       $15,642,383 
2,628,524           6,063,951 

816,804 

1,580,492 

128,040 

369,000 

60,000 

77,000 

113,000 

226,500 

1,301,612 

2,899,829 

They  fitted  well,  and  wore  well  for  a  few 
hours,  but  great  was  his  astonishment  when 
his  trotters  parted  company  with  his  boots, 
and  he  was  once  again  barefooted.  On  ex- 
amining more  closely  his  purchase,  he  found 
that  the  soles  were  composed  of  thick  paper 
board,  colored  to  resemble  leather,  and  peg' 
ged  to  the  uppers.  The  sympathising  justice 
heard  his  complaint,  but  could  grant  no 
relief. 

The  New  York  state  census  of  1855  gave 
the  following  summary  of  the  production  of 
leather,  and  the  manufactures  therefrom  : — 


Quantity. 
4,244,615  hides. 
1,478,017  pairs. 
(  13,663  sets. 
(  37,807  trunks. 
21,600  gross. 

73,250  skins. 
838,795  skins. 


house  having  declined,  a  London  glover 
took  the  "  lot."  It  is  not  certain,  however, 
that  the  skins  are  of  practical  value. 

The  French  excel  in  the  manufacture  of 
kid  gloves,  and  Parisian  gloves  are  still  with- 
out a  rival.  The  difference  is  seen  in  the 
cutting  of  the  skin  to  the  best  advantage. 
This  is  performed  with  scissors,  after  stretch- 
ing and  rubbing  the  skin  upon  a  marble  slab 
with  a  blunt  knife. 

A  skin  is  first  cut  longitudinally  through 
the  middle,  by  which  it  is  divided  into  two 
equal  and  similar  parts ;  and  the  single  strip, 
for  the  palm  and  back,  is  next  cut  off  from 
one  end  of  the  half  skin.  The  pieces  for 
the  thumb,  the  gussets  for  the  fingers,  and 
other  small  pieces  to  be  inserted,  must  all 
be  worked  out  either  from  the  same  skin, 
or  from  others  precisely  similar.  In  this 
work,  it  is  said,  "a  Frenchman  will  gen- 
erally manage  to  get  one  or  two  pairs  of 
gloves  more  than  an  Englishman  can  from 
the  same  skins,  and  these  not  inferior  or 
scanty,  but  as  well  and  handsomely  shaped 
as  the  rest.  This  clever  and  adroit  manip- 
ulation of  the  leather  is  an  object  of  great 
importance  in  France,  where  not  less  than 
375,000  dozen  of  skins  of  all  kinds  are  cut 
up  into  gloves  every  year."  The  nearly 
square  piece  cut  off  is  folded  over  upon 
itself,  giving  a  little  more  width  for  the  side 
designed  for  the  back  of  the  hand ;  and  upon 
this  oblong,  double  strip,  the  workman, 
measuring  with  his  eye  and  finger,  marks 
out  the  length  for  the  clefts  between  the 


TANNING BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


327 


fingers,  which  he  proceeds  to  cut  and  shape. 
Making  the  hole  for  the  thumb  is  a  matter 
requiring  the  greatest  skill,  for  a  very  slight 
deviation  from  the  exact  shape  would  cause 
a  bad  fit  when  the  parts  are  sewed  together, 
resulting  in  unequal  strain  and  speedy  frac- 
ture when  the  glove  is  worn.  By  late  im- 
provements, introduced  by  M.  Jouvin,  the 
thumb-piece,  like  the  fingers,  is  of  the  same 
piece  with  the  rest  of  the  glove,  requiring 
no  seam  for  its  attachment.  The  cutting 
also  is  performed  in  great  part  by  punches 
of  appropriate  patterns,  and  some  of  these 
are  provided  with  a  toothed  apparatus  some- 
what resembling  a  comb,  which  pricks  the 
points  for  the  stitches.  The  seams  are  sew- 
ed with  perfect  regularity  by  placing  the 
edges  to  be  united  in  the  jaws  of  a  vice,  which 
terminates  in  fine  brass  teeth,  like  those  of 
a  comb,  but  only  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  long. 
Between  these  the  needle  is  passed  in  suc- 
cessive stitches.  When  the  sewing  is  com- 
pleted the  gloves  are  stretched,  then  placed 
in  linen  cloth,  slightly  damp,  and  beaten,  by 
which  they  are  rendered  softer  and  more 
flexible.  The  last  operation  is  pressing. 
The  chief  branch  of  the  manufacture  carried 
on  in  the  United  States  is  that  of  buckskin 
gloves ;  and  the  most  important  seat  of  this  bu- 
siness is  at  Gloversville,  Fulton  county,  N.  Y. 


It  follows,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
the  United  States  are  large  consumers  of 
leather ;  and  when  we  consider  that  we  are 
largely  a  grazing  and  cattle-growing  nation, 
manufacturing  from  our  native  hides  a 
greater  quantity  of  leather  than  any  other 
nation  of  equal  population,  in  addition  to 
large  imports,  it  would  seem  to  indicate 
an  extravagant,  if  not  a  wasteful  use  of 
leather. 

We  are  informed  by  Adam  Smith,  who  has 
delineated  every  point  and  line  of  every 
branch  of  political  economy,  and  who  has, 
apparently,  collected  and  compressed  into 
three  volumes  more  of  the  critical  history  of 
the  individual,  as  well  as  the  general  economy 
of  human  society,  than  any  one  author,  and 
with  less  of  error  and  mistake  than  most 
authors,  that  it  is  characteristic  with  savage 
nations  to  export  their  raw  hides,  and  neither 
to  manufacture  nor  ase  much  leather;  while 
civilized  nations  import  largely  of  raw  hides, 
and  manufacture  and  consume  large  quanti- 
ties of  leather.  It  is  a  fair  corollary,  then, 
that  our  excessive  consumption  of  leather 
indicates  our  superior  degree  of  civilization ; 
and  such  is  undoubtedly  the  truth.  The 
high  grade  of  civilization  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  is  abundantly  evident,  and 
universally  acknowledged. 


FIKE-ARMS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

COLT'S    REVOLVERS  —  SHARP'S    RIFLES  — 
DAHLGREN'S   GUNS. 

THE  improvements  in  fire-arms  are  making 
such  rapid  progress  among  civilized  nations, 
that  we  may  indulge  the  hope  that  they 
will  soon  cease  to  be  wanted  at  all ;  since,  as 
extremes  meet,  they  may  become  so  effec- 
tual in  their  operation,  and  war  reduced  to 
such  a  science,  that  an  attempt  to  fight  will 
only  be  entire  mutual  destruction,  like  that 
most  effectual  combat  between  the  two  Kil- 
kenny cats.  The  last  war  in  Europe,  by 
which  France,  in  three  months,  liberated 
Italy  from  Austrian  grasp,  is  an  example  of 
the  power  that  may  now  be  exerted  in  a  short 
space  of  time,  and  the  newly  invented  rifled 
cannon  had  a  powerful  agency  *in  bringing 
matters  to  a  close.  After  the  invention  of 
gunpowder  in  the  fourteenth  century,  the 
art  of  gunnery  made  great  progress,  and  the 
musket  came  to  be  the  most  important 
weapon.  The  Roman  legions  used  the  short 
stabbing  sword  as  their  favorite  weapon.  In 
the  age  of  chivalry,  the  lance  of  the  horse- 
man was  the  queen  of  weapons,  and  con- 
tinued so  up  to  the  battle  of  Pavia,  in  1525, 
when  chivalry  made  its  last  charge,  and 
went  down  with  the  white  panache  of  the 
gallant  Francis  I.  From  that  time  the  ar- 
quebuse,  then  a  matchlock,  improved  into  a 
firelock,  displaced  the  English  bow,  acquired 
the  bayonet,  and  became,  in  its  turn,  the 
"  queen  of  weapons."  When  the  musket, 
or  "  Brown  Bess,"  was  furnished  with  per- 
cussion caps  instead  of  flints,  and  the  sword 
bayonet  was  added,  there  seemed  to  be  little 
to  hope  for  in  the  way  of  improvement. 
Since  the  "  wars  of  the  Roses"  in  England, 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  battles  of  the  world 
have  been  decided  by  projectiles,  artillery, 
and  musketry,  without  crossing  a  bayonet  or 
drawing  a  sword.  The  cavalry,  as  an  arm, 
has  continually  lost  ground,  except  in  the 
rout  of  a  defeat,  when  it  follows  up  a  fly- 
ing enemy.  It  never  could  break  a  square, 


even  when  armed  only  with  pikes,  and  re- 
cent events  have  shown  that  it  cannot  reach 
infantry  in  line. 

A  remarkable  change  has  come  over 
"  Brown  Bess"  of  late,  and  it  seems  now 
to  have  seen  its  best  days.  The  rifle,  or  a 
screwed  barrel,  was  among  the  first  forms 
of  the  manufacture  of  small  arms  in  the 
sixteenth  century ;  but  the  musket  was  pre- 
ferred, on  •account  of  its  more  speedy  load- 
ing. The  rifle  was,  however,  the  favorite 
with  the  American  colonists,  and  its  execu- 
tion in  their  hands  during  the  Revolution 
brought  it  into  general  notice.  The  adding 
of  the  percussion  cap  was  a  great  improve- 
ment to  it.  Recently  it  has  become  so  im- 
proved as  to  supplant  not  only  the  old 
musket,  but  artillery  also,  since  the  events 
of  the  last  few  years  have  shown  that  it  is 
easy  to  silence  cannon  by  shooting  down 
the  gunners  at  their  pieces,  beyond  the 
reach  of  grape.  In  the  text-book  of  the 
St.  Cyr  Military  School  of .  France,  it  is 
directed  that  the  fire  of  artillery  should 
cease  when  the  enemy  is  distant  twelve 
hundred  yards.  At  Waterloo,  the  opposing 
armies  being  twelve  hundred  yards  distant, 
were  out  of  reach  of  all  but  solid  shot 
from  field  guns,  as  they  were  then  served. 
It  is  now  stated  that  the  Minie  rifle  is  effec- 
tive at  a  mile  distant,  and  at  two  thousand 
yards  troops  can  easily  shoot  each  other. 
It  follows,  from  these  simple  facts,  that  ar- 
tillery must  improve  or  become  ineffective. 
The  improvements  in  the  rifle  were  mostly 
in  the  ball.  The  French  pin  rifle  had  a 
small  steel  "pin"  in  the  bottom  of  the 
chamber.  The  powder  filled  in  around  this 
pin,  and  the  ball,  of  a  conical  shape,  hollow 
at  the  base  like  a  thimble,  had  a  small  metal 
plate,  which,  on  being  rammed  home,  struck 
against  the  pin,  and  spread  the  ball  so  as  to 
slug  the  piece.  The  Minie  rifle  was  nearly 
the  same,  without  the  pin,  because  it  was 
found  that  the  explosion  would  of  itself 
spread  the  ball.  The  performances  of  this 
weapon  are  somewhat  marvellous,  since  it  is 


COLT'S  REVOLVERS — SHARP'S  RIFLES  — DAHLGREN'S  GUNS. 


331 


said  that  it  is  effective  at  a  distance  of  over  a 
mile. 

The  most  important  improvement  in 
small  arms  has,  however,  been  in  repeating 
weapons,  of  which  the  revolvers  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Colt  are  the  type.  Mr.  Colt  was  a 
seaman  in  his  youth,  and  while  on  a  voyage 
to  Calcutta  devised  the  revolver.  He  made 
the  model  in  wood,  in  1829,  while  at  sea. 
Improving  upon  this,  he  took  out  his  first 
patent  for  fire-arms  in  1835.  This  was  for 
the  rotating  chambered  breech.  This  of  it- 
self was  no  new  invention,  since  many  of 
the  old  arms  preserved  in  the  tower  of  Lon- 
don have  the  same  style  of  manufacture.  It 
is  obvious,  however,  that  what  is  possible 
in  this  respect  with  percussion  caps,  was  not 
so  with  the  old  flint-lock.  Mr.  Colt  had  the 
advantage  of  the  cap,  and  his  invention 
caused  the  chambers  to  revolve  by  the  act 
of  cocking.  In  1851,  he  read  an  essay  upon 
the  subject  before  the  Institution  of  En- 

fineers  in  London.  Patents  were  issued  in 
ranee,  England,  and  the  United  States ; 
and  in  1835  an  armory  was  established  at 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  but  afterward  abandoned. 
The  first  important  use  made  of  this  new  arm 
was  in  1837,  by  the  United  States  troops  un- 
der Lieut.  Col.  (now  Gen.)  Harney.  The  In- 
dians were  acquainted  with  a  "one-fire" 
piece,  but  when  they  saw  the  troopers  fire 
six  times  without  loading,  they  thought  it 
time -to  give  in.  There  was  not  much  de- 
mand for  the  arm  until  the  Mexican  war  of 
1846-47,  when  a  supply  was  required  for 
Taylor's  army.  The  government  ordered 
1,000,  and  there  was  not  a  model  to 
be  found.  This  order  was  filled  at  Whit- 
neyville,  near  New  Haven.  Other  orders 
followed,  and  the  works  were  transferred  to 
Hartford.  Mr.  Colt  manufactured  on  his 
own  account.  The  California  fever  set  in, 
and  was  followed  by  the  Australian  excite- 
ment. The  demand  for  arms  thus  occa- 
sioned, induced  Colonel  Colt  to  erect  an 
armory  unequalled  in  the  world.  It  occupies 
what  was  a  flooded  meadow  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres.  This  is  diked  in  for  two 
miles,  and  the  most  extensive  buildings 
have  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,- 
000,  to  supply  1,000  fire-arms  per  day. 
In  1858,  60,000  were  turned  out.  All 
the  accessories  of  these  arms — balls,  cart- 
ridges, bullet-moulds,  powder-flasks,  etc. — 
are  manufactured  at  this  place.  There  are 
also  extensive  works  for  the  manufacture  of 
the  machinery  by  which  fire-arms  are  made. 


It  is  to  be  remarked  that  at  these  works  the 
machinery  for  the  British  government  ar- 
mory at  Enfield  has  been  made ;  and  also 
all  those  for  the  Russian  government  at 
Tula.  The  arms  of  Colt  attracted  great 
attention  at  the  World's  Fair  of  London. 
"  In  whatever  aspect  the  different  observers 
viewed  the  American  repeaters,"  says  an  ac- 
count of  the  impression  they  made  at  the 
Crystal /Palace,  "all  agreed  that  perfection 
had  been  reached  in  the  art  of  destruction. 
None  were  more  astonished  than  the  Eng- 
lish, to  find  themselves  so  far  surpassed  in 
an  art  which  they  had  studied  and  practiced 
for  centuries,  by  a  nation  whose  existence 
was  within  the  memory  of  man,  and  whose 
greatest  triumphs  had  been  in  the  paths  of 
peaceful  industry.  The  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton was  found  often  in  the  American  depart- 
ment, pointing  out  the  great  advantage  of 
these  repeaters  to  other  officers*  and  his 
friends ;  and  the  different  scientific  as  well 
as  popular  journals  of  the  country  united  in 
one  common  tribute  of  praise  to  the  inge- 
nuity and  genius  of  Colonel  Colt.  The  In- 
stitute of  Civil  Engineers,  one  of  the  most 
highly  scientific  and  practical  boards  of  its 
kind  in  the  world,  invited  Colonel  Colt  to 
read  a  paper  before  its  members  upon  the 
subject  of  these  arms,  and  two  of  its  meet- 
ings were  occupied  in  hearing  him,  and  in 
discussing  the  merits  of  his  invention."  He 
was  the  first  American  inventor  who  was  ever 
thus  complimented  by  this  celebrated  in- 
stitute, and  he  received  at  its  hands,  for  his 
highly  able  and  interesting  paper,  the  award 
of  a  gold  medal  and  a  life-membership.  In 
addition  to  his  presence  before  the  institute, 
Colonel  Colt,  in  high  compliment  to  his  ex- 
perience and  skill,  appeared  also,  upon 
special  invitation,  before  a  select  committee 
on  small  arms  of  the  British  Parliament, 
and  there  gave  testimony  which  was  gladly 
received,  and  deemed  of  superior  practical 
value.  His  own  statements  were  amply 
corroborated  at  the  time,  before  the  same 
committee,  by  British  officers,  and  others, 
who  had  visited  his  armory  in  America ; 
and  especially  by  J.  Nasmyth,  the  inventor 
of  the  celebrated  steam  hammer,  who,  in  re- 
ply to  the  inquiry,  what  effect  his  visit  to 
Colt's  manufactory  had  upon  his  mind,  an- 
swered :  "  It  produced  a  very  impressive 
effect,  such  as  I  shall  never  forget.  The 
first  impression  was  to  humble  me  very  con- 
siderably. I  was  in  a  manner  introduced  to 
such  a  skilful  extension  of  what  I  knew  to 


332 


FIRE-ARMS. 


be  correct  principles,  but  extended  in  so 
masterly  and  wholesome  a  manner,  as  made 
me  feel  that  we  were  very  far  behind  in  car- 
rying out  what  we  knew  to  be  good  princi- 
ples. What  struck  me  at  Colonel  Colt's 
was,  that  the  acquaintance  with  correct  prin- 
ciples had  been  carried  out  in  a  bold,  in- 
genious way,  and  they  had  been  pushed  to 
their  full  extent ;  and  the  result  was  the  at- 
tainment of  perfection  and  economy,  such 
as  I  had  never  met  with  before."  All  tests 
and  examinations  to  which  the  repeating 
arms  were  subjected  in  England,  were  highly 
in  their  favor.  Emphatically  they  spoke  for 
themselves.  The  enormous  power — nay,  the 
invincibility  of  British  troops  armed  with 
them,  was  demonstrated.  "  The  revolver 
manufactured  by  Colonel  Colt,"  said  the 
Dover  Telegraph,  a  public  journal,  express- 
ing the  best  and  almost  universal  opinion  of 
England  upon  the  arm,  "  is  a  weapon  that 
cannot  be  improved  upon.  It  will,  we  un- 
hesitatingly predict,  prove  a  panacea  for  the 
ills  we  have  so  unhappily  encountered  in  the 
southern  hemisphere.  The  Caffre  hordes  will 
bitterly  rue  the  day  on  which  the  first  ter- 
rific discharge  is  poured  upon  their  sable 
masses."  And  so  a  panacea  the  revolver  did 
prove,  both  with  the  Caffre  hordes,  and 
with  the  Muscovite  also,  upon  the  bloody 
plains  of  the  Crimea.  Over  40,000  of  these 
pistols  are  now  in  use  in  the  British  navy ; 
and  Garibaldi  has  been  ably  sustained  by  a 
corps  commanded  by  Colonel  Peard,  and 
armed  with  Colt's  revolving  rifles. 

The  most  important  progress  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  these  arms,  is  that  each  separate 
part  of  a  pistol  or  carbine  is  made  after  one 
pattern  by  machinery,  and  with  such  entire 
accuracy,  that  a  number  of  the  weapons  may 
be  taken  to  pieces,  and  any  part  of  one  will  fit 
any  of  the  others.  Each  separate  part  is 
made  perfect  of  itself,  and  separate  boxes 
contain  these  parts.  The  weapons  are  put 
together  rapidly  when  wanted.  There  has 
been  a  gradual  improvement  in  them,  from 
suggestions  derived  from  their  use  in  Mexico, 
the  Crimea,  and  Italy.  It  is  now  a  world- 
renowned  weapon. 

The  great  success  of  Colt  has,  of  course, 
brought  forth  imitations,  and  repeating  arms 
of  many  descriptions  have  been  patent- 
ed. Very  many  are  infringements  on  Colt. 
There  are  Allen's,  Derringer's,  the  Volcano, 
and  other  pistols,  and  Pettinger's  patent, 
which  is  a  revolving  chamber,  but  also  a 
patent  lock  of  some  reputation. 


The  invention  of  breech-loading  weapons 
has  also  been  very  successful.  The  type  of 
this  class  is  Sharp's  rifle,  which  was  invented 
about  the  year  1852,  by  Mr.  C.  Sharp,  of 
Philadelphia.  The  cartridge  in  this  weapon  is 
put  in  at  the  breech,  and  the  "  twist"  removed 
by  the  act  of  closing  the  breech.  The  piece 
is  also  self-priming.  The  caps,  instead  of 
being  single,  in  the  shape  of  small  thimbles, 
as  usual,  are  made  flat,  and  arranged  together 
like  the  coil  of  a  watch-spring ;  at  each  cock 
of  the  piece  this  uncoils  and  thrusts  a  cap,  or 
one  section  of  the  coil,  over  the  nipple.  The 
danger  of  this  is  that  they  all  explode  at 
once  if  not  well  made.  After  the  most  careful 
examination  of  the  construction  of  this  arm 
by  competent  men,  it  was  found,  in  compari- 
son with  others,  to  stand  the  tests  of  a  first- 
class  weapon,  being  safe  and  certain  in 
firing,  easily  and  rapidly  loaded,  simple  in 
its  construction,  and  constantly  kept  clean 
by  its  own  operation.  For  sporting  pur- 
poses, this  rifle  soon  became  a  favorite 
weapon.  The  ordnance  department  at  Wash- 
ington expressed  their  admiration  of  the  im- 
provement ;  and  subsequently  the  British 
government  ordered  6,000  of  these  rifles, 
for  the  use  of  their  army  in  India.  More 
recently,  Mr.  Sharp  applied  the  principle 
which  distinguishes  his  rifles  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  pistol  or  carbine,  es- 
pecially designed  for  the  use  of  mounted 
dragoons.  The  advantages  claimed  by  the 
patentee  for  the  new  pistol  are  numerous  j 
among  others,  that  it  is  more  compact, 
lighter,  has  a  more  extensive  range,  and 
fires  with  greater  accuracy  than  any  pistol 
now  in  use.  It  is  single-barrelled,  but  owing 
to  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  loaded,  it  is 
capable  of  being  fired  twice  as  often  as  any 
revolver  in  a  given  period  of  time.  The  pis- 
tol weighs  about  two  and  a  half  pounds; 
the  barrels  are  six  and  eight  inches  long, 
and  throw  a  half-ounce  ball  effectively  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile.  It  primes  itself  for  twenty 
rounds.  It  was  recently  tested,  in  competi- 
tion with  various  other  fire-arms,  at  West 
Point,  by  a  board  of  officers  appointed  by 
the  United  States  ordnance  bureau,  and 
struck  a  target  six  feet  square,  at  a  distance 
of  600  yards,  twenty  out  of  thirty  shots. 
The  same  pistol  was  fired  seventy  times  in 
seven  minutes,  priming  it  three  times,  every 
ball  striking  a  target  three  feet  square,  at  a 
distance  of  forty-five  feet,  with  a  force  suf- 
ficient to  penetrate  eight  inches  of  pine 
board.  Certificates  from  officers  in  the  army 


COLT'S  REVOLVERS — SHARP'S  RIFLES — DAHLGREN'S  GUNS. 


333 


testify  to  the  high  estimation  in  which  it  is 
held  by  the  troops  that  have  tried  it.  The 
firm  of  C.  Sharp  &  Co.  erected  (for  the 
manufacture  of  his  fire-arms)  a  very  exten- 
sive establishment  at  the  west  end  of  the 
wire  bridge,  near  Fairmount.  The  building 
is  of  brick,  140  feet  long  by  forty  feet  broad, 
and  is  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  from  which 
an  admirable  view  of  the  city  and  surround- 
ing country  can  be  obtained.  The  machinery 
is  of  the  most  beautiful  and  accurate  descrip- 
tion :  the  entire  cost  for  the  buildings  and 
machinery  being  about  $130,000.  The 
basement  is  used  for  the  forging  of  the  iron 
material  of  the  pistol.  In  the  rear  of  the 
first  story  is  placed  a  high-pressure  stationary 
engine  of  seventy-five  horse  power,  which 
forms  the  motive  power  of  the  establishment. 
The  second  story  is  used  for  the  boring  of 
rifle  barrels,  which  are  drilled  from  solid 
cylinders  of  cast  steel.  The  third  story  is  the 
tool  manufactory,  where  the  cutting,  milling, 
and  finishing  apparatus  is  constructed.  The 
fourth  story  is  the  finishing  shop,  where  the 
rude  materials  are  adjusted,  and  from  which 
the  article  issues  complete.  The  manufacture 
of  the  rifles  is  carried  on  in  Connecticut. 

Among  new  inventions  of  breech-load- 
ing pistols  is  that  of  Stafford,  of  New  Ha- 
ven. The  conical  ball,  as  in  the  case  of 
all  breech-loading  arms,  is  fixed  ready  for 
use  in  a  copper  cartridge,  which  is  dropped 
from  the  left  hand  into  the  barrel  when  the 
pistol  is  held  by  the  right  hand.  The  barrel 
being  attached  to  the  stock  by  a  hinge,  is 
opened  to  receive  the  ball.  Then,  on  throw- 
ing the  barrel  into  line  with  the  breech,  by 
an  upward  jerk  of  the  right  hand,  it  is  ready 
for  use.  There  is  a  spring  catch  in  front  of 
the  hammer  of  the  lock  which  catches  the 
barrel  and  holds  it  in  position  until  the  pis- 
tol is  discharged.  When  the  thumb  is 
brought  down  on  the  catch,  the  barrel  is  dis- 
engaged, and,  by  a  jerk,  is  thrown  into  posi- 
tion for  reloading — the  whole  operation  of 
loading  and  firing  being  accomplished  in  a 
small  fraction  of  the  time  required  to  de- 
scribe it.  This  must  be  so,  for  an  expert 
can  fire  sixteen  shots  a  minute  with  this  pis- 
tol. The  arrangement  of  sights  is  also  com- 
plete, so  that  any  object  can  be  exactly 
covered  by  a  marksman  with  precision,  and 
»  the  penetration  and  force  with  which  the 
ball  is  projected  can  hardly  be  realized  by 
those  who  have  not  experimented  with  it. 

In  the  present  year  (I860)  a  patent  issued 
for  a  breech-loading  cannon,  which  has  also 


been  patented  in  France  and  England.  By 
this  a  ball  cartridge  is  dropped  into  the  gun 
by  an  opening  in  the  breech,  a  pin  moves 
forward,  pushing  the  cartridge,  closing  the 
hole  by  which  it  entered,  and  discharging  the 
piece  by  percussion  powder. 

The  rifle  factory  of  Mr.  Eli  Whitney,  sit- 
uated at  the  foot  of  East  Rock,  on  the  Hart- 
ford and  New  Haven  turnpike,  was  founded 
by  the  father  of  the  present  proprietor,  in 
the  year  1798,  and  was  long  used  by  him  in 
the  manufacture  of  arms  for  the  United 
States  government.  This  gentleman,  dis- 
tinguished for  his  talents  as  a  mechanic,  for 
his  sound  judgment,  and  for  his  persevering 
industry,  applied  to  this  branch  of  business 
the  same  skill  and  ingenuity,  the  first  fruits 
of  which  had  been  already  displayed  in  the 
invention  of  that  instrument  so  important  to 
the  agricultural  interests  of  the  south — the 
cotton  gin.  The  result  was  the  production 
of  an  article  superior  to  that  obtained  from 
England,  not  only  in  itself,  but  also  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  made.  The  method 
of  manufacturing  muskets  then  devised  by 
Mr.  Whitney,  and  also  many  of  the  different 
kinds  of  tools  invented  and  used  by  him, 
have  been  since  adopted  in  the  national  ar- 
mories. The  establishment  has,  we  believe, 
been  exclusively  devoted  to  this  business- 
from  the  time  of  its  foundation  until  a  few 
years  since,  when  an  alteration  was  effected^ 
and  the  manufacture  of  rifles  substituted. 
The  metal  is  wrought  into  the  most  eccen- 
tric shapes,  without  any  further  intervention 
of  human  hands  than  is  requisite  for  super- 
intending the  machine.  Owing  to  this  skil- 
ful arrangement  of  machinery,  only  thirty-five 
men  are  required  to  carry  on  the  works, 
turning  out  nearly  3,000  rifles  a  year,  worth 
about  $13  apiece.  In  the  manufacture 
of  these  about  50,000  pounds  of  iron, 
6,000  pounds  of  copper,  and  from  4,000  to 
5,000  pounds  of  steel  are  annually  con- 
sumed. The  steel  is  worked  up  into  ram- 
rods, springs,  and  portions  of  the  lock.  The 
iron  costs  about  $140  per  ton,  and  is  ob- 
tained from  Salisbury,  Connecticut — that 
procured  there  being  found  of  a  superior 
quality  to  either  the  English  or  Pennsylvania 
iron.  The  stocks  are  made  of  black  walnut, 
which  is  brought  from  Pennsylvania.  The 
rifles,  when  finished,  weigh  ten  and  a  half 
pounds  each.  A  striking  advantage  gained 
by  the  extended  use  of  machinery  in  making 
the  different  parts  of  the  rifle  is  the  perfect 
uniformity  of  the  work.  So  accurately  and 


334 


FIRE-ARMS. 


in  so  many  different  ways  is  every  part,  even 
the  most  minute,  gauged,  that  in  putting 
together  the  whole,  no  delay  is  occasioned 
from  trifling  inaccuracies  in  fitting.  Each 
screw,  spring,  sight,  top-board,  or  any  other 
piece  whatever,  is  so  nicely  wrought  that  it 
may  be  applied  to  and  will  fit  any  one  of 
the  3,000  rifles  made  in  the  course  of  the 
year  as  exactly  as  it  does  the  one  of  which 
it  finally  forms  a  part.  The  rifles  are  made 
on  contract  for  the  government,  and  are  not 
offered  for  sale. 

The  manufacture  of  guns  is  extensively 
carried  on  in  England,  and  the  value  ranges 
from  $1.50  to  $175  each.  A  vast  quantity 
of  the  cheap  arms  has  always  been  manu- 
factured for  the  American  trade,  particularly 
for  the  Indians.  The  common  guns  are 
made  of  flat  strips  of  iron,  called  a  kelp,  three 
feet  long,  four  inches  wide.  This  is  rolled 
into  a  cylinder  by  hand,  and  the  edges  weld- 
ed. Sometimes  the  strip  is  thick,  and  one 
foot  long,  being  drawn  out  as  it  is  welded. 
The  quality  of  the  gun  depends  upon  the 
toughness  and  elasticity  of  the  iron.  A  supe- 
rior gun  was  made  of  the  metal  used  for 
horse-shoe  nails,  and  the  old  nails  or  stubs 
were  reserved  for  this  purpose,  and  formed  a 
large  item  of  import  into  England  from  the 
continent.  Latterly  they  have  been  sup- 
planted by  iron  made  for  the  purpose.  Steel 
bars  in  combination  with  iron  ones,  called 
laminated  steel,  are  now  thought  to  be  the 
best.  There  is  much  fraud  in  this  manufac- 
ture, and  thousands  of  guns  of  common 
Damascus  iron  are  imported  into  the  United 
States  as  laminated  steel. 

The  manufacture  of  guns  is  carried  to  great 

Serfection  at  the  United  States  armories  at 
pringfield,  Massachusetts,  and  Harper's  Fer- 
ry, Virginia.  The  guns  are  there  made  of 
flat  bars  of  iron  14  inches  long,  5  3-8 
inches  wide,  and  9-16  inch  thick.  The 
edges  are  bevelled,  so  that  when  turned  over 
into  a  cylinder  they  will  make  a  perfect 
joint.  The  bars  are  first  put  into  a  reverbera- 
tory  furnace,  and  when  at  a  white  heat  are 
passed  through  curving  rolls,  of  which  there 
are  five,  to  bend  the  bar  gradually  in  order 
that  it  may  not  split.  The  curving  of  450 
is  a  day's  work.  Before  it  is  curved  it  is 
called  a  plate ;  after,  a  cylinder ;  when  welded 
it  is  a  tube,  and  a  barrel  when  it  receives  its 
shape  in  the  taper  groove.  The  welding 
being  completed,  the  foreman  takes  the  barrel 
to  the  straightening  machine.  This  revolves 
sixty  times  in  a  minute.  The  machines  will 


weld  seventy-five  barrels  per  day.  At  every 
stop  the  tests  of  gauge  and  inspection  are 
rigidly  enforced.  The  barrels  are  proved 
twice,  with  360  and  240  grains  of  powder, 
and  a  ball  double  the  weight  of  the  service 
ball. 

The  stocks  are  of  black  walnut,  and  are 
delivered  by  contract  in  the  rough.  They 
are  turned  into  perfect  finish  in  half  an  hour, 
passing  through  sixteen  machines  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  Blanchard's  lathes.  The  "  furniture" 
or  metallic  mountings  for  receiving  the  barrel 
and  stocks,  are  most  of  them  stamped  out  of 
plates. 

The  locks  are  highly  ingenious,  and  brought 
to  great  perfection.  They  are  too  compli- 
cated for  description.  In  the  year  1859 
the  government  produced  20,000  muskets  in 
both  armories.  The  United  States  rifle 
musket  is  composed  of  eighty-four  different 
pieces,  twenty-six  of  which  are  of  cast  steel, 
two  of  wood,  and  the  remainder  iron.  There 
are  524  distinct  operations  performed  on 
each  musket  and  appendages.  Each  opera- 
tion has  a  fixed  price. 

The  improvements  in  small  arms  have 
been  more  successful  than  those  in  cannon, 
although  the  subject  has  for  a  long  time  oc- 
cupied the  serious  attention  of  governments 
and  scientific  men.  The  military  maxim, 
that  "  he  who  would  live  long  must  enlist  in 
the  artillery,"  seems  likely  to  lose  its  point. 
That  arm  was  always  effective  out  of  musket 
range,  but  now,  as  we  have  seen,  its  fire  falls 
short  a  long  way  inside  of  rifle  practice. 
In  recent  years,  there  have  been  attempts 
to  form  guns  'of  wrought  iron,  commonly  of 
hoops  encasing  bars  of  the  same  metal. 
This  construction  was  adopted  for  the  first 
cannon,  and  was  returned  to  in  the  formation 
of  the  Stockton  gun,  which  weighed  7  tons 
l7i  cwt.,  the  explosion  of  which  killed  some 
members  of  the  cabinet  in  1845.  It  was  a 
gun  of  the  same  nature,  the  explosion  of 
which  killed  James  II.  of  Scotland,  in  1460. 
The  efforts  that  have  been  made  in  this 
direction  abroad  have  produced  many  new 
guns.  Among  these  the  Lancaster,  which 
was  to  have  had  such  effect  in  the  Crimea, 
The  gun  has  a  twist,  and  the  oblong  ball 
moves  endwise  through  this  twist,  giving 
the  gun  an  immense  range,  but  it  was  very 
uncertain  of  aim,  and  each  discharge  cost 
one  hundred  dollars.  Many  of  these  burst 
with  great  damage.  This  was  supposed  to 
be  owing  to  the  wedging  of  the  shot  in  the 
i  twist.  The  new  rifledguns  of  Armstrong,  Eng- 


COLT'S  REVOLVERS — SHARP'S  RIFLES — DAHLGREN'S  GUNS. 


335 


lish,  and  those  of  the  French  invention,  have 
not  yet  been  sufficiently  proved,  although 
it  was  said  that  the  latter  were  of  great  in- 
fluence in  deciding  the  Italian  campaign. 
The  greatest  decided  improvement  in  guns, 
however,  is  an  American  one,  by  Captain 
Dahlgren,  of  the  United  States  navy.  That  j 
gentleman  entered  the  navy  in  1826,  as  a 
midshipman,  and  was  made  commander  in 
1855.  Since  1847  he  has  been  employed 
in  ordnance  duty,  conducting  experiments 
that  have  had  great  results.  Among  these 
is  the  adoption  for  boats  of  bronze  howitzers, 
12  Ibs.  and  24  Ibs.  calibre,  to  throw  shells, 
shrapnell,  and  canister  j  they  are  also  avail- 
able on  land.  The  Dahlgren  gun  is  consid- 
ered the  most  perfect  form  yet  constructed, 
and  the  new  steam  frigates  are  armed  with 
them.  The  length  of  a  10-inch  Dahlgren 
is  107  inches,  and  the  range  1,776  yards. 
The  improvement  in  the  United  States  in 
the  manufacture  of  guns  is  still  making 
progress. 

The  best  metal  yet  used  for  guns  is  cast 
iron.  That  metal  was,  however,  formerly  not 
so  well  made  as  at  present.  It  was  not  so 
uniform  in  character,  and  its  strength  was 
estimated  at  20,000  Ibs.  the  square  inch, 
while  bronze  burst  at  33,000  Ibs.,  and  was 
thought  to  be  more  relied  upon  for  uniform- 
ity. This  opinion  has  been  modified  by  ex- 
periments, made  by  Major  Wade,  of  the 
United  States  army,  at  Chicopee,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1850.  It  there  appeared  that 
samples  from  different  parts  of  the  same  gun 
showed  a  difference  of  from  23, 108  to  5 4, 531, 
showing  a  tendency  of  the  metal  to  cool  in 
masses  into  separate  alloys.  Bronze  was, 
however,  less  hard  than  iron,  and  its  great 
cost  caused  it  to  be  confined  to  field  pieces, 
while  for  every  thing  above  iron  is  used. 

The  casting  of  guns  was  originally  hollow, 
but  from  unequal  contraction  in  cooling, 
caused  by  different  temperature  within  and 
without,  the  plan  was  abandoned,  and  the 
.gun  being  cast  solid  was  bored  out  cold. 
In  the  United  States,  experiments  have  been 
successfully  made  to  improve  the  qualities  of 
iron  for  gun  purposes.  The  object  is  to 
produce  a  metal  of  a  perfectly  uniform 
texture,  hardened  with  the  piece  to  prevent 
the  battering  action  of  the  ball.  The 
principle  of  strengthening  iron  by  remelting 
was  developed  in  experiments  carried  on  by 
Major  Wade,  of  the  United  States  army. 
Since  1841  an  officer  is  required  to  be 
present  at  the  foundries  while  cannon  are 


making,  to  examine  and  test  the  metal  be- 
fore it  is  used,  as  well  as  the  first  gun 
made,  before  another  is  cast  from  it.  This 
inspection  has  been  highly  useful.  The 
transverse  strength  of  some  iron  was  found 
to  be  doubled  by  four  meltings  and  castings. 
From  experiments  made  at  South  Boston  in 
1844,  it  was  found  that  the  cohesive  power 
of  iron  is  augmented  by  exposing  the  melted 
iron  to  intense  heat.  This  is  increased  by 
the  time  of  exposure,  up  to  a  limit  beyond 
which  the  strength  retrogrades.  All  the 
experiments  resulted  in  increasing  the  aver- 
age strength  of  iron  from  23,638  Ibs.  to  37,774 
Ihs.  the  square  inch.  The  strongest  piece  of 
iron  ever  cast  was  a  sample  of  Greenwood 
(Orange  county,  N.  Y.)  ore.  It  was  brought 
to  the  degree  of  density  which  is  combined 
with  the  greatest  strength.  In  the  sample 
the  density  was  7.304,  and  the  tenacity 
45,970  Ibs.  per  square  inch.  This  material 
will  be  probably  the  favorite  for  gun  manu- 
facture. 

The  process  of  casting  bronze  guns  is 
complicated.  The  pattern  of  the  piece  is 
prepared  by  taking  a  tapering  rod  much 
longer  than  the  gun,  and  enclosing  it  entirely 
in  the  coils  of  a  soft  rope.  When  this  has 
approached  the  form  of  the  intended  gun 
body  (not  including  the  breech),  it  is  laid 
over  with  plaster-of-Paris.  It  is  then  caused 
to  revolve  against  a  profile  board,  and  by  so 
doing  receives  its  shape.  The  models  of  the 
trunnions,  or  arms  on  which  the  gun  rests  on 
its  carriage,  are  then  attached  to  it,  and  the 
whole  dried.  It  is  then  washed  with  ashes 
to  prevent  adhesion,  when  it  is  covered  with 
putty  loam  dried  hard.  This  is  the  first 
layer  of  the  mould,  and  other  layers  are 
added,  until  the  whole  is  2|  inches  thick. 
This  mould  is  then  encased  in  iron  bands, 
over  which  a  further  thickness  of  5  inches 
of  mould  is  laid.  Over  this  come  more 
hoops  and  mould.  The  rod,  with  its  covering 
of  rope  and  plaster,  is  then  taken  out,  leaving 
the  putty  mould  entire.  The  breech  mould  is 
made  separate  in  the  same  manner,and  that  for 
the  "  head"  also.  When  thoroughly  dried,  the 
three  sections  are  set  up  in  the  pit  with  several 
others,  and  the  spaces  around  are  rammed  in 
with  earth  firmly.  In  order  that  the  metal 
when  running  in  may  settle  as  equally  as 
possible,  it  is  introduced  at  the  bottom.  It 
thus  rises  in  the  gun,  and  into  the  head 
three  feet  above  the  gun.  The  object  of 
this  head  is  to  allow  the  metal  most  likely 
to  be  imperfect  to  rise  to  the  top.  Hence, 


336 


FIRE-ARMS. 


when  the  gun  is  cool,  this  head  is  cut  off. 
The  gun  is  then  solid,  and,  being  placed 
upon  a  frame,  is  bored  out.  In  this  case  the 
borer  does  not  revolve,  but  the  gun  itself. 
A  steel  cutter,  fixed  to  the  end  of  a  bar, 
penetrates  into  the  gun  as  it  is  made  to  re- 
volve against  it,  being  pressed  up  to  it  as 
the  work  progresses.  The  boring  being 
finished,  the  gun  is  turned,  and  the  touch- 
hole  drilled  with  a  bit  and  stock. 

In  casting  iron  guns  the  process  varies 
slightly.  The  mould  being  prepared,  is  en- 
closed in  a  huge  case  of  cast  iron,  called  a 
gun  box,  made  in  sections.  Th,e  lower 
section  contains  the  mould  of  the  breech, 
and  is  entire.  Between  the  mould  and  the 
sides  of  the  case,  sand  tempered  with  clay  is 
rammed.  The  flat  surface  on  which  the 
next  section  is  to  rest,  is  covered  with  fine 
charcoal  and  clay  water  to  prevent  adhesion. 
The  second  section  is  of  two  pieces  divided 
lengthwise,  and  has  affixed  to  it  the  trunnions. 
The  mould  is  kept  in  a  perfectly  vertical 
position  by  being  adjusted  by  a  plumb  line. 
Sometimes  the  space  round  the  box  is  left 
empty,  and  covered  over  to  retain  the  hot 
air  and  prevent  cooling  too  rapidly.  When 
the  mould  is  ready,  the  iron,  which  has 
been  prepared  by  many  remeltings,  flows 
from  several  furnaces,  through  channels 
in  the  sand,  into  a  reservoir,  from  which 
runners  or  channels  lead  over  the  tops  of  the 
moulds,  which  are  slowly  and  steadily  filled, 
without  the  introduction  of  air  to  disturb  the 
quiet  settling  of  the  metal. 

The  guns  being  cast,  the  difficulty  is  in 
cooling  them  to  preserve  the  uniformity, 
and  fires  are  sometimes  kept  burning  round 
the  case  for  several  days  after  casting.  At 
this  point,  an  important  improvement  was 
introduced  by  Lieutenant  Rodman.  The 
original  mode  of  casting  guns  hollow  was 
abandoned  for  boring  in  1729.  On  the  plan 
of  Rodman,  guns  are  now  cast  hollow.  A 
water-tight  tube  of  cast  iron  is  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  mould.  In  the  centre  of  this 
tube  is  a  smaller  one,  and  through  this  a 
current  of  cold  water  enters,  and,  rising  in 
the  larger  tube,  flows  off.  Thus  the  interior 
is  cooled,  while  the  exterior  is  prevented, 
by  heated  air,  from  cooling  too  fast.  The 
metal  is  thus  protected  from  unequal  con- 
traction. In  proof  of  this  experiment,  guns 
were  cast  in  pairs.  These  were  8-inch 
bores,  of  the  same  iron  in  every  respect,  one 
solid  and  one  hollow.  The  solid  gun  burst 
at  the  seventy-third  discharge.  The  hollow 


one  stood  fifteen  hundred,  and  did  not  fail. 
A  pair  of  10-inch  guns,  treated  in  the  same 
manner,  resulted  in  the  bursting  of  the  solid 
gun  at  the  twentieth  fire,  and  the  hollow  one 
at  the  two  hundred  and  forty-ninth. 

Another  curious  fact  was  substantiated, 
viz.,  that  the  strength  of  the  gun  increased 
by  time.  8-inch  solid  cast  guns,  proved  in 
30  days,  stood  72  charges ;  one  proved  in 
34  days  stood  84 ;  one  in  100  days  stood 
731  charges ;  one  that  lay  six  years  stood 
2,582  charges.  The  explanation  of  Major 
Wade  was,  that  the  particles  of  iron  strained 
in  cooling  by  unequal  contraction,  readjust 
themselves  in  time,  and  reach  their  greatest 
tenacity. 

When  the  iron  gun,  whether  cast  solid  or 
hollow,  has  been  dressed  and  drilled,  it  is 
ready  to  be  proved,  which  is  done  in  this 
country  by  testing  the  strength  of  a  cylinder 
of  the  iron  an  inch  in  diameter  and  two 
inches  long,  cut  out  of  the  cannon,  formerly 
from  one  of  the  trunnions,  but  now  from  the 
barrel  near  the  muzzle.  The  specific  gravity 
and  other  properties  of  the  sample  are  care- 
fully noted,  and  these,  together  with  the 
trials  to  which  it  is  subjected,  and  the  hard- 
ness of  the  metal  determined  by  a  very  ex- 
act method,  give  correct  indications  of  the 
strength  of  the  gun,  without  the  necessity  of 
submitting  it  to  extreme  proof  by  firing  with 
constantly  increasing  charges  until  the  piece 
is  destroyed.  Indeed,  to  such  perfection 
have  these  proofs  been  brought,  that  guns 
have  been  selected  as  of  inferior  quality  from 
among  a  large  lot,  which,  on  reference  to  the 
books  of  the  foundry,  were  found  to  have 
been  the  only  ones  of  the  lot  made  of  hot 
blast  iron.  According  to  the  indications 
furnished  by  the  tests,  several  guns  are 
usually  taken  from  each  large  lot  of  them,  to 
be  submitted  to  extreme  proof — the  selection 
being  generally  of  those  that  appear  to  be 
the  poorest,  best,  and  intermediate  qualities. 
These  are  fired  commonly  with  charges  of 
powder  equal  to  one-fourth  the  weight  of 
the  ball,  with  one  shot  and  one  junk  wad 
over  it.  The  firing  is  continued,  unless  the 
piece  previously  bursts,  to  500  rounds.  Then 
one  ball  more  is  added  with  every  discharge, 
till  the  bore  is  filled.  The  powder  is  after- 
ward doubled  in  quantity,  and  the  bore  filled 
with  shot  at  each  discharge.  When  it  bursts, 
pieces  are  selected  for  further  examination 
from  the -breech,  near  the  trunnions  and  the 
chase.  Guns  are  also  tested  by  hydrostatic 
pressure,  water  being  forced  into  the  bore 


COLT'S  REVOLVERS — SHARP'S  RIFLES — DAHLGREN'S  GUNS. 


337 


with  increasing  pressure,  till  it  sometimes 
bursts  the  piece,  or  brings  to  light  its  hidden 
defects  by  opening  the  small  fissures  that 
were  concealed  in  the  metal.  It  is  not  un- 
common for  it  to  appear  upon  the  exterior 
of  pieces,  of  which  the  thickness  of  the  metal 
is  four  inches,  exuding  through  as  a  thin 
froth,  which  collects  upon  the  outside,  and 
forms  drops  and  little  streams.  By  this 
method,  the  exact  pressure  applied  is  known, 
and  may  be  gradually  increased  to  any  de- 
sired degree.  Sample  bars  are  also  cast  to- 
gether with  the  cannon,  which  furnish  some 
indication  of  the  strength  of  the  metal.  The 
different  rates  of  cooling  of  the  large  and 
small  mass,  however,  render  their  qualities 
somewhat  dissimilar. 

The  next  hostile  operations  upon  the 
ocean  will  have  to  encounter  countless 
changes  that  have  been  made  since  the  last 
war.  Steam  will  develop  its  yet  untried 
powers  in  warfare.  The  new  armor  to  make 
ships  ball-proof,  the  range  of  small  arms, 
and,  not  the  least  of  the  new  agents,  the 
effect  of  the  shell  guns  of  Dahlgren,  are  to 
be  tested.  The  difficulty  of  getting  to 
close  quarters  is  by  them  much  increased. 
The  picking  off  of  officers  and  men  by  the 
use  of  the  new  rifles  must  have  the  same 
tendency.  In  naval  gunnery,  as  on  land, 
the  small  arms  formerly  came  into  play 
only  within  the  range  of  the  batteries.  At 
present,  the  small  arms  are  first  effective,  and 
the  Dahlgren  only  recovers  a  portion  of  the 
ground  lost  by  cannon  as  a  consequence  of 
.  the  increased  range  of  rifles. 

In  1848  also  commenced  in  our  navy, 
under  the  direction  of  Dahlgren,  the  adap- 
tation of  graduated  scales  to  naval  guns. 
These  bear  the  ranges  in  yards,  and  eleva- 
tions in  degrees  and  fractions.  Tables  con- 
taining the  angles  of  elevation  answering  to 
different  distances,  are  furnished  in  the 
"  Ordnance  Manual."  The  scales  are  made 
of  brass,  and  fitted  to  the  breech  of  the 
gun.  These  insure  accuracy  of  aim. 

An  interesting  series  of  experiments  has 
been  conducted,  under  government  orders, 
by  Major  Mordecai  at  Washington,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  initial  velocity  of  shot.  By 
initial  velocity  is  understood  the  velocity 
of  the  shot  in  the  gun  after  discharge.  This 
is  considered  the  most  important  point,  and 
innuite  pains  and  expense  have  been  in- 
curred in  deciding  it.  The  experiments 
made  by  Major  Mordecai  were  in  this  view. 
The  machines  used  for  this  purpose  are  a 


block  filled  with  sand  suspended  on  iron 
straps,  at  fifty-five  feet  distance  from  the  gun, 
which  is  also  suspended.  At  the  discharge 
the  gun  recoils,  and  its  rate  of  recoil  is 
measured,  while  the  shot  buries  itself  in  the 
sand  contained  in  the  block,  imparting  a 
motion,  which  is  also  measured.  The 
weight  of  the  block  is  9,358  Ibs.,  and  of 
the  gun  pendulum  10,500  Ibs.  The  result 
of  a  great  variety  of  experiments  was,  that 
the  velocity  measured  by  the  block  was 
nearly  the  same  as  that  measured  by  the 
gun.' 

The  deductions  from  the  experiments  were 
some  very  valuable  conclusions  concerning 
the  charges  for  cannon  and  small  arms,  and 
the  form  of  the  cartridge  for  heavy  guns.  In 
relation  to  wad,  it  was  decided  that  the  use 
of  hay  or  punk  is  injurious  to  correct  aim. 
When  a  wad  is  required  to  hold  the  ball, 
it  should  be  light.  In  small  arms,  on  the 
other  hand,  wad  is  required  to  develop  the 
force  of  the  charge ;  unless,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  rifle,  the  ball  has  no  windage. 

Another  description  of  gun  has  been 
made  up  and  experimented  upon  at  Old  Point 
Comfort.  This  tremendous  piece  of  ord- 
nance, by  far  the  largest  ever  cast  in  this  or 
any  other  country,  is  designed  for  use  in  our 
coast  defences,  as  an  offset  to  the  late  important 
improvement  in  the  construction  of  vessels- 
of-war.  It  is  intended  to  cripple,  certainly 
and  hopelessly,  at  a  single  shot,  any  hostile 
ship  or  steamer,  no  matter  how  large  or 
strongly  built,  that  may  venture  within  a 
mile  of  its  enormous  muzzle. 

The  Floyd  gun  was  cast  but  a  short  time 
since,  at  the  Fort  Pitt  foundry,  near  Pitts- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  under  the  supervision 
of  Captain  Rodman,  of  the  ordnance  de- 
partment. It  weighs,  independently  of  the 
carriage,  49,099  Ibs.,  and  its  cost  is  some- 
thing over  $10,000.  The  bore  is  sixteen 
inches  in  diameter,  and  fifteen  feet  in  depth. 
The  gun  is  worked  by  six  men,  and  the 
time  consumed  by  loading  and  firing  is  just 
one  minute  and  a  half.  It  will  throw  either 
shot  or  shell ;  and  these  are  spherical  in 
form  and  of  appalling  magnitude — the  solid 
shot  weighing  450  Ibs.  The  15-inch  shell 
weighs  about  384  Ibs.,  and  carries  beside  15 
Ibs.  of  powder.  The  charge  of  powder 
used  in  firing  this  monster  cannon  was  at 
first  only  20  Ibs.,  but  this  has  been  gradually 
increased  to  ascertain  the  maximum  of 
powder ;  and  in  the  last  discharge  no  less 
than  45  Ibs.  were  used. 


ass 


FIRE-ARMS. 


The  piece  is  not  intended  to  be  fired  at  a 
Jonger  range  than  about  two  thousand  yards, 
but  at  this  distance  its  execution  is  terrific, 
completely  shattering  the  most  massive  tar- 
gets, whether  constructed  of  stone,  timber, 
earth,  or  iron. 

Not  the  least  singular  feature  of  the  big 

fun  is  the  powder  used  in  discharging  it. 
he  grains  are  hard,  smooth  lumps  of  irreg- 
ular shape,  varying  in  size  from  half  an  inch 
to  an  inch  in  diameter. 

This  powder  is  made  on  the  principle  of 
•what  is  known  amongst  boys  as  a  "  spit 
devil,"  that  is,  it  is  so  mixed  as  not  to  ex- 
plode all  at  once,  like  the  fine-grain  powder, 
the  inertia  of  the  bolt  being  so  great  that 
an  instantaneous  explosion  of  the  whole 
charge  would  burst  the  gun ;  but  the  igni- 
tion of  the  charge  being  gradual  at  first,  the 
ball  is  started,  without  any  great  strain  on 
the  piece,  and  (it  is  contended  by  the  friends 
of  great  guns)  is  always  successfully  launch- 
ed on  its  mission  of  destruction. 

There  was  convened  in  August,  at  the 
fort,  a  board  of  engineers,  commissioned  by 
the  government,  to  examine  into  the  ex- 
pediency of  introducing  the  Floyd  gun  as  a 
regular  arm  of  the  United  States  service. 

The  large  guns,  as  now  used,  are  mostly 
designed  to  overcome  the  resistance  offered 
by  the  iron  covering  of  the  new  war  steamers, 
the  use  of  which  has  become  so  general  in 
the  civil  war.  The  necessity  of  some  mate- 
rial of  greater  resistance  to  projectile  force 
became  early  apparent,  when  gunnery  be- 
came so  much  improved  that  ordinary  wooden 
ships  were  no  longer  capable  of  withstand- 
ing an  assault.  The  question  of  iron  plates 
for  ships  was  discovered  as  early  as  1811,  by 
Stevens,  of  New  Jersey.  In  1840,  experi- 
ments were  made  in  England  upon  the  re- 
sistance of  iron  in  view  of  arming  vessels. 
In  1 852,  the  United  States  ordered  experi- 
ments upon  iron  batteries,  but  without  favor- 
able results  at  that  time.  In  1854,  the 
French  Emperor  ordered  a  series  of  experi- 
ments to  be  made  in  relation  to  iron  plates ; 
and  in  1860  the  iron-clad  ship  La  Gloire 
was  built.  In  1861,  the  Warrior  was  con- 
structed in  England.  Neither  of  these  ves- 
sels appear  to  be  a  success,  however ;  both 
are  overloaded,  and  both  roll  heavily  in  a 
heavy  sea. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Theodore  R.  Timby,  of 
York,  constructed  a  model  of  a  revolving 
iron  tower  for  harbor  defense.  In  1854,  Cap- 
tain Ericsson  made  a  model  of  an  iron  tower 


on  an  armored  vessel.  The  application  of  the 
tower  to  vessels  he  claimed  was  first  made  by 
him.  On  this  plan  was  built  the  Monitor, 
which  encountered  the  Confederate  iron-clad 
Merrimac,  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  latter 
was  a  wooden  ship  cut  down,  and  armed 
with  railroad  iron,  placed  at  angles,  and; 
proved  to  be  very  effective  and  invulnerable  i 
to  shot.  The  Monitor  was  so  successful  that 
the  government  ordered  10  more  at  once. 
These  were  844  tons,  each  having  one  turret 
and  two  guns  of  11  and  15  inch  calibre. 
Subsequently,  seven  Monitors,  of  1,034  tons 
each,  were  ordered,  having  one  turret  and 
two  15-inch  guns  each.  The  third  class 
Monitors  carry  two  turrets  and  four  guns 
each.  There  were  built  several  other  de- 
scriptions :  of  these  the  Ironsides,  tonnage 
2,486,  weight  of  armor  750  tons;  she  car- 
ries two  200lb.  Parrott  rifles,  four  24lb,  and 
sixteen  11  inch  guns.  The  Dunderberg  is 
of  7,000  tons  measurement,  armor  weight 
1,200  tons.  On  the  Western  rivers  were 
many  others  of  various  construction ;  of 
these,  the  Essex  has  over  all  a  continuous 
layer  of  India-rubber,  one  inch  thick,  and 
the  iron  plating  is  bolted  over  that.  The 
rubber  is  supposed  to  give  some  elasticity  to 
the  plates  when  struck.  The  hall  is  divided 
into  40  compartments,  and  there  are  false 
sides,  designed  to  break  the  blow  of  an  as- 
saulting ram.  Altogether  the  number  of 
iron-clad  steamers  at  the  close  of  1862  was 
53,  carrying  266  guns.  There  were  also  13 
gunboats  and  rams,  carrying  67  guns.  The 
events  of  the  war  demonstrating  the  utility 
and  behavior  of  gunboats  under  fire,  has 
developed  alike  their  good  and  bad  quali- 
ties to  some  extent,  but  by  no  means  defi- 
nitely. 

In  the  attack  on  Charleston,  the  Iron- 
sides, with  eight  Monitors,  carrying  32  guns, 
were  engaged.  During  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  she  sustained  the  converging  fire  of 
four  forts,  carrying  300  guns  of  8  and  11  inch 
calibre  and  6  inch  rifled  shot.  The  number 
of  shot  fired  was  3,500,  distance  1,300  yards, 
at  close  quarters,  300  and  600  yards.  The 
Passaic  received  58  shots,  and  was  disabled 
in  the  turret,  which  was  rendered  incapable 
of  turning.  The  Keokuk  was  sunk  and  the 
enemy  captured  her  guns.  The  whole  num- 
ber wounded,  in  all,  was  13,  of  which  four 
were  wounded  on  the  Nahant,  by  the  shift- 
ing of  bolt-heads  not  properly  guarded  in- 
side. The  experiment  was  very  satisfactory 
as  to  resistance. 


CUTLERY. 


UNITED  STATES  INDUSTRY— AXES. 

THE  manufacture  of  cutlery  in  the  United 
States  is  of  recent  origin  comparatively.  But 
a  few  years  since,  the  whole  supply  came 
through  the  hands  of  the  importer  from 
Europe ;  but  the  production  of  edge-tools 
and  cutlery  was  no  sooner  started,  than  it 
took  a  rapid  growth;  and  a  foreigner,  re- 
marking upon  branches  of  American  industry, 
says :  "  The  manufacturers  of  cutlery  have 
far  surpassed  those  of  the  old  world  in  the 
production  of  tools,  and  that  not  merely  in 
the  excellence  of  the  metal  used,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  practical  utility  of  the  patterns, 
and  in  the  remarkable  degree  of  finish  in 
their  work."  This  is  a  just  remark.  The 
"  high  finish"  of  American  work  is  applied 
only,  however,  where  it  has  utility;  not 
where  it  is  a  useless  expense.  This  may  be 
illustrated  in  watches  and  clocks.  The  Eng- 
lish have  highly  polished  works,  that  add 
much  to  the  expense,  but  nothing  to  the 
service.  In  the  American  article  this  ex- 
pense is  saved.  A  peculiarity  of  American 
work  is  the  readiness  with  which  improve- 
ments are  perceived  by  the  intelligent  worker, 
and  immediately  adopted  and  applied.  This 
intelligence  comes,  in  some  degree,  from  the 
entire  freedom  of  industry,  and  the  absence 
of  all  trade  "  guilds,"  unions,  or  restrictions. 
The  American  who  travels  in  Europe  is 
struck  with  the,  to  him,  ludicrous  mystery 
with  which  every  species  of  handicraft  is 
surrounded.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  pro- 
prietor of  every  petty  workshop  or  factory 
was  exclusively  possessed  of  the  philosopher's 
stone,  which  would  be  robbed  from  him  by 
the  prying  gaze  of  every  transient  visitor. 
The  apprentices  are  only  taught  the  routine 
of  centuries,  and  only  so  much  as  is  neces- 
sary to  fulfil  the  part  of  the  labor  required 
of  them.  The  manufacture  itself,  whatever 
it  may  be,  is  divided  into  branches,  each  of 
which  is  in  charge  of  persons  who  preserve 
their  supposed  secret  from  the  other  branches. 

21 


Under  these  circumstances,  the  apprentice 
succeeds  with  difficulty  in  becoming  a  master 
of  his  trade.  When  out  of  his  time,  he 
must  travel  for  three  years ;  and  when  he 
returns  to  his  native  town,  he  jnust  have 
money  and  interest  to  be  made  a  citizen,  and 
then  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  guild,  or 
trades'  union,  before  he  can  pursue,  except 
as  a  journeyman,  the  trade  he  has  learned. 
How  different  is  all  this  in  the  United  States ! 
The  boy  enters  a  factory,  or  a  workshop, 
and  is  taught  his  especial  work,  and  has 
within  his  reach  every  branch  of  information, 
scientific  and  practical,  connected  with  the 
whole  of  it.  His  fellow-workmen  are  ex- 
perienced in  all  the  branches,  and  with  the 
best  modes  in  use  in  all  countries.  His  em- 
ployer is  wedded  to  no  system  or  rule,  but 
is  ever  on  the  alert  for  improvement ;  always 
ready  to  suggest  and  hear  suggestions,  and 
to  adopt  feasible  ones.  It  is  no  wonder  that, 
in  such  an  atmosphere,  the  arts  should 
flourish,  and  that  an  observant  foreigner 
should  exclaim,  as  above,  that  hardly  twenty 
years  of  experience  in  the  new  world  should 
have  surpassed  the  centuries  of  progress  in 
the  old  world.  This  branch  of  industry 
thrives  mostly  in  individual  workshops ;  it 
has  not  come  much  within  the  sphere  of 
corporate  influences.  There  is  a  general  and 
very  perceptible  adoption  of  American  pat- 
terns, not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  England, 
as  being  more  practical ;  and  it  is  stated, 
that  in  American  factories  already,  there  is 
more  English  steel  used  than  in  England 
itself.  The  American  worker  does  not  be- 
lieve in  using  poor  tools,  when  good  ones 
are  to  be  had. 

Steel  is  the  material  used,  by  reason  of  its 
hardness,  for  the  cutting  edges  of  tools  and 
cutlery.  The  backs  are  made  of  iron,  as  a 
cheaper  material.  So  also  are  the  handles, 
or  "  tangs,"  to  which  the  steel  is  welded. 
The  steel  is  blistered,  as,  or  after,  it  is  drawn 
down,  by  tilt-hammers,  into  shear-steel.  This 
is  used  for  table-knives,  scythes,  etc.  When 


CUTLERY. 


a  fine  finish  is  required,  or  great  hardness, 
the  blistered  steel  is  melted  into  cast  steel, 
and  the  ingots  are  forged  into  bars.  Simple 
articles,  such  as  chisels,  are  made  by  ham- 
mering a  bit  of  cast  steel  into  the  required 
shape.  This  being  intended  only  for  the 
edge,  is  made  very  thin,  and  iipon  it  is 
welded  a  flat  slip  of  iron,  which  has  been 
forged  into  the  shape  of  the  chisel,  with  a 
shoulder  formed  by  driving  it  into  a  hole  in 
the  anvil.  One  side  of  the  chisel  is,  there- 
fore, iron,  intended  to  be  ground  away,  and 
the  other  steel.  Scissors  are  made  of  various 
materials.  Common  ones  are  shear  steel, 
with  the  blades  hardened.  Tailors'  shears 
have  the  blades  only  steel ;  the  remainder  is 
iron.  Formerly,  only  the  edge  was  steel. 
Some  scissors  are  made  of  good  cast  iron, 
called  run,  or  virgin  steel.  Of  these,  many 
are  sold  for  V  cents  a  dozen.  There  are 
some,  on  the  other  hand,  made  with  bows 
and  shanks  of  gold,  and  sell  for  $50  a  pair. 
When  made  wholly  of  steel,  the  blade  is 
hammered  out  at  the  end  of  a  small  bar. 
It  is  then  cut  off,  with  enough  to  form  the 
shank  and  boAv.  A  hole  is  then  punched ; 
the  instruments  shaped,  united  by  a  screw, 
ground,  filed,  and  burnished.  The  blades 
are  slightly  bowed,  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  touch  each  other  only  at  the  point  of 
cutting,  and  this  point  moves  as  the  blades 
close  in  the  act  of  cutting,  from  the  pivot  to 
the  point.  This  operation  is  seen  by  hold- 
ing a  pair  of  scissors,  edgeways,  to  the  light. 
This  action  gives  smoothness  to  the  cut. 

The  manufacture  of  table  cutlery  is  of 
recent  introduction  into  the  United  States ; 
and  it  has  made  progress,  by  reason  of  the 
American  invention  of  a  machine  to  form 
the  blades,  which  invention  has  been  adopt- 
ed in  Europe.  In  the  old  process,  the  blade 
of  a  table  or  other  large  knife  is  hammered 
out  on  an  anvil  at  the  end  of  a  bar  of  steel, 
and  cut  oif.  It  is  then  welded  on  to  the 
bar  of  wrought  iron,  about  half  an  inch 
square,  and  enough  of  this  is  cut  oft'  to  form 
the  bolster,  or  shoulder,  and  the  tang.  The 
blade  is  then  heated  and  hammered,  or,  as  it 
is  called,  smithed,  which  serves  to  condense 
the  metal,  and  enable  it  to  acquire  a  higher 
finish.  The  mark  of  the  maker  is  then 
stamped  upon  it,  arid  it  is  hardened  by  heat- 
ing to  redness,  and  plunging  it  into  cold 
water.  It  is  tempered  to  a  blue  color,  and 
is  then  ready  for  grinding.  The  small  blades 
of  pen-knives  are  hammered,  entire,  out  of 
the  best  cast  steel.  A  temporary  tang  is  j 


drawn  out,  to  secure  the  blade  while  it  is 
ground.  A  number  of  blades  are  heated 
together  for  tempering,  by  being  placed 
over  the  fire,  upon  a  flat  plate,  their  backs 
downward.  When  at  the  proper  degree  of 
redness,  so  as  to  take  a  brown  or  purple 
color,  they  are  dipped  in  water  up  to  the 
shoulder.  For  razors,  the  best  cast  steel  is 
selected ;  and  when  the  blade  is  shaped  upon 
the  anvil,  from  a  bar  as  thick  as  the  back  of 
the  razor,  and  half  an  inch  wide,  it  is  well 
smithed,  to  condense  the  metal.  Only  the 
best  metal  will  bear  the  working  down  of 
one  part  of  the  blade  to  the  requisite  thin- 
ness, while  the  back  is  left  thick.  The 
shape  is  further  improved  by  grinding  on  a 
dry,  coarse  stone.  The  tempering  is  per- 
formed after  the  blade  is  drilled  for  the  pin 
of  the  joint,  and  stamped.  It  is  then  ground 
and  polished. 

The  grinding  and  polishing  of  cutlery  is 
conducted  mostly  by  wheels  constructed  for 
the  purpose.  There  is  a  trough,  with  a 
stone  for  grinding,  and  a  polisher,  driven  by 
a  pulley.  The  stones  vary  in  diameter  from 
4  inches  to  2  feet,  according  to  the  articles 
to  be  ground.  The  convex  surface  of  the 
small  wheels  gives  the  concavity  on  the  blade 
of  the  razor,  and  the  other  wheels  suit  the 
various  sizes  and  shapes  of  the  articles  pol- 
ished. Some  are  used  dry,  and  others  are 
kept  wet,  in  order  that  the  heat  engendered 
by  dry  grinding  may  not  injure  the  temper 
of  the  articles  ground.  The  dry  grinding  is 
more  expeditious ;  but,  unless  the  troughs 
are  furnished  with  a  ventilating  fan  and  flue 
for  carrying  off  the  fine  metallic  particles 
and  dust  from  the  stones,  the  health  of  the 
worker  suiters.  This  flue  is  constructed  of 
tin,  in  the  shape  of  a  sort  of  cap,  that  comes 
over  the  back  of  the  stone;  the  other  end  of 
the  flue  is  in  an  adjoining  room,  and  lias  the 
air  partly  exhausted  from  it  by  a  fan  in 
rapid  motion.  This  creates  a  strong  cur- 
rent, which,  when  the  stone  is  in  operation, 
carries  the  dust  and  filings  from  it  into  the 
flue.  When  the  grinding  is  completed,  lap- 
ping succeeds.  This  is  done  on  a  thin 
wooden  wheel,  faced  with  a  tire  of  metal 
made  of  five  parts  lead  to  one  of  tin,  and 
cast  upon  the  edge  of  the  wheel.  It  is  then 
turned  true,  and  indented,  so  as  to  hold  a 
dressing  of  oiled  emery  of  different  degrees 
of  fineness.  The  steel  blades  receive  various 
degrees  of  polish,  by  drawing  them  from  cud 
to  end  across  the  revolving  lap,  which  is  ted 
with  emery  of  various  sizes. 


UNITED    STATES    INDUSTRY AXES. 


341 


The  handles  of  cutlery  are  made  of  a 
variety  of  substances :  ivory,  horn,  mother- 
of-pearl,  tortoise-shell,  cocoa-nut,  maple-wood, 
etc.  Ivory  is  mostly  used  for  table-knives. 
A  solid  piece  is  cut  out,  of  the  right  size, 
and  a  hole  for  the  tang  bored  at  one  end. 
This  is  sometimes  carried  through,  so  that 
the  tang  may  be  visible.  When  it  does  not 
go  through,  the  tang  is  secured  by  cement. 
By  a  late  contrivance,  a  little  spring-catch  is 
fastened  to  the  tang,  which  falls  into  a  notch 
made  in  the  cavity  of  the  handle,  and  pre- 
vents it  from  being  withdrawn.  Balance 
handles  are  made  by  introducing  lead  into 
the  handle,  to  counterbalance  the  weight  of 
the  blade.  The  handles  of  pen-knives  are 
complicated.  The  springs  must  be  nicely 
adjusted,  requiring  a  peculiar  temper.  The 
slips  for  the  handles  require  great  care  in 
the  fitting.  It  is  stated  that  a  three-bladed 
knife  passes  through  the  finisher's  hands 
one  hundred  times. 

The  manufacture  of  butcher  and  shoe 
knives  is  large  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
The  state  census  of  1855  gave  it  at  35,000 
per  annum ;  and  these  have  a  wide  reputa- 
tion. 

The  manufacture  of  forks  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  most  unhealthy  of  the  mechanical 
arts.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  life  in  it  is  greater  than  in  any  other 
pursuit,  by  reason  of  the  fine  dust  evolved 
in  the  process  of  grinding,  and  which  fills 
the  atmosphere  of  the  rooms,  and  invades 
the  lungs  of  the  operators.  This  takes  place 
in  the  finishing.  The  forks  are  hammered 
out  of  square  steel  rods,  3-8ths  of  an  inch 
thick.  The  tang  and  shank  are  roughly 
shaped  at  the  end  of  the  steel  rod,  and  are 
then  cut  oft',  with  about  an  inch  of  the 
square  steel  besides.  This  is  drawn  out  flat 
for  the  prongs ;  and  the  tang  and  shank  are 
then  shaped  by  the  die.  The  other  end, 
heated  to  a  white  heat,  is  laid  in  a  steel  die 
upon  an  anvil,  when  another  die,  attached 
to  the  under  face  of  a  heavy  block  of  metal, 
is  allowed  to  fall  upon  it  from  a  height  of 
7  to  8  ft.  The  prongs  are  thus  shaped,  and 
all,  but  a  thin  film  of  steel,  removed  from 
between  them.  This  is  cleared  out  by  an 
instrument  called  a  fly  press.  A  number  of 
forks  are  collected  together,  and  annealed 
by  heating  and  allowing  them  to  cool  slow- 
ly. They  are  now  sufficiently  soft  to  be 
easily  shaped  by  the  file,  and  by  bending. 
They  are  then  heated  to  redness,  and  suddenly 
cooled,  by  which  the  hardness  is  restored. 


The  process  of  hardening  renders  all  steel 
brittle ;  and  it  is  intended  to  remove  this, 
by  tempering.  The  higher  the  heat  when 
the  metal  is  hardened,  the  softer  and  stronger 
will  be  the  steel.  A  lower  degree  of  heat 
gives  more  hardness,  and  also  more  brittle- 
ness.  The  temper  is  indicated  in  the  color, 
and  the  temperature  which  produces  that 
color  follows  a  regular  scale.  Thus,  430 
degrees  of  heat  give  a  very  pale  straw  color, 
suitable  for  the  temper  of  lancets.  Higher 
degrees  of  heat  give  darker  shades  of  yellow, 
suitable  for  razors,  pen-knives,  and  chisels ; 
until,  at  500  degrees,  the  color  is  brown- 
yellow,  adapted  to  axes  and  plane-irons. 
Twenty  degrees  higher,  the  yellow  has  a 
purple  tinge,  seen  in  table  knives.  Thirty 
degrees  more,  and  the  dark  color  of  a  watch- 
spring  is  obtained.  Again  twenty  degrees, 
and  the  dark  blue  of  saws  is  visible.  At 
630  degrees,  the  color  has  a  tinge  of  green, 
and  the  steel  is  too  soft  for  instruments. 
This  color  is  supposed  to  be  produced  by 
the  action  of  the  oxygen  of  the  air  upon  the 
carboYi  of  the  steel,  and  protects  the  metal 
from  rust  in  some  degree. 

One  of  the  most  necessary  tools  for  a  new 
and  agricultural  country  is  the  axe.  The 
remains  of  all  lost  races  generally  disclose, 
in  some  rude  form,  that  useful  instrument ; 
and  the  modern  nations  of  Europe  present 
it  in  an  improved  metallic  form.  The 
Spanish  axe,  which  has  no  head,  is  made  by 
hammering  out  the  bar,  and  turning  it  into 
a  loop,  to  make  the  eye.  The  manufacture 
of  the  axe  has,  however,  like  its  use,  been 
carried  to  its  highest  perfection  in  the 
United  States.  An  American  axe  has  a 
fame  coextensive  with  that  of  an  American 
backwoodsman,  who  alone,  of  all  the  nations 
that  visit  this  continent,  is  fitted  to  struggle 
with  the  mighty  forests  with  which  the 
country  was  covered.  While  the  American 
pioneer,  axe  in  hand,  boldly  buries  himself 
in  the  forest  to  clear  and  subdue  it,  the 
European  keeps  rather  to  the  plains,  as  more 
easily  managed.  The  experience  in  the  use 
of  the  axe,  and  the  various  uses  to  which  it 
is  applied,  have  combined  to  produce  great 
varieties,  all  of  which  have  undergone  con- 
tinual improvements.  Formerly,  the  opera- 
tor depended  upon  the  rude  forges  and  lim- 
i  ited  skill  of  blacksmiths  to  supply  axes. 
j  With  the  improvements  that  suggested 
j  themselves,  special  factories  sprung  up,  and 
:  the  largest  factory  of  the  kind  in  the  world 
,  is  in  New  England.  There,  1,200  tons  of 


342 


CUTLERY. 


iron,  and  200  tons  of  cast  steel,  are  by 
machinery  wrought  annually  into  tools.  In 
the  most  recent  process,  hammered  bar  iron 
is  heated  to  a  red  heat,  cut  of  the  requisite 
length,  and  the  eye,  which  is  to  receive  the 
handle,  punched  through  it.  It  is  then  re- 
heated, and  pressed  between  concave  dies, 
until  it  assumes  the  proper  shape.  It  is 
now  heated,  and  grooved  upon  the  edge,  to 
receive  the  piece  of  steel  which  forms  the 
sharp  edge.  To  make  the  steel  adhere  to 
the  iron,  borax  is  used.  This  acts  as  a  soap 
to  clean  the  metal,  in  order  that  it  may  ad- 
here. At  a  white  heat,  it  is  welded  and 
drawn  out  to  a  proper  edge,  by  trip  ham- 
mers. The  next  process  is  hammering  off 
the  tool  by  hand,  restoring  the  shape  lost  in 
drawing  out;  it  is  then  ground,  to  form  a 
finer  edge.  It  is  then  ground  upon  finer 
stones,  and  made  ready  for  the  temperer. 
The  axe  is  now  hung  upon  a  revolving  wheel 
in  a  furnace,  over  a  small  coal  fire,  at  a 
peculiar  red  heat.  It  is  cooled,  successively, 
in  salt  water  and  fresh  water,  and  then  tem- 
pered in  another  furnace,  where  the  heat  is 
regulated  by  a  thermometer.  It  is  then 
polished  to  a  high  finish,  which  will  show 
every  flaw,  and  enable  it  to  resist  rust.  It 
is  then  stamped,  and  the  head  blackened 
with  a  mixture  of  turpentine  and  asphaltum. 
The  manufacture  of  scythes  has  reached  a 
high  state  of  perfection  in  the  western 


states,  and  the  patterns  have  been  imitated  to 
a  great  extent  in  Europe. 

The  manufacture  of  surgical  instruments 
has  become  large  in  the  cities,  mostly  in 
Philadelphia,  where  the  manufacture  has 
acquired  much  celebrity.  The  ingenuity 
and  skill  with  which  an  infinite  variety  of 
instruments  are  adapted  to  the  purpose  of 
operations  upon  the  living  fibres  of  the  body, 
are  marvellous  in  their  way.  The  quantities 
supplied  to  the  west  and  south  are  large. 

The  production  of  cutlery  and  edge  tools 
in  the  Union,  according  to  the  census  of 
1850,  was  as  follows  : — 

Number  of  factories 401 

Hands 4,275 

Capital $2,321,895 

Cost  of  labor 1,420,844 

Cost  of  material 1,439,462 

Value  produced 3,813,241 

This  was  for  the  year  1850.  The  quan- 
tities that  are  exported  from  the  United 
States  are  small,  not  amounting  to  above  a 
few  thousand  dollars.  The  imports,  how- 
ever, continue  to  be  large.  In  the  year  1857, 
they  reached  $2, 140,000;  of  which,  $1,953,- 
396  was  from  England.  The  quantity  im- 
ported is  far  from  keeping  pace  with  the 
number  and  wealth  of  the  population.  The 
great  demand  from  the  latter  is  supplied 
by  the  increasing  home  production  of  in- 
dividual operatives. 


FURS  AND  FUE  TRADE. 


AMONG  the  natural  products  of  the  new 
world,  the  valuable  furs  of  the  various 
wild  animals  which  peopled  its  boundless 
forests,  its  rivers,  lakes,  and  seas,  were  soon 
appreciated  by  the  early  discoverers  and  ex- 
plorers. For  many  centuries  the  choicer 
varieties  of  fur  had  been  held  in  the  highest 
estimation,  and  the  use  of  such  as  the  er- 
mine and  sable  was  monopolized,  by  special 
enactments,  by  the  royal  families  and  nobility 
of  both  European  and  Asiatic  countries.  A 
market  was  therefore  ready  for  the  large 
supplies  which  were  soon  furnished  to  the 
early  settlers  by  the  Indians  in  exchange  for 
the  trinkets,  liquors,  and  numerous  articles 
of  trifling  value  brought  from  Europe  for 
this  trade.  The  English  and  French  com- 
peted with  each  other  to  secure  the  control 
of  the  business  around  Hudson's  Bay  and 
in  the  territories  now  constituting  British 
America,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  Each  nation  established  its  own 
trading  posts,  or  "  factories,"  and  protected 
them  by  forts,  and  the  possession  of  these 
often  passed  by  conquest  to  the  rival  party. 
The  incorporation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  1670,  by  Charles  II.,  gave  a  de- 
cided stimulus  to  the  English  interest,  by 
securing  to  men  of  great  influence  and 
wealth,  the  control  and  monopoly  of  the  fur 
trade  throughout  the  possessions  claimed  by 
the  British.  The  enormous  profits  realized 
by  this  company  induced  the  Canadians,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  to  form 
another  company,  which  they  called  the 
North-west  Fur  Company,  and  whose  field 
of  operations  was  nominally  limited  to  the 
territories  ceded  to  the  English  by  the 
French  in  1763.  Early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury their  factories  were  extended  westward 
to  the  rivers  that  flow  into  the  Pacific,  and 
they  employed  of  Canadian  voyageurs  and 
clerks,  who  were  mostly  young  men  from 
Scotland,  about  2,000  persons.  They  ac- 
quired possession  of  Astoria,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  in  1813,  and  vigorously 
competed  with  the  old  company — the  two 
associations  carrying  on  open  war  throughout 
the  wild  territories  known  only  to  these  fur 


traders  and  the  Indians  they  controlled.' 
By  act  of  parliament,  the  two  companies 
were  united  in  one  in  1821,  and  their  opera- 
tions have  been  continued  under  the  name 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  until  1859, 
when  their  last  special  license  of  1838  ex- 
pired. The  company  has  exercised  a  des- 
potic sway  throughout  the  territories  it 
occupied,  compelling  the  labor  of  the  poor 
French  voyageurs  and  the  Indians,  and 
causing  them  to  subsist  upon  the  most 
meagre  fare  and  pitiful  allowance.  Sad  tales 
of  their  sufferings  are  familiar  to  those  who 
have  visited  these  northern  regions.  The 
company  established  an  express  by  the  way 
of  the  great  lakes  and  the  western  rivers, 
and  by  numerous  relays,  always  ready,  in- 
formation was  conveyed  by  canoes  and  by 
land  travel  in  an  incredibly  short  time  from 
the  head-quarters  of  the  company  at  Mon- 
treal to  the  most  distant  posts  on  the  Pacific. 
Their  furs  collected  on  both  sides  of  the 
continent  were  transported  to  London  for 
the  great  annual  sales  of  March  and  Septem- 
ber. From  London  many  were  sent  to  Leipsic, 
for  the  great  annual  fair  at  this  famous  mart. 
While  these  extensive  operations  were  in 
progress,  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces 
now  constituting  the  United  States  de'rived 
little  or  no  benefit  from  the  trade  so  long 
as  they  remained  British  colonies.  In  1762, 
an  association  was  established  among  the 
merchants  of  New  Orleans,  for  conducting 
the  fur  trade  in  the  regions  on  the  waters  of 
the  Missouri  and  its  branches ;  and  this  led 
to  the  founding  of  St.  Louis  in  1763,  by 
Laclede,  the  leader  of  the  organization.  This 
place  was  made  their  head-quarters  for  the 
reception  of  furs  collected  by  their  voyageurs 
in  distant  excursions  by  canoes  and  Macki- 
naw boats  toward  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
among  tribes  of  Indians  who  often  attacked 
their  parties,  but  who,  controlled  by  the 
talent  and  wise  policy  peculiar  to  the  French, 
became  at  last  firm  friends  of  the  enterprise, 
and  bound  to  the  interests  of  the  Chouteaus 
and  others  by  whom  it  was  conducted. 
From  St.  Louis  the  peltry  was  boated  down 
the  river  to  New  Orleans,  or  up  the  Illinois 


344 


FURS,    AND    FUR   TRADE. 


to  Lake  Michigan,  and  thence  to  the  great 
trading  post  of  Mackinaw.  From  this  it 
was  forwarded  by  the  lakes  and  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Quebec,  to  be  shipped  to  Eng- 
land. Over  the  same  routes  were  returned 
the  groceries,  etc.,  for  the  supply  of  the 
traders,  which,  so  slow  were  the  means  of 
transportation,  were  the  returns  in  part  of 
the  furs  collected  the  fourth  preceding  year. 
But  though  the  expenses  of  the  long  voyages 
more  than  doubled  the  cost  of  the  supplies 
after  they  left  Mackinaw,  the  profits  of  the 
business  were  not  rated  at  less  than  300 
per  cent.  For  fifteen  years  preceding  1805, 
the  annual  value  of  the  peltry  collected  at 
St.  Louis  is  stated  to  have  been  $203,750 ; 
and  the  value  of  the  goods  annually  sent  up 
the  Missouri  during  about  the  same  period 
was  estimated  at  $61,000.  Deer  skins  con- 
stituted the  greater  portion  of  the  product, 
and  they  were,  indeed,  the  chief  medium  of 
exchange,  the  value  of  articles  being  rated  at 
so  man,y  shaved  deer  skins.  Beaver  and 
otter  were  the  next  in  importance,  and  buf- 
falo skins,  which  are  now  the  chief  object  of 
the  trade,  were  then  scarcely  collected'  at  all. 

From  the  year  1818,  the  fur  trade  of 
the  north  has  been  conducted  almost  wholly 
by  organizations  which  have  sprung  from 
these  early  operations.  It  was  extended  by 
the  associations  established  at  St.  Louis  to 
the  regions  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  there  carried  on  at  immense  sacrifice  of 
human  life,  from  the  dangers  naturally  inci- 
dent to  the  pursuit,  and  the  unappeasable 
hostility  of  the  savage  tribes.  In  1847  it 
was  estimated  that  the  annual  value  of  the 
trade  "had  averaged  for  forty  years  from 
$200,000  to  $300,000,  and  the  latter  portion 
of  this  period  much  more  than  the  larger 
sum  named.  But,  like  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California,  its  greatest  importance  was  the 
opening  of  uncultivated  territories  to  the 
advance  of  civilization,  and  the  introduction 
of  a  permanent  population  for  the  establish- 
ment of  new  states. 

During  the  last  century  the  fur  trade 
had  attained  to  no  importance  in  the 
eastern  states.  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor, 
of  New.  York,  engaged  in  it  in  1784, 
buying  in  Montreal  and  shipping  to  Eng- 
land. But  under  the  treaty  of  1794  he 
was  enabled  to  introduce  fur  from  the  British 
provinces  into  New  York,  and  he  then 
opened  a  new  trade  direct  with  foreign  coun- 
tries, shipping  peltries  even  to  China,  and 
receiving  in  exchange  the  rich  products  of 


the  East  Indies.  As  his  operations  pros- 
pered, he  engaged  in  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century  in  the  collection  of  furs  along 
the  northern  frontier,  a  field  which  had 
before  been  in  exclusive  possession  of  the 
North-west  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies; 
and  he  labored  zealously  in  the  great  national 
enterprise  of  diverting  this  important  trade 
from  the  exclusive  control  of  foreign  com- 
panies, and  causing  it  to  contribute  to  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  United  States. 
With  wonderful  energy,  and  dependent  al- 
most solely  on  his  own  resources,  he  carried 
on  these  gigantic  operations,  having  in  1808 
a  capital  of  no  less  than  $1,000,000  in- 
vested in  them.  In  1810  he  established 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  settlement  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  by  means  of  it  carrying  out  the  grandest 
commercial  scheme  that  had  ever  been  un- 
dertaken. His  ships,  leaving  New  York 
with  supplies  for  the  colony,  were  to  obtain 
from  it  and  by  trading  along  the  coast  car- 
goes of  furs  to  be  sold  in  China,  and  there 
loading  with  teas,  silks,  etc.,  would  return 
to  New  York,  making  a  complete  circum- 
navigation of  the  globe.  Mr.  Astor  was 
bound  by  his  articles  of  agreement  to  fur- 
nish capital  to  the  amount  of  $400,000  if 
required,  sending  each  year  an  expedition 
around  by  sea  and  another  across  the  coun- 
try to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  the 
profits  were  to  be  equally  divided  between 
his  associates  and  himself.  Notwithstanding 
a  succession  of  disasters,  Mr.  Astor  con- 
tinued for  three  years  to  despatch  a  ship 
bound  around  Cape  Horn,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia,  having  unshaken  confidence 
in  the  final  success  of  the  enterprise.  And 
such,  no  doubt,  would  have  been  the  result, 
had  not  his  principal  Canadian  partner,  who 
controlled  the  affairs  at  Astoria  (the  settle- 
ment on  the  Pacific),  proved  treacherous  and 
given  up  the  post  to  the  rival  North-west  Fur 
Company  for  a  mere  nominal  price,  on  the 
pretence  that  it  would  certainly  be  seized  by 
the  British  cruisers  during  the  war.  This 
occurred  on  the  16th  October,  1813. 

From  that  time  the  operations  of  Mr. 
Astor  were  restricted  to  the  northern  terri- 
tories lying  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
His  factories  were  at  Mackinaw,  and  at  the 
foot  and  head  of  Lake  Superior,  upon  whose 
waters  he  maintained  sailing  vessels  long 
before  they  were  visited  by  the  explorers 
of  copper  mines.  Up  to  the  year  1845  the 
only  business  prosecuted  upon  its  distant 


FURS,    AND    FUR    TRADE. 


345 


shores  was  that  of  the  fur  hunter,  and  they 
were,  in  fact,  known  only  to  this  class  and  to 
the  wandering  Chippewa  and  Sioux  tribes  of 
Indians.  The  territory  of  Minnesota,  also, 
and  the  still  more  western  regions,  were  fre- 
quented only  for  the  same  object  previous  to 
1848.  From  that  period,  or  even  earlier, 
the  fur  trade  has  declined  in  importance, 
and  its  profits  have  been  divided  among 
larger  numbers  of  adventurers.  The  house 
of  Pierre  Chouteau,  jr.,  &  Co.  has  been  dis- 
tinguished for  many  years  as  the  most  en- 
terprising of  those  engaged  in  the  trade ; 
and  in  1859  one  of  their  steamboats  ascen- 
ded the  Missouri  river  to  the  Great  Falls, 
near  the  Rocky  Mountains,  about  3,950  miles 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  returned  laden 
with  buffalo  robes.  Thus  the  trade  still  con- 
tinues to  be  the  pioneer  of  civilization — 
opening  new  roads  into  wild  territories  for 
the  advance  of  permanent  settlers. 

At  present,  St.  Paul,  in  Minnesota,  is  the 
chief  trading  post  of  the  fur  trade  of  the 
United  States.  Until  the  year  1844,  the 
furs  from  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  were 
sent  to  Hudson's  Bay  by  Nelson's  River,  but 
from  that  period  they  have  been  collected  at 
St.  Paul,  whence  they  are  transported  down 
the  Mississippi,  and  are  brought  at  last  to 
New  York.  In  1857,  the  value  of  the  furs 
shipped  from  St.  Paul  was  $182,491 ;  and 
in  1858,  when  the  price  of  furs  was  lower, 
the  shipments  amounted  to  $161,022.  The 
following  table  exhibits  the  varieties  and 
value  of  the  exports  of  1856  : — 


Animals. 

No.  skins. 

Value. 

Muskrat  

.   64,292 

$11,572  56 

Mink  

.      8,276 

18,621  00 

Marten.  

.      1,428 

3,570  0*0 

Fisher  

.      1,045 

4,702  00 

Fox,  red  

876 

1,095  00 

"       cross  

20 

100  00 

"       silver.  .  .  . 

8 

400  00 

"       kilt  

.      2,542 

3,271  00 

Raccoon  

.      3,400 

2,550  00 

Wolverine  

.     2,032 

3,048  00 

Otter  

405 

1,417  50 

Beaver  

586  Ibs. 

881  00 

Bear  

610 

6,700  00 

Lynx  

50 

125  00 

Buffalo  robes.  .  . 

.     7,500 

41,200  00 

Total  value.  . 

$97,252   56 

From  this  table  it  is  apparent  that  the 
character  of  the  important  furs  has  greatly 
changed  since  the  early  periods  of  the  trade. 
Buffalo  robes,  then  esteemed  of  no  impor- 
tance, are  now  the  largest  and  most  valuable 
item ;  while  the  beaver  and  otter,  and  even 
the  marten  and  fisher  (two  animals  of  the 


sable  kind)  have  greatly  fallen  off  in  relative 
importance.  The  skins  of  some  of  the 
smaller  animals,  as  the  mink,  assume  the 
greatest  importance  for  their  numbers  and 
value,  and  next  to  these,  in  aggregate  value, 
are  the  skins  of  the  common  muskrat. 
The  highest-priced  furs  are  the  Russian 
sable,  the  sea-otter,  and  the  black  or  silver 
fox.  For  its  size,  the  first  named  of  these 
is  the  most  valuable,  but  the  sea-otter  brings 
the  highest  price  of  any  single  skin.  This 
is  collected  chiefly  on  the  American  and 
Asiatic  coasts  of  the  North  Pacific  ocean  ; 
and  its  greatest  demand  is  among  the  Chi- 
nese and  Russians,  though  its  use  by  the 
former  is  restricted  to  the  mandarins  and 
high  officers  of  state.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  last  century  it  was  in  such  demand,  that 
several  expeditions  were  fitted  out  from  this 
country,  and  also  from  Europe,  expressly  for 
collecting  this  fur  from  the  islands  and  coast 
about  Nootka  Sound.  The  present  value  of 
the  skins  is  from  $100  to  $125  each.  The 
silver  fox  is  found  in  the  northern  part  of 
this  continent,  and  is  occasionally  captured 
in  the  region  about  Lake  Superior.  The 
value  of  the  skin  is  even  greater  than  that 
given  in  the  above  table — being  often  rated 
at  $60  apiece ;  in  Europe,  when  well  dressed, 
they  have  been  known  to  bring  nearly  as 
many  guineas.  They  are  in  demand  chiefly 
by  Russian  noblemen  for  their  most  costly 
outside  garments.  Of  late  years  the  skins 
of  the  skunk  have  been  largely  collected, 
and  thousands  of  them  have  been  annually 
exported  from  New  York.  Those  of  black 
color  were  worth  the  most,  and  sometimes 
brought  seventy-five  cents  each.  The  de- 
mand, however,  has  fallen  off,  as  it  is  found 
impossible  to  entirely  remove  the  disagreea- 
ble odor  of  the  animal,  so  that  it  will  not  be 
given  out  when  the  articles  made  of  the 
fur  are  moderately  warm.  Rabbits'  fur,  as 
described  in  the  account  of  the  hat  manufac- 
ture, is  an  article  of  considerable  trade.  It 
is  obtained  chiefly  from  Europe,  and  is  mostly 
consumed  by  the  hatters,  for  whose  use  noth- 
ing but  the  fur  itself  in  fleeces  is  imported. 
The  whole  skins  are  used  to  some  extent  by 
the  furriers  for  cutting.  The  present  char- 
acter of  the  trade,  and  value  of  skins,  are 
seen  in  the  following  statement  from  the  cir- 
cular of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  exten- 
sive houses  in  this  business — that  of  Messrs. 
C.  G.  Gunthcr  &  Sons,  of  Maiden  Lane,  New 
York.  To  their  experience  we  are  indebted 
for  many  of  the  particulars  that  follow  :—r 


346 


FURS,    AND    FUR   TRADE. 


Silver  fox,  according  to  size  and  color  

From  $10 

00 

to  <| 

:so 

00 

Otter,  northern  and  eastern,  and  north-western  

..do.     "          3 

50 

to 

5 

00 

"     Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  and  western  

.  .do.     "          3 

00 

to 

4 

00 

"     Kentucky,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  vicinity  

..do.     "          2 

DO 

to 

3 

50 

"     North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  »  .  . 

.do.     "          1 

50 

to 

3 

00 

Fisher,  northern  and  eastern,  according  to  size  and  color.  .  . 

"          2 

50 

to 

6 

00 

"        Penn.,  Ohio,  and  southern    "                           "... 

"           2 

00 

to 

3 

50 

Bear,  northern  "             "             " 

"          5 

00 

to 

8 

00 

"     southern  "            "            " 

"          2 

00 

to 

3 

00 

Martens  '"            "            " 

"          1 

50 

to 

1 

65 

Wolf  skins  

11 

50 

to 

i 

00 

Cross  fox,  northern  and  eastern,  according  to  size  and  color. 

"          3 

00 

to 

6 

00 

"        Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Ohio,  do  

"          2 

50 

to 

;  f 

00 

Red  fox,  northern  and  eastern,                                  do  

"           1 

25 

to 

1 

50 

"      south  Penn.,  New  Jersey,  and  Ohio,          do  

"           1 

00 

to 

1 

75 

"      southern  and  western,                               do  

11 

50 

to 

75 

Gray  fox,  northern  and  eastern,  cased  

it 

40 

to 

50 

"      southern  and  western  

tt 

?,() 

to 

40 

Beaver,  northern,  parchment,  per  skin  

'           1 

00 

to 

1 

50 

"         southern,  and  ordinary,  per  skin  

t 

50  to 

1 

00 

House  cat,  ordinarv  

t 

8 

to 

10 

"        black  furred  

'  ' 

15 

to 

20 

Mink,  New  York  and  eastern,  according  to  size  and  color.  .  . 

*          1 

51) 

to 

i 

25 

"      New  Jer.,  Penn.,  Ohio,  Mich.,  Ind.,  111.,  Wis.,  and  Iowa, 

do.. 

*          1 

25 

to 

1 

75 

"      Maryland,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Mo.,  Iowa,  and  south, 

do.. 

4          I 

00 

to 

1 

25 

"      North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 

do.. 

*          1 

00 

to 

r 

25 

"      South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Alabama, 

do.. 

*'. 

50 

to 

i 

00 

\Vild  cat,  northern  and  eastern  states,  cased  

| 

35 

to 

50 

"        southern  and  western  

\ 

20 

to 

40 

Raccoon,  Mich.,  north.  Ind.,  Indian  handled,  ac'd'g  to  size  and  color 

If 

60 

to 

;i 

00 

"         northern  Ohio,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota, 

do.. 

i 

50 

to 

60 

"         New  York  and  eastern  states,  and  north  Penn., 

do.. 

i 

40 

to 

50 

New  Jersey,  southern  Penn.,  Ohio,  Ind.,  and  111., 

do.. 

* 

30 

to 

40 

"         Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Kentucky, 

do.. 

t. 

25 

to 

30 

"        North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 

do.. 

4. 

20 

to 

25 

"        South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Alabama, 

do.. 

K 

10 

to 

20 

Muskrat,   spring  

t 

1  1 

to 

16 

"        fall  and  winter   

4 

? 

to 

8 

"        southern,    average  

t 

6 

to 

6 

Opossum,    northern,  cased  

K 

9 

to 

8 

"         southern  

1 

5 

to 

6 

Rabbit,     cased  

11 

1 

to 

2 

Skunk,    prime,  black,  cased  

11 

10 

to 

12 

"        white  and  black  

it 

8 

to 

5 

"        out  seasoned  and  very  white  

tt 

0 

to 

0 

Although  the  supplies  of  furs  are  dimin- 
ishing, the  trade  in  fancy  furs,  such  particu- 
larly as  are  used  for  ladies'  wear,  is  increasing 
in  importance  ;  and  in  the  city  of  New  York 
the  wholesale  and  retail  trade  for  the  year 
1856  was  estimated  to  amount  to  about 
$  1,3 1 5,000.  The  sales  of  a  single  house 
amounted  in  1858  to  about  $800,000,  and 
consisted  altogether  of  fancy  furs,  such  as 
sleigh-robes,  caps,  coats,  gloves,  and  all  arti- 
cles worn  by  men  and  w.omen.  The  same 
house  exported,  in  addition  to  this,  $350,000 
worth  of  shipping  furs,  consisting  of  otter, 
1  leaver,  muskrat,  fisher,  bear,  silver  fox,  wolf 
cross,  gray,  and  red  fox,  raccoon,  opossum, 
rabbit,  and  skunk.  A  decided  change  in  the 
requirements  for  furs  for  ladies'  wear  has 
taken  place  within  a  few  years.  Instead  of 
the  cheaper  sorts  which  formerly  supplied 


the  market,  the  more  costly  kinds  are  now 
largely  in  demand.  Russian  sable,  which, 
since  the  opening  of  the  Amoor  river,  is 
furnished  in  larger  quantities  and  at  lower 
rates,  is  much  worn,  and  so  are  opera  cloaks 
of  the  white  ermine,  tipped  with  black  tabs, 
from  the  tail  of  the  animal.  A  full  set  of 
the  best  Russian  sable,  consisting  of  a  fichu 
Russe,  muff,  and  cuft's,  has  been  sold  for 
$1,800.  The  fichu  Russe  is  a  large  cape, 
falling  below  the  waist,  and  from  twenty- 
eight  to  thirty-three  inches  in  length. 
Around  the  neck,  it  is  finished  with  a 
collar  four  inches  deep,  and  slightly  pointed 
at  the  back.  The  usual  prices  for  a  set  of 
this  fur  arc  from  $700  to  $1,500.  Made  of 
Hudson's  Bay  sable,  the  set  is  worth  from 
$200  to  $800.  Some  specimens  of  this  fur 
are  nearly  equal  in  beauty,  and  quite  so  in 


FURS,  AKD  FUR  TRADE. 


347 


quality,  to  the  lower  grades  of  Russian  sable. 
The  mink  is  the  most  popular  fur  for  the 
same  use,  owing  to  its  moderate  price,  com- 
bined with  good  qualities,  and  a  set  of  the 
finest  is  worth  from  $100  to  $200.  This 
and  the  sables  are  often  ingeniously  imitated 
by  dyeing  some  of  the  cheaper  sorts,  as 
rabbit's  fur,  so  that  even  experienced  per- 
sons are  sometimes  deceived.  The  stone 
marten  has  been  a  fashionable  fur,  but 
though  very  handsome,  it  is  giving  place  to 
those  sorts  of  darker  shades.  It  is  distin- 
guished by  a  white  underground,  and  over 
this  is  the  exterior  shading  of  a  light  brown 
stone  color.  A  fine  set  of  this  has  usually 
sold  for  from  $125  to  $150.  Fitch  makes  a 
good  serviceable  fur,  but  was  never  very 
fashionable.  It  is  of  yellowish  hue,  mel- 
lowed down  in  the  best  varieties  by  a  long, 
thick  overgrowth  of  dark  brown.  Sets  of 
the  darker  shades  are  worth  from  $50  to 
$75,  and  others  considerably  less.  Muskrat 
furs  are  sold  under  various  names,  as  river 
mink,  marsh  marten,  American  sable,  and 
French  mink,  and  are  worth  in  a  full  set 
from  $28  to  $35.  The  French  cony,  called 
also  French  sable,  is  a  French  rabbit,  colored 
brown,  with  black  stripes  through  the  mid- 
dle of  the  skin,  in  imitation  of  mink  and 
sable.  A  set  of  this  fur,  of  best  quality, 
costs  from  $20  to  $25.  Two  sorts  of  squir- 
rel furs  are  made  up,  and  mostly  for  chil- 
dren's wear  alone.  One  is  entirely  gray,  and 
the  other  mixed  gray  and  white,  and  their 
value  is  from  $25  to  $40  the  set.  The 
white  fur  worn  by  children  is  of  the  miniver 
and  white  cony.  Sets  of  furs  are  complete 
with  a  victorine  or  small  cape  in  the  place 
of  the  large  one,  and  are,  of  course,  furnished 
at  considerably  less  cost.  Fur  overcoats  for 
gentlemen  are  rarely  seen  in  this  country. 
A  few  have  been  introduced  from  Russia  of 
great  elegance,  both  sides  being  of  rich  fur, 
so  that  either  might  be  worn  outside.  Ladies 
in  the  cities  often  preserve  their  expensive 
furs  during  the  summer,  by  depositing  them 
with  the  fur  dealers,  who  take  the  same  care 
of  them  as  of  their  own  stock. 

The  mechanical  processes  to  which  furs  are 
subjected  are  few  and  simple.  The  skins  when 
stripped  from  the  animals  are  merely  dried 
in  the  sun,  in  order  to  protect  them  against 
putrefying.  Those  of  small  size  are  often 
first  steeped  in  a  solution  of  alum  for  more 
efficient  protection,  but  the  operation  is  ob- 
jectionable, as  the  alum  weakens  the  pelt. 
They  are  made  up  into  bales,  and  are  called 


peltry.  When  stored,  it  is  essential  to  keep 
them  perfectly  dry ;  and  to  guard  against  in- 
jury from  moths,  camphor  and  tobacco  are 
strewed  among  them;  and  they  must  be 
examined  every  few  weeks,  and  each  skin 
be  beaten  with  a  stick  in  order  to  cause  the 
worms  of  the  moth  to  fall  upon  the  floor, 
when  they  are  crushed  by  treading  upon  them. 

The  first  process  of  the  furrier  is  to  soften 
the  pelt.  This  is  done,  with  the  finer  kinds, 
by  placing  them  in  a  tub  with  a  quantity  of 
butter  and  trampling  them.  After  stripping 
off  the  loose  pieces  of  skin,  they  are  again 
trampled  in  sawdust  (that  of  mahogany 
being  preferred),  the  effect  of  which  is  to 
remove  the  grease,  and  the  cleaning  process 
is  completed  by  occasionally  beating  with  a 
stick  and  combing  the  fur.  The  skins  are 
now  ready  for  the  cutter,  who  from  a  large 
number  cuts  out  pieces  of  various  shapes, 
which  are  then  sewed  together  to  make  up 
the  various  articles  of  fur  dresses.  Each  cape, 
muff,  etc.,  is  thus  made  up  of  pieces  from  dif- 
ferent skins,  and  the  numerous  seams  are  con- 
cealed on  the  outside  by  the  fur  itself,  and  on 
the  inside  by  the  lining. 

Furs  that  are  to  be  used  for  felting  require 
first  the  separation  of  the  long  hairs.  This 
is  effected  after  the  skins  have  been  split, 
scraped,  and  pressed,  by  either  clipping  them 
down  to  the  length  of  the  short  hairs,  or 
pulling  them  out  one  by  one  as  each  is 
seized  between  a  knife-blade  and  the  thumb. 
When  carefully  trimmed  and  pressed,  the 
skin  is  well  moistened  with  water,  and  being 
held  upon  a  board  of  willow-wood,  the  fur  is 
cut  off  close  to  the  pelt  by  means  of  a  sharp, 
rough-edged  knife.  The  whole  clipping 
is  kept  in  one  fleece  by  means  of  a  piece  of 
tin  held  in  the  left  hand,  and  up  which  the 
fur  is  slipped  as  it  is  cut.  The  rabbits'  fur 
imported  for  the  hatters  is  received  in  these 
light,  loosely  cohering  fleeces,  each  being  the 
fur  of  one  animal.  The  skins  of  the  beaver 
and  nutria  require  much  more  thorough 
cleaning  to  remove  the  fat  from  the  pelt  and 
the  grease  from  the  fur,  as  by  repeated 
scrubbing  with  soap  and  hot  water.  The 
thick,  closely  matted  fur  of  the  former  has 
been  successfully  cut  by  machine  knives, 
an  operation  that  has  always  failed  when 
applied  to  the  more  uneven  and  thinner 
kinds  of  fur.  Some  chemical  preparations 
have  been  used  to  separate  the  fur  from  the 
pelt,  but  they  are  generally  found  to  be 
objectionable,  as  they  destroy  in  part  the 
felting  property. 


HATS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  HISTORY— MANUFACTURE  — IM- 
PROVEMENTS. 

FROM  an  early  period  in  the  history  of 
manufactures  in  the  United  States,  the  pro- 
duction of  hats  appears  to  have  been  prose- 
cuted with  considerable  success.  As  far 
back  as  the  year  1732,  the  business  was  so 
successfully  carried  on  in  New  England  and 
New  York  as  to  lead  to  complaints  among 
the  hatters  of  London,  and  representations  of 
the  injurious  effects  upon  the  trade  were  in 
consequence  made  by  the  London  Board  of 
Trade  to  the  House  of  Commons.  Being 
the  most  conspicuous  article  of  dress,  the  hat 
naturally  was  an  object  of  particular  solici- 
tude, and  much  more  latitude  was  allowed  in 
giving  to  it  peculiar  and  fanciful  forms  than 
at  the  present  time.  And  if  our  fathers 
failed  to  produce  fine  specimens  of  manufac- 
turing skill,  we  must  admit  that,  in  adopt- 
ing the  graceful  forms  of  the  high  Spanish 
hat,  with  its  rounded  brim,  and  ornaments 
of  plumes,  or  loops  and  tassels,  they  cer- 
tainly excelled  us  in  their  appreciation  and 
selection  of  pleasing  shapes,  instead  of  such 
stiff  and  awkward  forms  as  those  of  the 
fashionable  hat  of  the  present  day.  There 
was,  however,  with  them,  quite  as  great  a 
variety  of  hats  as  with^  us,  both  in  material 
and  in  figure.  The  common  hats  were  of 
rough  felt,  usually  of  wool,  or  of  wool  and 
fur — sometimes  of  fur  alone — and  the  prac- 
tice was  early  introduced  of  covering  the 
wool  body  with  a  plating  of  fine  fur,  felted 
by  hand  into  the  outside  of  the  coarser  ma- 
terial. The  body  was  stiffened  or  not  with 
glue,  and  sometimes  water-proof  stiffened 
with  gum  shellac.  The  round  crowns  of  the 
early  part  of  the  century  had  given  place, 
.  in  the  better  kinds  of  hats,  to  flat  tops, 
and  the  broad  brims  of  some  were  turned 
up  and  looped,  first  on  one  side,  then  on 
another,  and  at  last  on  the  third,  till  it  be- 
came the  regular  three-cocked  hat.  This, 


from  being  a  fashionable  Lat,  finally  came  to 
be  appropriated  to  military  officers,  by  whom 
it  is  still  worn  as  a  badge  of  rank.  The 
Quakers  alone  adhered  to  the  old  broad 
brims,  making  it,  it  is  said,  a  point  of 
faith  not  to  wear  a  button  or  a  loop,  and 
wore  their  hats  "  spread  over  their  heads  like 
a  pent-house,  darkening  their  outward  man 
to  signify  they  have  the  inward  light."  In 
the  other  extreme  there  were  fashionable 
hats,  like  ladies'  bonnets  of  the  present  time, 
too  small  to  serve  as  a  covering  for  the  head ; 
such  a  hat  was  conveniently  carried  under 
the  arm,  and  in  fashionable  calls  furnished  a 
pleasant  diversion  to  its  owner,  who  twirled 
it  upon  the  head  of  his  cane. 

Many  of  the  soft  hats  of  our  ancestors  were, 
no  doubt,  very  fair  articles  of  hand  work- 
manship. They  possessed  abundance  of 
material,  and  used  the  choice  fur  of  the 
beaver  more  lavishly  than  hatters  have  of 
late  been  able  to  afford.  Their  mode  of 
felting  was  the  same  as  that  now  practised 
where  machinery  is  not  introduced,  and 
their  methods  of  shaping  hats  over  blocks,  or 
"  sizing,"  were  probably  as  skilfully  con- 
ducted as  at  the  present  time.  But  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  stiff  pasteboard  hats,  covered 
with  a  sheet  of  fur  or  other  material,  the 
processes  in  use  were  comparatively  rude, 
and  have  so  continued  down  to  within  a  few 
years  past.  Within  our  own  recollection, 
the  hatter  in  almost  every  village  made  the 
hats  he  sold,  felting  his  own  materials  and 
forming  the  bodies  over  his  blocks,  and 
covering  with  them  the  stiff  and  clumsy 
cylinders  of  pasteboard,  shaped,  as  near  as 
might  be,  to  the  prevailing  forms  of  the  day. 
The  fur  of  the  musquash  and  beaver  were 
used,  often  plated  upon  a  body  of  lamb's 
wool ;  and  the  choicest  beaver  hats  were 
plated  with  the  finest  fur  of  the  animal,  taken 
from  the  bolly  and  cheeks.  This,  too,  came 
to  be  used  upon  bodies  of  rabbits'  fur,  cf 
which  the  so-called  beaver  hats  at  last  wore 
chiefly  made ;  and  as  beaver  became  scarce, 


EARLY    HISTORY MANUFACTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 


349 


nutria,  from  a  South  American  animal  of 
tliis  name,  was  very  generally  substituted 
for  it.  The  hatter  was  provided  with  dyeing 
kettles,  in  which  the  complex  materials  of 
his  hat  bodies  were  brought  to  a  uniform 
black  shade ;  and  there  was  a  variety  of  ap- 
paratus for  steaming,  shaping,  and  finishing, 
all  of  which  involved  laborious  hand-work- 
ing, and  more  or  less  mechanical  skill,  to 
produce  the  small  number  of  hats  required 
by  the  men  and  boys  of  the  village. 

Within  a  few  years  a  complete  revolution 
has  been  effected  in  this  business.  Ma- 
chinery has  been  almost  wholly  substituted 
for  hand  labor  in  preparing  the  materials  of 
hats,  and  this  is  now  done  upon  an  immense 
scale  in  a  few  of  the  large  cities,  whence  the 
hat  bodies,  or  the  finished  hats,  are  sent  for 
the  supply  of  the  country.  The  effect  of 
this  has  been  to  furnish,  hats  of  uniformly 
better  quality  than  were  made  by  hand,  at 
greatly  reduced  cost,  and  to  carry  the  manu- 
facture to  such  perfection  that  the  American 
hat  is  now  distinguished  as  the  lightest  and 
best  produced  in  any  country.  In  England, 
the  American  is  often  recognized  by  the  ex- 
cellence of  his  hat.  For  this  we  are  in  part 
indebted  to  the  greater  dryness  of  our  cli- 
mate, the  moisture  of  England  rendering  it 
necessary  to  give  more  body  and  stiffening 
to  the  hats  exposed  to  its  influence.  This 
is  not  so  much  the  case  in  France,  and  hats 
there  approach  more  nearly  the  quality  of 
our  own. 

In  New  York  city  the  business  in  the  com- 
mon felted  hats  of  wool  and  of  fur,  which 
make  no  pretensions  as  works  of  mechani- 
cal skill,  is  carried  on  upon  an  immense 
scale  in  numerous  establishments ;  and  it  is 
stated  that  the  commission  houses  and  agen- 
cies engaged  in  this  trade,  which  are  con- 
centrated chiefly  in  the  lower  part  of  Broad- 
Avay,  sell  over  5,000,000  hats  annually. 

The  business  in  stiff  hats  is  quite  a  dis- 
tinct branch,  and  their  manufacture  is  ex- 
tended through  several  different  establish- 
ments. The  making  of  the  bodies  is  almost 
monopolized  by  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Henry  A. 
Burr  <fe  Co.,  of  New  York  city,  and  by  their 
patented  machinery,  supplied  to  agents  in  a 
few  other  cities.  They  receive  from  the 
hatters,  who  buy  of  the  importers,  lots  of 
rabbits'  fur — the  chief  supplies  cf  which 
come  from  towns  near  the  German  Ocean,  as 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Brussels,  etc.  Some 
of  poorer  quality  is  also  obtained  from  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina.  The  fur  of  each 


lot  is  mixed  together,  and  to  every  4  or  5 
ounces  (the  usual  quantity  for  a  felt  hat)  ^ 
to  £  an  ounce  of  the  finest  carded  cotton  is 
added ;  and  at  the  same  rate  for  the  lighter 
fashionable  hats,  the  weight  of  which  is 
about  3  ozs.  Picking  machines,  revolving 
with  great  velocity,  and  creating,  in  a  capa- 
cious box,  a  powerful  current  of  air,  cause 
the  fur  to  be  well  mixed,  the  operation  being 
repeated  to  make  it  thoroughly  effectual. 
The  long  hairs  and  bits  of  pelt  are  then 
separated  by  what  is  called  the  blowing  ma- 
chine. This  consists  of  pickers,  which  re- 
volve several  thousand  times  in  a  minute, 
and  strike  out  the  coarse  hairs  and  heavy 
particles,  which  fall  upon  a  screen,  while  the 
light  hairs  are  blown  upward  and  carried 
forward  to  another  compartment,  where  the 
same  process  is  repeated.  The  screens  are 
kept  in  agitation,  and  the  coarse  particles 
are  finally  shaken  off  at  the  feet  of  the  man 
who  feeds  the  machine,  and  by  him  they  are 
again  passed  through  to  save  the  fur  that 
adheres  to  them.  The  dust  escapes  through 
the  perforated  copper  covering  of  the  ma- 
chine, and  the  clean  fur  is  delivered  at  the 
extreme  end  in  a  fine  flocculent  condition, 
readily  worked  into  a  mat  by  felting,  as  is 
shown  by  rolling  a  little  of  it  between  the 
fingers.  In  the  large  factory  of  the  Messrs. 
Burr  &  Co.,  about  30  of  these  machines 
are  kept  in  operation,  and  the  quantity  of 
fui1  prepared  by  them  is  enough  for  about 
10,000  hats  daily.  This  number  of  hat 
bodies  has  been  produced  at  this  factory  for 
several  months  together.  Two  steam  en- 
gines are  employed  by  turns,  one  of  which 
is  of  400,  and  the  other  of  200  horse  power. 
The  fur  used  to  be  felted  altogether  by 
the  hand  process :  but  various  improved 
methods  have  been  devised  for  lessening 
the  labor;  and  the  best  of  these  are  of 
American  origin.  By  the  process  invented 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Blanchard,  of  Boston,  the 
fur  was  made  to  collect  upon  a  fine  wire 
gauze,  and  there  take  the  form  of  a  matted 
ribbon,  by  exhausting  the  air  beneath  so  as 
to  create  a  strong  current  of  air  from  the  re- 
ceptacle in  which  the  particles  of  fur  were 
kept  floating  in  the  air.  This  ribbon  being 
wound  around  a  double  conical  block,  of  the 
size  of  two  hat  bodies,  was  then  joined  along 
the  overlapping  edges  by  rubbing.  The 
method  of  Messrs.  Burr  <fc  Co.  is  an  im- 
provement upon  this,  perfected  by  Mr. 
Henry  A.  Wells  and  Mr.  Burr.  A  cone  of 
sheet  copper,  considerably  larger  than  a  hat 


350 


HATS. 


body,  punched  full  of  small  round  holes,  is 
set  upright,  and  made  to  revolve  slowly 
upon  a  vertical  spindle.  An  exhausting  fan 
under  it  rotates  about  4,000  times  in  a 
minute,  causing  a  strong  current  of  air  to 
draw  through  the  holes  from  the  outside. 
Against  the  cone  is  the  mouth  of  a  sort  of 
trunk,  or  long  box,  in  the  opposite  end  of 
which  the  fur  is  fed  in  quantities  just  suf- 
ficient, each  time,  for  one  hat  body.  The 
fur  is  taken  up  from  the  feeding  apron  by  a 
cylindrical  brush,  and  thrown  forward  by 
the  rapid  revolutions  of  this,  which  also 
create  a  current  of  air  that  blows  the  fur 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  box.  From  thence 
it  is  seized  by  the  exhausting  current,  and 
drawn  down  upon  the  cone,  covering  this 
completely,  while  it  is  turning  round  sixteen 
times.  The  workman  standing  by  picks  off 
any  coarse  particles  that  fall  in  with  the 
rest,  and  as  soon  as  the  deposit  is  completed, 
he  lays  a  wet  cloth  over  the  cone,  and 
places  over  all  a  loosely  fitting  metallic 
cover.  He  then  lifts  off  the  whole,  and  im- 
merses it  in  a  tank  of  hot  water,  replacing  a 
new  cone  immediately,  to  receive  the  next 
hat  body.  The  effect  of  the  hot  water  is  to 
make  the  particles  of  fur  cohere  more  closely 
together.  When  taken  out  of  the  water  the 
mat  is  placed  in  a  piece  of  blanket,  and 
worked  by  the  hand  upon  a  table.  It  is 
then  squeezed,  to  press  out  the  water,  and 
folded,  to  be  pressed  with  others,  and  made 
up  with  them  into  bundles  for  the  hatters. 
The  shape  of  these  bodies  is  that  of  a  wide, 
open-mouthed  bag,  of  a  size  much  larger 
than  the  hat.  They  are  very  soft,  and  toler- 
ably strong,  and  are  afterward  reduced  to 
the  required  dimensions  and  shape  by  the 
process  called  "sizing,"  which  is  done  by 
the  makers  of  felt  hats  for  themselves,  and 
for  most  of  the  larger  manufacturers  of  silk 
hats  by  intermediate  establishments  specially 
devoted  to  this  object. 

The  immense  advantage  gained  by  these 
improvements,  is  seen  in  the  enormous  pro- 
duction of  the  factory  of  Messrs.  Burr  &  Co., 
which,  in  1856,  amounted  to  about  3,000,000 
hat  bodies,  besides  about  an  equal  number 
made  by  their  machines  in  other  cities. 
These  were,  moreover,  of  uniform  quality, 
according  to  the  kind  of  fur  used,  and 
every  one  free  from  imperfection.  By  the 
old  method,  it  was  the  labor  of  a  skilful 
man  to  form  four  or  five  bodies  in  a  day ; 
and  these  w6re  generally  inferior  to  the 
machine-made  bodies.  Their  cost  was  es- 


timated at  56  cents  each.  The  new  ma- 
chines, called  "  formers,"  employ,  each  one, 
two  men  and  a  boy  to  tend  them,  and 
another  man  is  occupied  in  rolling  and  put- 
ting up  the  bodies.  Their  production  is 
400  a  day,  and  the  cost  of  the  labor  em- 
ployed is  rated  at  from  six  to  ten  cents  for 
each  hat. 

The  "  sizing"  of  the  bodies,  as  performed 
by  the  manufacturers  of  felt  hats,  and  those 
who  prepare  them  for  the  makers  of  silk 
hats,  consists  chiefly  in  rubbing  a  pile  of  the 
bodies  after  they  have  been  dipped  in  hot 
water,  and  rolled  in  a  blanket  upon  a  sloping 
plank  table,  that  forms  the  margin  of  a  large 
central  tank.  This  is  called  the  hat-maker's 
battery,  and  is  large  enough  for  eight  to 
twelve  men  to  work  around  it.  By  rubbing 
the  bodies  they  soon  felt  together  more 
closely,  and  are  reduced  to  the  proper  sizes 
for  hats.  Those  intended  for  silk  hats  are 
called  shells ;  and  in  this  condition  are  sent 
to  the  factories  where  these  hats  are  made  up. 

Silk  hats,  which  are  the  latest  and  most 
perfect  improvement  in  this  art,  are  made  by 
covering  the  stiffened  fur  bodies  or  shells  with 
black  plush  specially  prepared  for  this  use, 
and  supplied  to  the  trade  from  France,  the 
best  dyed  coming  from  the  manufactory  of 
Martin,  of  Paris.  This  business  is  carried  on 
in  several  large  establishments  in  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  other  cities;  and  from 
these  the  fashionable  hatters  are  supplied 
with  hats  made  to  order  and  marked  with 
their  names.  The  country  trade  is  also  sup- 
plied from  the  same  sources,  but  with  hats 
rather  heavier  and  stronger  than  those  made 
for  city  wear.  The  latter  weigh  when  finish- 
ed only  about  three  ounces,  and  are  not 
usually  expected  to  continue  in  wear  more 
than  a  few  months ;  not  because  of  their  be- 
coming shabby  in  this  time,  but  because 
slight  changes  in  the  form  are  continually 
introduced,  which  Avearers  must  adopt  to 
keep  in  the  fashion ;  and  in  the  city  there  is 
more  disposition  and  means  for  always  wear- 
ing the  best. 

The  manufacture  involves  a  variety  of  pro- 
cesses, each  of  which,  after  the  most  eco- 
nomical system  of  division  of  labor,  is  con- 
ducted by  workmen  specially  devoted  to  tins 
alone.  By  one  set  of  hands  the  soft  shell;? 
are  first  subjected  to  the  operation  of  water- 
proof stiffening.  They  are  dipped  one  at  a 
time  in  a  weak  solution  of  shell-lac,  then 
slipped  over  a  block,  and  partially  brought 
into  shape  by  rubbing  with  the  hands.  The 


EARLY    HISTORY MANUFACTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 


351 


brim  and  tip  (or  edges  of  the  top)  are  then 
brushed  over  with  a  thicker  coating  of  the 
gum  to  give  additional  stiffness  to  these 
parts.  When  dry,  a  hot  iron  is  applied, 
which  has  the  effect  on  cooling  of  giving 
greater  hardness  and  solidity  to  the  material. 
The  next  application  is  a  coating  of  fine  glue 
or  gelatine,  the  object  of  which  is  to  prevent 
the  varnish  of  seed-lac,  which  is  next  laid  on, 
from  striking  in.  The  hats  are  after  this 
taken  to  the  finishing-room,  and  here  are 
first  shaped  and  trimmed,  to  the  exact  pat- 
tern sent  with  the  orders  from  the  retail  hat- 
ters. In  this  operation  brass  gauges  of  a 
variety  of  forms  are  made  use  of,  by  Avhich 
the  .exact  dimensions  and  shapes  required 
are  secured  without  the  slightest  deviation. 


The  silk  plush  has  been  in  the  meantime  al- 
ready prepared  by  sewing  a  circular  piece  for 
covering  the  top,  with  great  nicety  to  the 
piece  which  surrounds  the  body,  the  two 
edges  of  which  meet  in  a  line  up  and  down 
the  side  of  the  hat.  The  brim  is  covered  by 
a  separate  piece  above  and  below,  and  the 
edges  of  these  pieces  are  afterward  concealed 
under  the  binding  and  the  band.  A  hot  iron 
is  applied,  in  order  to  smooth  the  plush  and 
cause  it  to  adhere  to  the  varnish,  which  is 
softened  by  the  heat  of  the  iron.  After 
being  lined  and  trimmed,  the  hat  is  finally 
smoothed  and  shaped  with  a  hot  iron,  and 
the  precise  curve  required  is  given  to  the 
brim,  the  finishing  of  which  demands  the 
skill  of  a  practical  workman. 


INDIVIDUAL  INDUSTRIES. 


THE  great  progress  of  this  country,  as 
evinced  in  the  developments  of  the  preced- 
ing articles,  is  manifest  to  the  civilized  world, 
in  the  position  which  the  country  occupies 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  If  we  have 
followed  the  progress  of  each  leading  branch, 
from  small  beginnings  up  to  the  magnificent 
results  that  they  now  display,  it  has  been  to 
show  that  these  results,  great  as  they  are,  are 
but  the  preliminary  to  that  career  which  the 
future  promises.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  capital  of  the  country  had  to  be 
created,  and  that  the  large  enterprises  could 
be  carried  out  only  by  an  accumulation  of 
capital  that  grew  as  it  was  applied.  The 
manufactories,  the  mines,  the  finances,  the 
railroads  of  the  country,  were  nearly  all  car- 
ried on  by  associated  capital  acting  through 
corporate  bodies.  Underlying  those  vast 
undertakings,  however,  are  the  broad  fields  of 
individual  industry,  where  every  man,  de- 
pending only  on  his  own  skill  and  perse- 
verance, not  only,  as  it  were,  created  an  in- 
dustry, but  devised  the  means  of  making 
it  useful.  The  inventive  genius  of  the  peo- 
ple has  been  systematically  applied  to  the 
improvement  of  qualities  of  goods  made,  at 
the  same  time  that  the  cost  of  manufacture 
has  been  cheapened.  The  field  of  individual 
industries  may  be  explored  with  quite  as 
much  interest  and  admiration  as  those  which 
have  been  opened  by  the  application  of  in- 
corporated capital.  The  wonderful  results 
that  have  been  obtained  have  been  accom- 
panied by  the  fortunes  of  the  enterprising 
men  that  have  produced  them.  It  is  the 
case  sometimes  with  corporate  capital  that 
the  greatest  enterprises  are  carried  out  suc- 
cessfully for  the  public  interests  while  the 
capital  invested  in  them  has  been  sunk.  In 
the  case  of  individual  operation,  a  combina- 
tion of  mechanical  inventions,  of  industry 
classified,  of  raw  materials  judiciously  as- 
sorted, and  of  directing  skill,  produces  ar- 
ticles that,  before  unknown  or  unappreciated 
by  the  public,  have  become  necessities,  and 


the  demand  rewards  the  genius  and  judg- 
ment of  the  manufacturer  with  a  fortune. 
In  almost  all  cases,  but  little  money  capital 
was  possessed  at  the  commencement,  but 
there  was  a  better  capital  than  mere  money 
in  the  self-reliant  genius  of  the  indomitable 
American.  These  individuals  have  remod- 
elled old  manufacturing  processes  with  im- 
provements, and  created  others,  giving  em- 
ployment to  thousands  of  workers,  and  cre- 
ating interchangeable  values  for  the  great 
natural  products  of  the  country ;  in  other 
words,  finding  a  market  for  labor  which 
would  otherwise  not  have  been  available. 
In  the  present  article  we  will  explore  a 
number  of  the  leading  industries  of  this 
nature. 


BUILDINGS  AND  BUILDING  MATERIAL. 

AMONG  the  marvellous  evidences  of  the 
advancing  wealth  and  luxury  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  the  multiplication  and  improve- 
ment of  dwellings  are  very  conspicuous. 
The  official  figures  in  relation  to  the  num- 
bers and  values  of  dwellings  in  the  country 
are  indeed  not  very  abundant  or  very  pre- 
cise. There  are  materials,  however,  which, 
put  together,  give  a  pretty  accurate  esti- 
mate of  the  enormous  investments  in  dwell- 
ings. 

In  1798  the  number  of  dwellings  and  their 
value  in  all  the  states,  was  given  in  the  tax- 
list  laid  before  Congress.  The  values  given 
in  the  official  tax  list  at  the  end  of  the  last 
century  not  only  apply  to  a  class  of  dwell- 
ings far  less  costly  than  the  average  of 
those  now  in  vogue,  but  it  was  at  a  time 
when  money  or  capital  was  of  a  higher 
value  relatively.  The  number  and  value 
of  the  houses  then  reported  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  number  of  dwellings  reported 
in  the  United  States  Census  of  1850,  as 
follows : — 


354 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


NUMBER    AND    VALUE    OF 

DWELLINGS    IN    THE     UNITED    STATES. 

1798. 

1850. 

No.  dwelling! 

i.              Value. 

No.  dwelling! 

L              Value. 

Maine  

.  .     part  of  Massachusetts. 

95,802 

$72,109,000 

New  Hampshire  

.  .   11,142 

$4,146,938  90 

57,339 

43,004,250 

Vermont  

.  .     5,437 

1,558,389  36 

56,421 

42,315,750 

Massachusetts  

..  48,984 

24,546,826  46 

152,835 

114,626,250 

Rhode  Island  

.  .     7,037 

2,984,002  87 

22,379 

16,784,250 

Connecticut.  

.  .   23,465 

8,149,479  28 

64,013 

48,009,750 

New  York  

.  .  33,416 

25,495,631  39 

473,936 

354,452,000 

New  Jersey  

..   19,624 

9,149,918  84 

81,064 

60,798,000 

Pennsylvania  

..   51,772 

29,321,048  33 

386,216 

289,662,000 

Delaware  

..     5,094 

2,180,165  83 

15,290 

11,464,500 

Maryland  

.  .   16,933 

10,738,286  63 

81,708 

61,281,000 

District  of  Columbia  

7,917 

5,937,750 

Virginia  

.  .   27,693 

11,248,267  67 

165,815 

124,361,270 

North  Carolina  

..   11,760 

2,932,893  09 

104,996 

78,747,000 

South  Carolina  

.  .     6,427 

5,008,292  93 

52,642 

39,481,500 

Georgia  

.  .     3,446 

1,797,631  25 

91,206 

63,404,500 

Florida  

.  . 

9,022 

6,766,500 

Alabama  

,  . 

73,070 

54,807,500 

Mississippi  

.  . 

51,681 

38,760,750 

Louisiana  

.  , 

49,101 

36,825,750 

Texas  

27,988 

20,991,000 

Arkansas  

.  , 

28,252 

21.189,000 

Tennessee  

..     1,030 

286,446  83 

129,419 

97,065,750 

Kentucky  

..     3,339 

1,139,765  13 

130,769 

98.076,250 

Missouri  

1  1 

96,849 

72,344,850 

Illinois  

.  . 

146,544 

109,908,000 

Indiana  

.  . 

170,178 

127,629,500 

Ohio  

336,098 

252,073,530 

Michigan  

^  9 

71,616 

53,712.000 

Wisconsin  

56,316 

42,237,000 

Iowa  

32,962 

29,971,500 

California  

23,742 

17,806,500 

Minnesota  Territory  

1  1 

1,002 

751,500 

New  Mexico  Territory  

.  . 

13,453 

10,089,750 

Oregon  Territory  

.  ^ 

2,374 

1,780,500 

Utah  Territory  

2,322 

1,741,500 

Total  

Number  of  churches, 

..276,559 

$140,683,984  77 

3,362,337 
36,221 

$2,520,967,400 
87,049,459 

The  national  census  of  1850  did  not  give 
the  value  of  the  dwellings,  but  the  state  cen- 
sus of  New  York  for  1855  gave  not  only  the 
dwellings  but  their  value  and  material  of 
construction.  By  that  census  it  appears 
there  were  in  New  York  522,325  dwell- 
ings, worth  $664,899,967,  or  an  average  of 
$1,267  each.  The  average  for  stone  houses 
was  $6,526.  These  are  mostly  the  better 
class  of  houses  belonging  to  the  wealthy  in- 
habitants of  towns.  The  whole  number  of 
these  is  7,536,  of  which  1,617  are  in  New 
York  city,  and  worth  $32,267,340,  or  an 
average  of  $20,000  each.  In  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  state  the  stone  houses  are 
5,919  in  number  and  $16,917,479  in  value, 
or  an  average  of  nearly  $3,000  each.  The 
New  York  stone  houses  and  hotels  are  ex- 
ceptions, being  the  most  luxurious  display 
of  the  wealthy  few.  The  number  of  brick 
houses  is  57,450,  average,  $5,433  ;  and  of 
frame  houses,  397,638,  average  value  $748. 


If,  then,  we  assume  $750  as  the  average 
value  of  the  dwellings  in  the  whole  Union, 
the  result  for  1850  will  be  an  aggregate  of 
$2,521,752,750  invested  in  dwelling-nouses, 
being  an  increase  of  $2,381,068,765  in  52 
years,  or  nearly  $50,000,000  per  annum  for 
52  successive  years,  in  addition  to  the 
$87,049,459  invested  in  churches.  The 
sums  absorbed  by  other  public  buildings  are 
not  specified.  The  building  which  has  been 
done  in  the  last  ten  years  by  far  exceeds  that 
ratio.  Thus  the  New  York  State  census 
gives  the  number  of  dwellings  in  1855  at 
522,325  against  473,936  in  1850,  an  increase 
of  48,389,  or  more  than  10  per  cent,  in  five 
years.  Comparing  dwellings  to  the  popula- 
tion, the  results  are  as  follow  : — 


UNITED     STATES. 


No. 

1798 276,659 

1850 3,362,337 

1860 4,333,730 


Free 

population. 

4,412,884 

20,059,399 

28,000,000 


Persons  to 

each  bouse. 

19.00 

5.94 

6.00 


BUILDINGS    AND    BUILDING    MATERIALS. 


355 


NEW  YORK   STATE. 


No. 

1798 33,416 

1850 473,936 

1855 522,325 


Population.  p-°uns 

586,754  19.00 

3,097,394  6.53 

3,466,212  6.64 


The  number  of  persons  to  a  dwelling  was 
greater  in  New  York  in  1850  than  the  aver- 
age of  the  Union,  and  that  number  slightly 
increased ;  in  the  next  five  years  that  increase 
was  again  narrowed  to  the  city  of  New  York, 
where  the  crowd  of  foreign  arrivals  and  large 
hotels  and  boarding-houses  raised  the  num- 
*ber  of  persons  to  15  for  each  house. 

The  population  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
number  of  dwellings  are  as  follow  : — 

Population.     Dwellings.  P^?gr 

1850 408,762         61,278         6.10° 

1860 568,034         89,978         6.05 

In  Philadelphia  the  increase  of  dwellings 
per  cent,  appears  to  bo  greater  than  the  pro- 
gress of  the  population. 

The  general  result  in  the  Union  is  a  house 
for  every  free  white  family,  and  these  fami- 
lies average  5^  persons  each.  From  these 
figures  it  is  apparent  that  the  number  of 
houses  in  the  Union  progresses  in  the  ratio 
of  its  free  inhabitants.  Thus,  in  1850,  the 
number  of  houses  was  to  the  population  of 
the  whole  Union  as  1  to  5.94  ;  assuming  that 
for  1860  there  are  6  persons  to  each  house, 
there  must  now  be  4,333,333  houses,  an  in- 
crease of  970,996  houses  in  10  years,  at  a 
value  of,  in  round  numbers,  $800,000,000.  In 
the  same  proportion,  there  must  be,  in  1870, 
5,600,000  houses,  which,  at  the  value  of  1855, 
would  be  $4,200,000,000.  In  other  words, 
during  the  present  decade,  1,300,000  houses 
must  be  built,  and  it  is  probable,  from  the 
advancing  luxury  of  the  age,  they  will  cost 
more  than  those  of  15  years  before,  and  one 
thousand  three  hundred  millions  may  be  re- 
quired for  the  expenditure.  This  is  a  neces- 
sity of  increasing  numbers,  and  provides 
nothing  for  re-construction,  or  churches,  or 
public  buildings.  This  item  of  house-build- 
ing in  an  increasing  country  stands  out  in 
contrast  to  the  demand  in  the  same  line  in 
old  and  stationary  countries  of  Europe. 
Some  of  those  old  cities  were  built  500  to 
1000  years  ago,  of  solid  masonry,  and  very 
few  houses  have  since  been  added.  There 
is  no  active  and  continued  demand  for  labor 
and  capital  to  provide  new  dwellings  to  ac- 
commodate swelling  numbers.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  empty  dwellings  frequently  give 
melancholy  signs  of  a  departing  population. 

22 


In  the  United  States,  not  only  does  this 
vast  annual  demand  for  130,000  new  houses 
exist,  but  every  year  brings  improvements  in 
the  style  of  construction  and  the  luxurious- 
ness  of  accommodation.  The  simple  frame 
buildings  that  generally  spring  up  on  the 
outskirts  of  cities,  are,  before  they  are  yet 
old,  required  to  give  place  to  brick  buildings, 
since  the  spreading  population  carries  the  mu- 
nicipal laws  which  forbid  wooden  structures 
over  larger  limits.  The  brick  buildings  that 
supplant  the  frame  must  also  be  more  sub- 
stantial, since  the  same  fire  laws  also  pre- 
scribe the  thickness  and  stability  of  the 
walls.  Wealth  follows  with  its  more  preten- 
tious style,  and  brown  stone  or  marble  pal- 
aces rear  their  stately  fronts  on  what  was 
lately  an  open  lot.  With  the  improved 
style  of  houses  there  is  a  constant  ambition 
to  occupy  a  "  modern  house,"  or  one  with 
the  "  modern  improvements,"  which  may  be 
enumerated  as,  warming  apparatus,  whether 
by  hot-air,  water,  steam,  or  gas ;  the  water- 
pipes  in  all  the  rooms,  connecting  with  the 
cooking-range  for  facility  of  heating ;  water- 
closets  and  bath-rooms  connected  with  street 
sewers  to  carry  off  the  waste  water;  bells, 
speaking-tubes,  telegraphs,  ventilation,  burn- 
ing-gas, dumb-waiters  to  communicate  with 
different  floors,  and  all  the  luxury  of  arrange- 
ment and  embellishment  which  makes  a 
modern  private  dwelling  so  far  in  advance 
even  of  the  fairy  palaces  of  the  Arabian 
Nights'  Entertainments.  There  is  a  natural 
desire  on  the  part  of  all  to  obtain,  as  circum- 
stances will  permit,  a  better  house,  and  if 
these  are  not  built  in  the  substantial  manner 
which  in  Europe  defies  the  ravages  of  time, 
they  are  in  the  fashion  and  luxury  of  the 
day,  and  may  be  altered  or  re-constructed  as 
fortune  changes.  The  railroads  that  give 
access  to  the  neighborhood,  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  a  business  man  may  take  his  break- 
fast at  7|  o'clock,  ride  40  miles,  and  be  at 
his  office  before  bank  opens,  has,  so  to  speak, 
carried  city  houses  into  a  broad  circle  of 
country,  and  "  villas"  rise  rapidly  from  the 
soil,  also  provided  with  all  city  improve- 
ments. Thousands  of  miles  are  within  this 
influence.  In  sections  which,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  since,  were  shadowed  only  by  the 
native  forests,  in  which  the  scream  of  the 
panther  and  the  gleam  of  his  eyes  startled 
the  benighted  traveller,  streets  of  marble 
fronts  now  emit  the  glare  of  gas  and  the 
latest  creations  of  the  opera.  In  all  direc- 
tions the  gaze  of  the  traveller  falls  upon 


356 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


new  creations,  where  lumber,  brick,  stone, 
and  lime  are  combining  into  a  dwelling  or 
a  factory,  a  school-house  or  a  church. 

The  increase  of  houses  being  proportion- 
ed to  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the 
people,  their  value  has  risen  in  the  ratio 
of  their  growing  -wealth.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  country,  in  all  its  sections,  abounds 
with  the  best  materials  for  all  description  of 
dwellings,  and  yet  these  materials  were  very 
slowly  discovered.  For  long  years  the  bricks 
with  which  the  best  houses  of  New  York 
were  built,  were  brought  from  Amsterdam 
in  those  stately  old  droguers  which,  on  their 
arrival  in  the  bay  of  New  Amsterdam, 
were  regularly  dismantled  and  laid  up  over 
the  winter,  setting  out  on  their  homeward 
voyage  with  the  early  spring.  The  bricks 
were  probably  used  as  ballast,  but  even  then 
the  cost  of  a  house  so  built  was  something 
important.  The  early  houses  of  the  set- 
tlers were  log  huts,  but  subsequently  frame 
houses  were  raised  by  the  more  ambitious, 
and,  as  wealth  increased,  those  "  shingle 
palaces" '  that  became  famous  in  the  stories 
of  New  England  manners,  began  to  dot  the 
country.  In  the  cities,  frame  houses  were 
the  rule  down  to  a  comparatively  late  date, 
when  the  fire  laws  forbade  the  erection  of 
wooden  tenements  within  certain  districts. 
The  abundance  of  timber  not  only  for  build- 
ing purposes,  but  for  fuel,  was  a  great  advan- 
tage to  the  country.  But  as  the  population 
increased,  the  inroads  upon  it  became  very 
heavy,  and  the  forests  were  rapidly  thinned 
out.  The  annual  consumption  exceeded  the 
growth,  according  to  the  estimates  of  the 
most  experienced  lumbermen,  by  about  30 
per  cent.,  and  this  notwithstanding  that 
coal  came  to  supply  the  drafts  made  for 
fuel,  and  the  substitution  of  bricks  for  city 
houses.  The  sources  of  lumber  for  building 
purposes  have  become  tnore  diversified  as 
the  demand  has  increased.  The  State  of 
Maine  was  for  a  long  time  the  head-quarters 
of  the  trade  for  pine,  spruce,  and  hemlock 
lumber;  but  hard  pine  comes  from  North 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Alabama; 
Ohio  and  Michigan  supply  black  walnut, 
cherry,  ash,  white  oak.  The  exports  from 
the  country  are  about  $2,500,000  per  an- 
num, and  ship-building  makes  large  drafts 
upon  it.  The  lumber  trade  at  various 
leading  points,  where  the  lumber  resources 
of  the  back  country  are  most  readily  con- 
centrated for  market,  may  be  given  as  fol- 
lows : — 


Detroit  — 
Savannah  . 
Charleston. 
Albany.  .  . 
Bangor .... 
Cincinnati . 
Chicago — 
Milwaukee 
Oswego  . . 
Cleveland  . 
Baltimore  . 
Boston  . . . 
Buffalo.... 
Philad'phia 


Feet: 

76,537,000 

23,365.656 

15,312,128 
291,771,762 
176,187,016 

32,000,000 
300,982,207 

65,000,000 
144,654,572 

28,950,000 
100,000,000 
131,000,000 

68,558,151 
162,879,722 


Lath. 

M. 

13,491,000 


49,102,000 
1,643,500 


20,000,000 
2,026,000 


Shingles. 
36,647,000 

48,756,000 

165,927,000 
7,653,25ft 

28,000,000 

10,000,000 

1,768,300 

21,220,937 


Total...  1,661,568,214 
Value...    $31,931,364 


86,262,500     320,072,487 
$138,797       $1,280,289 


The  Bangor  lumber  is  derived  from  the 
forests  of  that  region,  and  it  composes  a 
part  of  that  sent  to  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
etc.  The  Savannah  and  Charleston  trade  is 
that  shipped  from  those  ports,  mostly  North. 
The  Albany  lumber  is  derived  from  the 
canal  deliveries  and  the  northern  section. 
The  Philadelphia  lumber  comes  mostly  from 
the  canals  and  rivers ;  about  one-third  comes 
through  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Ca- 
nal, as  much  more  down  the  Delaware  vr/rr 
from  southern  New  York  :  about  one  miHio:; 
feet  only  comes  from  Maine.  The  Baltimore 
supplies  are  mostly  from  the  Susquehaniu; 
river,  being  rafted  down  from  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York.  From  150  to  200  millions 
of  feet  go  down  the  Alleghany  river  every 
year.  Chicago  is  by  far  the  largest  lumber 
market,  and  the  supplies  are  derived  from 
the  Michigan  Lake  shore,  the  largest  quan- 
tity from  the  Green  Bay  district.  The  sup- 
plies are  sent  through  the  state  by  canal  and 
the  various  railroads  that  radiate  through 
the  prairie  country,  where  wood  of  natural 
growth  is  scarce,  and  which  scarcity  was  one 
of  the  objections  to  settling  until  railroads 
became  the  means  of  furnishing  the  supplies. 
The  largest  quantity  goes  by  the  canal,  and 
the  next  largest  by  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad. 

With  the  vast  supply  of  lumber  and  tim- 
ber to  meet  the  additional  demand  for  build- 
ing purposes,  it  followed  that  improvements 
in  the  mode  of  preparing  it  would  not  fail 
to  make  their  appearance.  It  is  obvious 
that  inventions  are  more  likely  to  take  place 
when  the  quantities  handled  are  very  large, 
than  where  but  little  is  done  from  year  to 
year.  Thus  if  a  few  houses  are  built  occa- 
sionally, the  want  of  great  facilities  will  not 
be  so  marked  as  when  twenty  hundred  mil- 


BUILDINGS    AND    BUILDING    MATERIALS. 


357 


lion  feet  of  lumber  is  to  be  worked  up  every 
year  for  building  purposes,  mostly  in  the 
construction  of  dwellings.  The  carpenter, 
in  the  building  of  houses,  receives  the  beams, 
scantlings,  planks,  and  boards,  and  out  of 
them  he  makes  bond-timbers,  wall-plates, 
roofs,  floors,  etc.,  and  with  the  completion  of 
strong  skeletons  his  labors  end.  The  joiner, 
plasterer,  and  plumber  succeed  him.  In  the 
formation  of  his  frame,  the  first  is  employed 
iu  notching,  cogging,  tenoning,  pinning,  and 
wedging.  For  many  of  these  operations 
very  effective  machines  have  been  intro- 
duced, especially  for  mortising,  floor  plan- 
ing and  grooving,  etc.  Some  of  the  inven- 
tions, like  the  planing  machines  introduced 
in  1837,  are  of  great  value  and  influence. 
Circular  saws,  scroll  saws,  and  a  crowd  of 
inventions  bearing  upon  every  part  of  the 
work,  have  wonderfully,  facilitated  the  work 
of  the  carpenter  and  joiner.  The  blinds, 
sashes,  doors,  window-frames,  have  become 
separate  trades,  each  of  which  supplies  its 
portion  much  cheaper  and  more  perfect  than 
formerly.  When  the  demand  is  large,  these 
are  supplied  with  great  precision.  House- 
building thus  becomes  a  trade.  In  the  large 
cities  a  speculative  builder  becomes  possess- 
ed of  a  number  of  open  lots.  On  them 
money  is  borrowed  to  build  a  block  of 
houses,  4  to  12  in  number.  With  the 
money  thus  borrowed  the  work  is  hurried 
on  "until  the  roof  is  on,  when  the  whole  is 
regularly  mortgaged  to  secure  first  loans  and 
to  obtain  enough  to  complete  the  buildings. 
In  the  mean  time  they  are  offered  for  sale, 
and  generally  sold  by  the  time  they  are 
done. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  sales  much  credit 
is  granted,  a  little  money  above  the  sum  of 
the  mortgages  being  all  that  is  required. 
The  mortgages  remain  at  7  per  cent.,  which, 
with  the  taxes,  etc.,  make  the  rent  rather 
high  to  the  owner.  It  not  unfrequently 
happens  in  some  neighborhoods  that  houses 
may  be  rented  for  an  annual  sum  far  less 
than  the  interest  on  the  sum  demanded  for 
the  house.  Nevertheless,  the  person  who 
has  paid  a  little  money,  and  lives  under  a 
mortgage  larger  than  the  whole  house  would 
cost  if  built  with  ready  money,  has  the 
pride  of  a  house-owner. 

Sometimes  the  builders,  carpenters, 
plumbers,  painters,  all  furnish  their  parts  of 
the  work,  and  grates,  furnaces,  etc.,  also  put 
in  either  on  shares  or  secured  by  "  mechanics' 
liens,"— all  these  to  be  paid  out  of  the  pur- 


chase money.  It  not  unfrequently  happens, 
however,  that  the  expenses  of  raising  money 
to  go  on  carry  the  cost  of  the  houses  too 
high  to  get  the  money  back,  and  foreclosure 
finally  settles  the  account.  Houses  are  also 
made  for  exportation,  as  well  of  iron  as  of 
wood,  as  in  the  case  of  the  early  times  of 
San  Francisco,  which  received  many  of  its 
dwellings  from  New  York.  The  settler  on 
the  new  lands  of  the  West  is  now  not  al- 
ways required  to  plunge  into  the  wilderness 
and  rear  his  first  shelter  from  logs,  but  may 
have  his  house  sent  from  Chicago  or  other 
cities  by  railroad,  and  put  up  to  await  his 
coming.  In  all  this  lumber  figures  largely. 
With  the  settlement  of  the  western  country, 
the  demand  for  lumber  is  urgent,  and  new 
supplies  are  opened  up.  The  most  exten- 
sive of  them  is  round  the  Falls  of  St.  An- 
thony, where  about  100,000,000  feet  of  new 
logs  come  down  in  the  spring  from  the 
waters  above.  These  logs  are  manufactured 
into  lumber  at  the  extensive  mills  round  St. 
Anthony.  One  of  these  mills  will  cut 
92,000  feet  of  lumber,  50,000  lath,  and 
20,000  shingles  in  a  day  of  12  hours.  The 
mill  employs  150  men.  There  are  cut  prob- 
ably 200,000  feet  per  day  for  the  supply  of 
the  lower  country  with  lumber.  At  the  ex- 
treme South  lumber  is  also  supplied.  Some 
20,000,000  feet  are  shipped  from  Pensacola 
to  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  cities,  in  addition 
to  the  large  quantities  used  in  the  place. 
The  Dismal  Swamp  Canal  at  Norfolk  de- 
livers 3,000,000  feet  of  plank  per  annum, 
and  50,000,000  shingles,  400,000  feet  of 
timber  and  8,000,000  staves. 

The  material  for  dwelling-houses  is  thus 
liberally  supplied  at  the  leading  points,  to 
and  from  which  means  of  communication 
have  been  so  extensively  provided.  The 
majority  of  country  houses  are  of  lumber, 
or  frame  houses.  In  the  cities  the  majority 
are  brick,  and,  as  we  have  said,  many  New 
York  houses  are  still  standing  built  from  the 
small  yellow  brick  brought  from  Holland. 
Brick  clay  is  found  in  most  of  the  states, 
but  not  of  the  same  quality.  The  best  brick 
are  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  but  Chicago 
is  famous  for  its  straw-colored  bricks.  This 
color  results  from  the  absence  of  peroxide 
of  iron  in  the  clay.  Some  Milwaukee  bricks 
were  brought  to  New  York  city  for  the  con- 
struction of  Trinity  Building,  head  of  Wall 
street,  and  they  assimilate  in  color  to  the  old 
Holland  brick,  also  "far  fetched  and  dear 
bought."  It  is  curious,  however,  that  the 


358 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


brick  of  the  far  West  should  mingle  with 
that  of  Europe  in  the  composition  of  the 
city  of  New  'York. 

In  the  manufacture  of  the  brick  the  clay 
is  obtained  as  pure  as  possible ;  but  it  must  be 
exposed  for  some  time  to  the  air  and  weather, 
which  soon  disintegrates  its  particles,  and 
fits  it  to  be  kneaded  into  a  mass.  The  clay 
is  then  soaked  in  a  tank.  The  kneading 
was  formerly  done  by  animals  or  the  naked 
feet  of  men,  which  machinery  has  superseded. 
The  clay  is  now  first  ground  in  the  pug- 
mill,  which  is  a  tub  in  which  revolve  on  a 
shaft  blades  that  cut  and  knead  the  clay  as 
it  is  fed  in  from  above,  and  passes  out  at  the 
bottom.  It  is  then  cut  into  pieces  arid 
stacked  for  use.  The  old  hand  mode  of 
moulding  was  to  throw  the  clay  into  the 
mould  by  force  and  then  scrape  off  that 
which  was  superfluous.  The  labor  of  this 
process  was  reduced  by  causing  the  moulds 
to  receive  the  clay  from  the  mill  in  succes- 
sive sets.  It  is  obvious  that  the  clay  must 
be  cleaned  from  all  stones,  sticks,  etc.,  that 
would  disfigure  the  brick.  When  the  bricks 
are  moulded  they  are  dried.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  level  yard  is  prepared,  and  bricks  are 
brought  in  the  moulds,  which  are  removed, 
leaving  the  bricks  to  dry,  a  longer  or  shorter 
time,  according  to  circumstances.  If  the 
bricks  are  not  thoroughly  dry  they  will  crack 
in  baking.  For  the  purpose  of  baking,  the 
bricks  are  piled  one  upon  the  other,  to  make 
the  kiln  or  clamp.  These  contain  from 
500,000  to  1,000,000  bricks.  A  central 
double  wall  is  built,  lengthwise  the  lower 
portion,  of  baked  bricks.  On  both  sides 
longitudinal  fire  flues  of  green  brick  are 
built.  Over  them  the  mass  of  bricks  is 
laid,  with  flues  leading  to  the  top,  and  in 
an  open  manner,  with  small  scuttles  through 
the  heap  as  it  is  built  up.  The  top  and 
sides  are  built  of  baked  bricks.  Over  all 
loam  is  laid  to  prevent  the  fire  from  burning 
too  rapidly.  The  time  required  formerly  on 
the  Hudson  river  for  burning  the  great 
clamps  of  1,000,000  bricks  was  two  weeks, 
and  there  were  required  40  cords  of  wood 
for  100,000  bricks.  About  the  year  1838 
fine  anthracite  coal  dust  was  introduced  into 
the  clay  in  the  proportion  of  75  bushels  to 
10'>,000  bricks,  and  thoroughly  mixed  in 
the  kneading.  The  eft'ect  of  this  was  to  re- 
duce the  time  to  four  days,  and  the  wood  to 
10  cords  for  100,000  bricks.  Thus  16  cords 
of  wood  is  rated  at  $80  ;  75  bushels  of  dust, 
$3  ;  4  days'  attention,  $6  ;  total  cost,  $89, 


against  $2 12.  It  follows  that,  as  the  heat  is 
very  unequal  in  a  clamp,  some  bricks  are 
underdone,  while  others  are  slightly  fused  on 
the  surface,  called  "  clinker  brick." 

It  is  obvious  that  in  brick  machinery  the 
saving  of  labor  is  the  great  object,  and  to 
attain  that  a  great  number  of  machines  have 
been  invented.  One  of  this  class  forces  a 
lump  of  clay  of  the  breadth  and  depth  of  a 
brick  along  a  trough ;  and  it  is  cut  off  the 
proper  length  by  a  wire.  Other  machines 
have  been  made  to  stamp  the  brick  out  of  a 
lump  of  clay.  Again,  the  clay  is  forced  into 
moulds  by  a  heavy  roller.  There  are  ma- 
chines which  pulverize  the  dry  clay,  and 
press  this  with  great  force  into  moulds, 
ready  for  burning.  A  patent  for  this,  taken 
in  Baltimore  in  1847,  and  another  in  Bos- 
ton, pulverizes,  screens,  moulds,,  and  presses 
2,500  bricks  per  hour.  On  this  plan 
bricks  are  made  on  Staten  Island.  They  pre- 
sent a  smooth  surface,  but  they  are  not  so 
good  as  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 
Bricks  have  been  made  partly  hollow  to 
diminish  the  weight.  The  size  of  bricks  is 
7 1  to  8|  inches  long,  4  to  41  wide,  and  21  to 
2i  deep.  In  New  York  5  courses  of  brick 
are  allowed  to  the  foot  in  height.  In  New 
England  5  courses  make  a  foot,  without  the 
mortar.  The  weight  of  a  brick  is  about  4 
Ibs.,  and  21  make  a  cubic  foot  of  wall.  The 
Philadelphia  brick  are  the  best  in  the  coun- 
try, and  are  made  mostly  by  hand.  The 
clay  and  sand  give  the  brick  a  better  color. 
The  Baltimore  brick  bring  a  better  price 
because  the  clay  is  purer,  and  therefore 
stronger,  are  better  burned,  and  less  liable  to 
damage  by  transportation.  The  quantity 
made  in  Philadelphia  is  reckoned  at  100,- 
000,000  per  annum. 

The  lime  used  in  New  York  and  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  is  mostly  of  Thomaston, 
Maine,  where  it  is  manufactured  of  lime- 
stone and  oyster-shells.  Its  quality  is  much 
superior  to  that  of  the  lime  of  other  sources. 
The  chief  use  of  lime  is  for  making  mortar 
for  cementing  brick  and  stone  work  and 
plastering  walls.  The  best  qualities,  made 
from  pure  stones  or  shells,  slake  rapidly,  and 
are  called  fat.  This  kind  more  than  doubles 
in  bulk  on  being  slaked,  and  falls  into  a  soft, 
white  paste.  The  inferior  qualities  slake 
slowly,  and  give  out  but  little  heat  in  the 
process.  The  value  of  lime  with  masons  de- 
pends upon  the  quantity  of  sand  it  will  bear 
in  the  manufacture  of  strong  mortar.  Thus 
the  best  Thomaston  lime  will  take  8  bbls. 


BUILDINGS    AND    BUILDING    MATERIALS. 


359 


of  sand  for  one  of  lime.  It  is  stated  that 
an  excellent  lime  is  made  near  New  York 
city  from  white  marble,  and  that  it  will  take 
9  bbls.  of  sand.  The  Thomaston  lime  is 
burned  with  anthracite  coal.  In  New  York 
it  is  used  for  plastering,  at  a  price  of  $1  to 
$1.30  per  bbl.  of  21  bushels.  A  cheap 
lime  from  Ulster  county  is  sold  at  70  cents 
for  stone  work.  In  the  mortar  each  atom  of 
sand  is  surrounded  with  lime,  which  adheres 
closely  to  it,  and  attaches  it  to  adjoining  por- 
tions, becoming  hard  by  exposure  to  the  air. 
The  building  stone  of  Boston  for  ,the  best 
houses  has  been  derived  from  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  and  is  called  Quincy  granite. 
It  is  a  handsome  gray  stone,  hewn  for  dwell- 
ings, but  sometimes  used  unhewn  for  public 
buildings.  The  stone  is  derived  from  Quin- 
cy, and  the  first  railroad  started  in  the  coun- 
try was  for  the  service  of  these  quarries,  hav- 
ing been  introduced  shortly  after  their  open- 
ing. The  stone  now  so  well  known  and  exten- 
sively used,  not  only  in  Boston  but  in  most 
of  the  Atlantic  cities,  as  well  as  the  West 
India  Islands,  was  a  discovery  of  the  present 
century.  It  was  formerly  supposed  that, 
where  there  is  but  little  soil  there  is  also 
no  stone,  and  it  is  recorded  that  stone  for 
the  foundation  of  the  dwelling  of  Governor 
Phillips  was  brought  from  Rhode  Island. 
The  State  House  was,  through  scarcity  of 
stone,  built  with  brick.  Granite  quarries 
are  also  now  worked  near  New  York  and  in 
Delaware  Bay.  These  sources  supply  some 
of  the  stone  for  New  York  city,  where  a 
coarse  marble,  known  as  Sing  Sing  marble, 
is  also  used.  The  chief  stone  relied  upon 
for  the  fashionable  dwellings  is,  however, 
"  brown  stone,"  from  the  Portland  quarries 
of  Connecticut.  It  by  no  means  follows, 
however,  that  a  brown  stone  palace  "  on  an 
avenue"  is  built  of  brown  stone,  any  more 
than  a  brown  painted  house  is  built  of 
"  paint."  The  house  is  usually  built  of  lum- 
ber and  brick,  and  a  thin  coat  of  brown 
stone  put  on  the  front.  The  difference  in 
cost  between  a  plain  front  of  stone  and  one 
of  Philadelphia  brick,  with  stone  trimmings, 
will  be  from  $700  to  $1000.  For  the  con- 
struction of  large  and  fashionable  stores,  the 
Sing  Sing  marble  is  mostly  used,  but  iron 


fronts  have  come  latterly  much  into  use. 
These  are  cast  in  ornamental  styles,  and  put 
up  piece  by  piece,  each  being  riveted  to  the 
other,  the  whole  front  thus  forming  one  piece, 
and  then  painted  to  resemble  stone.  Marble 
is  the  favorite  material  in  Philadelphia,  not- 
withstanding her  superior  brick.  It  is  procur- 
ed in  abundance  a  few  miles  from  that  city. 

Stone  at  the  West  is  not  so  abundant,  but 
discoveries  of  good  building  stone  have 
been  made.  A  yellow  stone  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cincinnati  supplies  a  handsome 
material  to  that  city.  The  canals  of  Ohio 
and  Illinois  carry  considerable  quantities, 
and  marble  has  been  found  near  Dubuque. 
There  are  valuable  quarries  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Chicago.  Iron  is  destined  to  figure 
largely  in  fronts  for  stores,  as  well  as  for  the 
construction  of  fire-proof  grain  depots. 

How  long  the  once  mighty  forests  of  the 
country  will  supply  the  prodigious  and 
growing  demand  for  the  use  of  dwellings,  is 
a  problem  ;  but  long  since,  the  demands  of 
shipwrights  have  so  thinned  the  Atlantic  for- 
ests, that  it  has  become  cheaper  to  build  upon 
the  lake  harbors  and  western  rivers.  The 
scarcity  of  knees  and  bends  for  ship-build- 
ing, led  to  the  invention  of  the  timber-bend- 
ing machine,  by  which  the  straight  oak  tim- 
ber was  claimed  to  be  bent  in  curves  or  at 
right  angles  for  knees  without  decreasing  its 
strength.  The  ports  of  the  West,  however, 
have  of  late  been  appealed  to,  and  vessels 
built  at  Cleveland  and  other  lake  ports,  at  a 
small  cost  for  lumber  and  labor,  find  their 
way  to  sea  much  cheaper  than  the  same 
class  built  on  the  famous  old  ways  of  Maine, 
Massachusetts,  or  Baltimore.  The  white  oak 
becomes  less  abundant,  and  live  oak  no  great- 
er in  supply,  while  the  pine  and  other  woods 
used  in  the  floors  and  trimmings,  compete 
with  the  demand  for  dwellings.  The  number 
of  vessels  built  in  1858  was  1225,  of  242,286 
tons.  Of  these  nearly  one  fourth  were  built 
in  the  state  of  Maine,  one  eighth  in  Massa- 
chusetts, as  much  in  New  York,  and  ten  per 
cent,  in  Philadelphia.  If  we  compare  the 
number  and  class  of  vessels  built  in  the  west- 
ern states  of  Illinois,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Missouri, 
Wisconsin,  Michigan,  in  1859,  with  1829,  we 
shall  observe  the  progress  in  30  years  : — 


1829  

Ships. 

Brigs. 
1 

12 

4 

1859  

4 

1 

65 

37 

1829  

44 

67 

ATLANTIC. 
473 

141 

1859.. 

..118 

44 

366 

365 

25 
98 


18 
128 


Total. 

42 

205 

743 
1,021 


Tons. 

9,032 

45,731 

68,066 
196,555 


360 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


The  tonnage  built  at  the  West  has  in- 
creased fivefold,  while  that  on  the  Atlantic 
has  increased  less  than  threefold.  In  1860 
an  enormous  stimulus  was  given  to  ship- 
building in  all  the  western  ports.  Milwau- 
kee did  a  large  business,  and  the  lake  ton- 
nage was  greatly  increased.  The  whole 
quantity  of  tonnage  built  since  the  ac- 
counts were  kept  has  been  5,212,743  tons, 

No. 

Carpenters 2,790 

Ship-builders 892 

Bricks 1,603 

Lime  and  plastering,  .      761 

Lumber-yards 17,895 

Masts  and  spars 39 

Plumbers 124 

Sashes  and  blinds. ...      433 

Shingles 520 

Quarries 1,144 

Timber-hewers 129 

The  New  York  census  of  1855  gave  the 
number  of  feet  of  lumber  used  per  annum 
in  house-building  at  5,953,000  ;  ship-build- 
ing, 16,938,000  feet;  boat-building,  7,673,- 
000.  The  number  of  brick  made  in  the 
state  was  408,052,000,  and  4,214,000  bush- 
els of  lime. 


or  a  value  of  $260,637,000.  Of  this  amount 
3,400,01)0  tons,  or  a  value  of  $170,000,- 
000,  have  been  built  in  the  last  ten  years. 
The  annual  value  built  is  over  $16,000,- 
000,  and  the  value  of  the  lumber  used 
$9,000,000,  and  there  are  about  13,000 
men  employed.  The  census  of  1850  gives 
the  statistics  of  house  and  ship  building  as 
follows : — 


Capital. 

Material. 

Hands. 

Cost  of  laltor. 

Value  produced. 

$3,289.308 

$7,011,930 

15,276 

$5,559,320 

$16.886,819 

5,182,309 

7,286,401 

12,623 

5,922,576 

16',595,683 

4,367,912 

1,474,023 

16,726 

4,235,088 

6,610,731 

1,124,072 

1,106,775 

2,834 

735,746 

2.286,242 

40.038,427 

27.593,529 

51,766 

16,022,052 

58,520,966 

124,130 

89,719 

154 

63,216 

189,482 

646,225 

1,297,119 

1,037 

377,944 

2,343.607 

1,066,355 

859,827 

2,448 

860,920 

2,277,061 

823,940 

406,932 

2,127 

425.328 

985,957 

4,032,182 

2,475,760 

9,996 

3,431,194 

8,180,115 

222,479 

14,742 

414 

67,508 

132,246 

CARRIAGES  AND  COACHES. 

THE  improvements  in  the  means  of  trans-: 
portation  in  the  United  States  are  very  man- 
ifest in  the  number  and  quality  of  private 
carriages  of  all  kinds  that  are  now  kept  by 
almost  all  who  live  out  of  cities,  and  by  very 
many  of  those  who  reside  in  them.  With 
the  multiplication  of  railroads,  which  were 
to  supply  the  place  of  stage-coaches,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  number  of  horses  employ- 
ed would  be  greatly  diminished.  The  con- 
trary seems,  however,  to  be  the  fact,  since 
the  greater  breadth  of  land  by  their  means 
laid  open  to  market,  and  the  resulting  gen- 
eral wealth  have  enabled  all  to  keep  pleasure- 
vehicles,  when  formerly  the  saddle  only  was 
used  outside  the  stage-coach.  The  plain 
spring-less  box-wagon  of  the  farmer  conveyed 
his  family  to  and  from  church  on  Sunday, 
arid  hauled  his  produce  on  week  days,  until 
within  a  very  few  years,  when  the  idea  of 
extravagance  attached  to  the  possession  of 
pleasure  or  spring-wagons  began  to  give 
way,  and  those  vehicles  were  found  in  the 
carriage-house  before  the  piano  supplanted 
the  quilting-frame  in  the  parlor.  So  far 


from  a  decrease  in  horses,  new  ones  and  of 
better  breed  were  required  for  fast  and 
stylish  driving.  The  well-to-do,  permanent 
business  man  must  have  his  business-wagon 
of  tasteful  appearance,  case  hardened  iron 
axles,  steel  springs,  and  a  top  buggy.  A 
rockaway,  or  even  a  coach,  in  many  cases, 
is  required  in  addition,  and  furnishes  labor 
for  fancy  horses.  The  multiplication  of  ve- 
hicles is  caused  on  one  hand  by  the  greater 
means  of  the  people,  and  on  the  other  hand 
by  the  great  improvements  in  manufacture, 
which  have  diminished  the  prices  while 
they  raised  the  quality  of  the  almost  infinite 
variety  of  styles  offered.  These  are  so  ad- 
mirable as  to  have  elicited  not  only  the  sur- 
prise, but  what  is  better,  the  custom  of  the 
citizens  of  Europe.  The  tide  of  improvement 
ran  naturally  at  first  in  the  line  of  stages 
and  coaches.  The  object  was  to  make  them 
strong  and  light,  and  with  such  proportion 
of  all  the  parts  as  would  facilitate  the  draft ; 
in  other  words,  to  avoid  loss  of  the  power 
of  the  horse.  In  the  cities  the  improve- 
ments are  of  recent  date,  and  arose  out  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  business.  The  style 
adopted  in  1830  was  the  omnibus  or  long- 
coach.  One  vehicle  was  then  started  to  run 
up  Broadway  for  121  cents  per  head.  The 
success  was  complete,  and  the  number  mul- 
tiplied, while  the  fare  fell  successively,  until 
at  the  present  time  the  most  successful  charge 
5  cents  in  common  with  the  rail-cars.  The 
number  of  omnibuses  now  running  in  New 
York  is  440,  and  the  use  of  them  has  spread  all 
over  the  country,  giving  birth  to  very  numer- 
ous and  extensive  factories  for  their  produc- 


CARRIAGES    AND    COACHES. 


361 


tion.  About  300  per  annum  are  made  in  New 
York,  and  larger  numbers  in  Newark,  New 
Jersey.  The  experience,  skill,  and  capital 
tliat  had  been  applied  to  the  production  of 
the  old  post-coaches  were  applied  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  new  vehicles.  The  work 
to  be  performed  by  the  coach  requires  the 
utmost  care  in  the  selection  of  the  mate- 
rials and  in  the  manner  of  combining  them. 
The  frame  is  a  piece  of  the  nicest  joiner's 
work,  of  the  toughest  ash,  that  has  grown 
in  exposed  situations,  and  been  seasoned  at 
least  two  years.  For  some  portions,  oak 
and  hickory,  equally  well  selected,  are  used. 
The  planking  is  of  the  strongest  elm,  and 
the  panels  of  Spanish  cedar;  mahogany  and 
rosewood  for  ornamental  portions.  The 
frame  and  axles  are  thoroughly  ironed  with 
the  best  metal.  The  springs  are  of  the  best 
steel,  and  of  these  many  of  the  improved 
forms  are  of  quite  modern  dates.  The  ellip- 
tical spring  was  introduced  in  1825.  The 
leather  is  of  the  toughest  and  finest  descrip- 
tion. The  upholstery  is  of  fine  cloths,  nets, 
damasks,  plushes,  with  coach-laces,  exten- 
sively manufactured  in  New  England.  The 
most  important  part  of  the  construction  is 
probably  the  wheels.  These  must  be  so  put 
together  as  to  give  the  greatest  amount  of 
strength  with  the  smallest  weight  of  mate- 
rial. For  this  purpose  the  felloes  are  of 
ash,  the  spokes  of  oak,  and  the  nave  of 
elm.  All  these  are  so  arranged  as  to  receive 
the  weight  of  the  coach  as  far  as  possible 
longitudinally  of  the  fibres  of  the  wood.  A 
very  important  American  improvement  in 
the  strength  of  the  wheel  took  place  some 
30  years  since.  Up  to  that  time  the  iron 
tires  had  been  put  on  in  separate  plates, 
breaking  joints  with  the  felloes.  An  Ameri- 
can blacksmith  conceived  the  idea  of  mak- 
ing the  tire  whole  and  driving  it  on  when 
hot,  so  that  its  contraction  as  it  cooled  would 
bind  the  whole  wheel  together  almost  as  one 
piece.  This  invention  has  been  universally 
adopted.  The  tires  of  New  York  omni- 
buses are,  when  new,  an  inch  thick ;  but  so 
great  is  the  wear,  that  they  require  renewal 
in  4  months.  The  size  of  the  wheel  is  reg- 
ulated by  the  ease  of  draft.  Thus  it  is 
found  that  the  greatest  ^ase  requires  that 
the  line  from  the  centre  of  the  forward  axle 
to  the  shoulder  of  the  horse  should  form 
an  angle  of  15  degrees  with  the  horizon. 
This  principle  will  not  admit  of  the  fore 
wheels  being  more  than  forty-four  inches  in 
diameter,  while  to  diminish  the  draught,  the 


hind  wheels  are  56  inches,  and  the  width  of 
track  is  4  ft.  8  in.  The  naves  of  the  wheels 
have  a  lining  of  metal,  forming  a  box  that 
excludes  dust  and  retains  oil. 

It  will  have  been  remarked  by  the  observ- 
ing reader  that,  in  every  branch  of  industry 
which  has  been  recently  taken  hold  of  by 
the  American  manufacturer,  the  facility  of 
production  and  cheapness  of  sale-prices  have 
hand  in  hand  made  rapid  progress.  This 
remarkable  feature  has  been  due  mostly  to 
one  principle :  it  is  that  of  reducing  the  man- 
ufacture to  its  utmost  subdivision,  and  mak- 
ing a  distinct  branch  of  each  separate  part 
of  the  object  to  be  completed.  A  pattern 
being  once  fixed  upon,  all  the  parts  of  that 
pattern  are  given  out  to  workmen,  who  con- 
fine themselves  each  to  the  manufacturing 
of  the  part  he  undertakes.  The  parts  so 
produced  are  made  in  the  best  manner. 
Each  man  strives  to  improve  in  the  work,  or 
to  do  more  and  better  in  a  given  time,  and 
his  native  intelligence  does  not  fail  of  re- 
sults. The  products  of  all  their  labors  are 
then  combined  in  complete  articles  in  number 
and  quality  to  defy  competition.  This  mode 
of  manufacture  is  a  cause  and  a  consequence 
of  large  sales.  By  improving  and  cheap- 
ening the  goods  the  demand  is  increased, 
and  thus  reacts  upon  the  power  to  produce. 
The  carriage  manufacture  is  another  illustra- 
tion of  this  principle.  The  Messrs.  G.  &  D. 
Cook  &  Co.,  of  New  Haven,  when  they  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture,  nine  or  ten  years 
since,  introduced  this  way  of  systematizing 
the  work.  The  mode  of  building  carriages 
then  was  for  each  man  to  have  a  hand  by 
turns  in  all  the  processes  until  the  manufac- 
ture was  completed,  and  that  was  of  uncertain 
time.  The  Messrs.  Cook  were  enabled  by 
this  plan  to  turn  out  a  complete  carriage  in 
a  day,  of  a  quality  which  enhanced  the  ad- 
miration that  the  time  of  the  operation  had 
awakened.  Their  business  has  gradually 
expanded,  until  they  now  turn  out  ten  per 
day,  with  the  same  facility  with  which  the) 
formerly  turned  out  one.  The  engraving  on 
another  page  gives  an  idea  of  the  extent  of 
their  establishment,  which  covers  two  acres, 
and  affords  85,000  square  feet  of  floor  room. 
It  has  grown  to  this  extent  from  one  build- 
ing, on  one  third  of  an  acre,  with  3,000  feet 
of  floor  room.  There  are  in  the  concern 
24  separate  departments,  under  24  distinct 
foremen,  each  of  whom  is  responsible  for  the 
part  of  the  work  performed  in  his  depart- 
ment. All  of  them  cover  every  branch  of 


362 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


the  business,  from  the  rough  lumber  to  the 
boxing  up  of  the  complete  vehicle.  The 
orders  are  all  laid  before  Mr.  Kimball,  one 
of  the  firm,  and  by  him  24  blanks  are  filled 
up  with  minute  particulars  of  the  jobs  de- 
livered to  each  foreman,  with  the  time 
specified  for  the  completion.  These  fore- 
men have  300  workmen  employed  in  all  the 
departments,  each  of  which  is  also  supplied 
with  every  variety  of  machine  that  invention 
and  experience  have  suggested  to  facilitate 
the  work,  and  these  are  driven  by  a  steam 
engine  of  great  power.  This  huge  giant 
with  its  thousand  arms  obeys  every  move- 
ment of  the  300  human  workers,  and  the 
surprise  of  the  observer  who  sees  rough 
lumber  wrought  up  into  pleasure-wagons  at 
the  rate  of  one  an  hour  is  merged  in  admira- 
tion of  the  intellectual  combination  that 
produces  such  results. 

It  is  such  enterprise  and  success  as  this 
that  drew  from  the  London  Jurors  of  the 
World's  Fair,  the  following  remarks  in  their 
report :  "  Comparing  the  state  of  the  art  of 
carriage-building,"  say  the  London  Jurors, 
in  their  report  on  carriages  exhibited  at  the 
World's  Fair,  "  of  former  and  not  very  dis- 
tant times,  with  that  of  the  present,  we  con- 
sider the  principles  of  building  in  many 
respects  greatly  improved,  and  particularly 
with  reference  to  the  lightness,  and  a  due 
regard  to  strength,  which  are  evident  in  car- 
riages of  British  make ;  and  especially  dis- 
played in  those  contributed  by  the  United 
States,  where  there  is  commonly  employed 
in  the  construction  of  wheels,  and  other 


parts  requiring  strength  and  lightness  com- 
bined, a  native  wood  (upland  hickory), 
which  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose. 
The  carriages  from  the  continental  states  do 
not  exhibit  this  useful  feature  in  an  equal 
degree." 

The  woods  most  used  in  the  construction 
of  carriages,  ash,  oak,  and  hickory,  grow  of 
superior  quality  and  in  great  abundance  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  fact 
gives  the  art  of  carriage-making  there  great 
advantages.  There  are  in  that  city  over 
30  factories  that  produce  pleasure-carriages. 
The  capital  invested  is  some  $600,000,  and 
over  800  hands  are  employed.  The  vehicles 
are  mostly  for  city  use,  with  some  export 
demand.  One  of  the  largest  factories  of  the 
city,  Roger  &  Co.,  occupies  40,000  feet  of 
work  room,  and  employs  125  men  in  all 
the  departments  of  designers,  body-makers, 
wheelwrights,  carvers,  painters,  platers,  trim- 
mers, upholsterers,  etc.  The  wagons  of  that 
establishment  have  a  good  reputation.  In 
New  York,  the  carriage  business  is  pushed 
to  a  great  extent.  The  demand  for  heavy 
vehicles  for  the  great  cities  is  large,  and  the 
effect  of  railroads,  in  spreading  the  popula- 
tion of  the  city  over  a  radius  of  40  miles 
around  it,  has  caused  a  considerable  demand 
for  pleasure-wagons.  Some  persons  who 
would  have  no  use  for  a  vehicle  in  the  city, 
in  adopting  a  suburban  home,  found  a  car- 
riage a  necessity.  The  aggregate  of  the 
business  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  1855 
was  given  by  the  state  census  of  that  year  as 
follows : — 


CARRIAGE  AND  CAB  MANUFACTORIES   IN   NEW  YORK. 


Felloe  factories 

"Wheel      "        

Hub          "       

Spoke        "      , 

Coach  and  wagon  factories 1,397 

Car  factories 

The  number  of  cars  made  per  annum  is 
580,  and  there  are  used  1,472,000  feet  of 
lumber  in  their  construction,  and  in  that  of 
wagons,  6,562,200  feet.  There  are  11,151,- 
500  spokes  made.  The  number  of  wagons 
turned  out  is  33,138,  and  of  sleighs  3,838. 
The  size  of  some  of  these  factories,  and  the 
number  of  vehicles  turned  out,  are  surprising. 
The  numerous  depots  for  carriages  in  the 
city,  contain  every  possible  description  of 
vehicles,  and  of  all  manufactures.  The  car- 
riage manufacture  in  New  Jersey  stands 
next  in  magnitude  to  that  of  New  York. 


No. 

Hands. 

Capital 
in  tools. 

Value  of 
materials. 

Value 
produced. 

6 

30 

$13,250 

$21,450 

$45,174 

2 

12 

3,500 

2,800 

11,100 

1 

5 

600 

400 

9,000 

16 

64 

15,950 

14,966 

52,331 

J97 

6,391 

471,530 

1,712,256 

5,005,125 

26 

1,547 

264,784 

679,239 

1,274,768 

This  is  mostly  at  Newark,  where  great 
numbers  are  turned  out,  of  an  approved 
quality.  A  feature  of  the  carriage  and  wagon 
business  that  has  been  introduced  of  late 
years,  is  that  all  possible  parts  of  vehicles 
can  be  purchased  in  any  quantity,  conse- 
quently the  wheelwright  business  of  small 
towns  has  been  entirely  revolutionized.  They 
can  no  longer  make  an  entire  vehicle  as 
formerly  with  any  success,  but  purchase 
wheels,  axles,  top  frames,  springs,  etc.,  of  any 
and  every  pattern,  to  put  together  and  finish. 
All  these  parts  are  produced  in  great  quanti- 


1810. 


1820. 


THOROUGH  BRACE — 1825. 


FIEST  ELLIPTIC   SPRINGS. 


The  following  are  a  few  of  several  hundred  styles  manufactured  by  Messrs,  G.  &  D.  Cook  &  Co, 

at  the  present  time, 


GAZKLLE. 


CRICKET. 


FRENCH  DOG   CART. 


LAWRENCE    HRETT. 


I/-OP   CALASH. 


BREWSTER   CALASH    COACH. 


COUPE   ROCK A WAY 


PREMIUM    TOP. 


VIEW  OF  G.  &  D.  COOK  &  CO.'S  WORK& 


CARRIAGES    AND    COACHES. 


367 


ties,  by  machine.  Hence,  as  we  see,  there  are 
in  New  York,  16  spoke  factories,  which  turn 
out  1,115,500  spokes  per  annum,  also  felloe 
factories  and  hub  factories,  etc.  The  largest 
city  factories,  however,  make  most  or  all  the 
parts  within  themselves.  In  the  production 
of  a  vehicle,  the  design  is  first  prepared, 
whether  buggy  or  coach  or  rockaway,  on 
paper,  f  of  an  inch  to  the  foot.  The  design 
being  approved  by  the  purchaser  or  owner, 
a  geometrical  plan  is  executed  upon  the 
black-board.  The  patterns  are  then  cut  in 
the  wood,  and  from  this  skeleton  the  shape 
and  proportions  are  determined.  There 
must  be  exercised  in  this  process,  the  utmost 
mathematical  exactness.  The  wooden  frame 
is  now  removed  to  the  smithy ;  then  come  in 
requisition,  springs,  tires,  hinges,  axles,  bolts, 
locks,  and  every  variety  of  form  by  which 
iron  can  conduce  to  the  strength  of  the  fa- 
bric. This  being  completed,  the  skeleton  is 
moved  to  the  body  department,  to  receive 
its  floors  and  panels,  the  sides  with  their 
proper  curvature,  the  seats  of  the  destined 
construction,  and  the  doors  with  their  trim- 
mings. From  this  room,  the  body  goes  to 
the  paint  room.  This  is  a  tedious  process. 
From  15  to  18  coats  of  paint  are  applied, 
each  being  rubbed  down  with  pumice  stone. 
When  it  is  dry,  several  coats  of  white  lead 
and  litharge,  succeeded  by  a  number  of 
white  lead  and  yellow  ochre,  complete  this 
"  priming,"  on  which  the  finishing  coats  of 
ornamented  colors  are  charged.  When  it  is 
clothed  in  its  pride  of  paint,  it  seeks  the 
trimming  room,  to  be  decked  with  fine 
cloths,  silks,  lace,  carpet,  embossed  leather, 
or  the  finest  morocco,  and  becomes  as  taste- 
ful as  art  can  make  it.  While  the  body  of 
the  vehicle  is  thus  being  prepared,  the  car- 
riage, or  wheels,  axles,  perches,  and  shafts 
have  also  been  approaching  a  state  ready  to 
receive  it.  The  felloes,  shafts,  and  nave, 
each  of  its  appropriate  and  well  selected 
wood,  are  combined  into  wheels,  that  must 
in  size  bear  a  certain  proportion  to  the  body. 
The  average  difference  between  the  fore  and 
hind  wheels  is  eight  inches.  In  the  combina- 
tion each  department  supplies  its  proper  part, 
and  when  ready  to  receive  the  body,  that  is 
hung  upon  the  springs,  and  the  whole  is 
ready  for  the  final  polish.  Apart  from  the 
coach  or  pleasure-vehicle  business,  is  the 
wagon  business,  which,  is  of  great  extent, 
all  the  parts  being  formed  by  machines  of 
late  invention.  The  lumber  for  these  heavy 
vehicles  is  of  considerable  dimensions.  The 


plank  used  is  three  to  four  inches  thick. 
This  must  be  all  well  seasoned.  Hence 
capital  is  required  to  keep  a  sufficient  stock 
on  hand,  since  it  requires  four  or  five  years 
to  season,  or  one  year  for  every  inch  of 
thickness.  The  timber  for  hubs  is  of  black 
locust.  This,  of  different  sizes,  has  the  bark 
removed,  and  is  bored  through  the  centre 
to  facilitate  the  seasoning.  All  the  lumber 
thus  seasoned  in  stock,  is,  when  ready,  re- 
moved to  the  saw  mill.  Here  machines  are 
usually  ready  to  shape  every  part :  upright 
and  circular  saws  to  cut  the  plank  into  shafts 
and  felloes  after  it  is  marked ;  planing  ma- 
chines, and  mortising  machinery  ;  lathes  for 
turning  spokes  and  hubs ;  for  boring  holes 
for  the  spokes ;  for  driving  in  the  spokes ; 
for  shaping  and  finishing  the  felloes;  for 
boring  holes  in  the  hubs  to  receive  the  boxes, 
so  as  to  insure  a  solid  bearing,  and  for  turning 
the  hubs,  of  which  the  two  ends  are  cut  off 
at  once  by  circular  saws.  All  these  machines 
soon  turn  the  solid  plank  into  finished  wheels, 
while  the  body  is  growing  under  similar 
applications  in  another  room,  under  the  di- 
rection of  various  departments.  The  iron 
axles  are  turned  in  the  machine  shops,  where 
also  all  the  tires,  bands,  straps,  bolts,  rivets, 
etc.,  are  prepared  and  applied.  The  wagons 
are  then  ready  for  the  paint.  This  is  the 
general  operation  of  wagon -making  in  large 
establishments.  In  Philadelphia  two  concerns 
furnished  550  wagons  for  the  Utah  expedi- 
tion of  the  government  in  five  weeks,  or  at 
the  rate  of  16  wagons  per  day,  or  a  wagon 
in  45  minutes. 

The  demand  for  express  wagons  that  has 
grown  up  of  late  years,  has  become  very 
large,  and  they  are  produced  in  great  per- 
fection as  respects  strength  and  price.  An- 
other large  demand  for  vehicles  has  taken 
the  shape  of  railroad  cars,  and  these  almost 
rival  coaches  in  the  extent  of  manufacture.  In 
New  York,  the  value  of  production  is  nearly 
$1,500,000  per  annum,  mostly  at  Troy. 
The  car  wheels  are  of  iron,  and  the  utmost 
care  is  taken  in  the  manufacture  of  them, 
that  when  cast  the  iron  shall  cool  equally  in 
all  its  parts.  For  this  purpose,  when  the 
wheel  is  cast  in  a  mould,  it  is  removed  as 
speedily  as  possible  into  a  circular  chamber 
or  furnace,  composed  of  fire  brick,  4^  inches 
thick,  and  surrounded  by  an  iron  case.  When 
they  are  there  deposited,  the  opening  is 
closed,  and  the  heat  of  the  whole  is  raised  to 
nearly  the  melting  point.  All  the  avenues  to 
and  from  the  interior  are  then  closed,  and 


368 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


the  whole  is  left  to  cool  gradually.  By  this 
process  of  raising  the  heat,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  wheel  is  equalized  in  all  its  parts, 
and  as  the  heat  can  then  only  subside 
through  the  wall,  it  cools  so  gradually  that 
all  parts  of  the  wheel  contract  alike.  For 
this  cooling  4  days  are  required.  While  red 
hot  the  wheel  is  removed,  and  having  its 
edges  packed  round  with  sand,  the  centre  is 
made  to  communicate,  by  means  of  a  flue, 
with  a  chimney  120  feet  high.  The  draught 
thus  created  cools  the  centre.  The  same,  if 
not  far  greater  importance  attaches  to  the 
uniform  toughness  of  the  iron  of  a  wheel  as 
to  that  of  a  cannon.  The  lives  of  hundreds 


of  passengers  are  always  depending  upon 
the  soundness  of  the  running  wheels,  and  the 
utmost  care  is  taken  to  make  and  keep  them 
sound. 

The  census  of  1860  gives  the  following 
statistics  of  the  production  of  carriages, 
wagons,  carts  and  children's  carriages  for  the 
year  ending  June,  1860.  There  has  been, 
generally,  an  increased  production  since  that 
period,  though  what  were  distinctively  known 
as  "southern  carriages"  are  manufactured  in 
less  quantities  than  formerly.  During  the 
war,  immense  numbers  of  army  wagons  and 
ambulances  were  built. 


No.  of 
Establish- 
ments. 


Capital 
invested. 


Carriages 3,917  $14,131,537 

Wagons  and  carts 3,305      4,591,968 

Children's  carriages...      32         134,470 


Cost  of 

raw 
material. 

$9,085,301 

2,812,981 

108,393 


Annual  value 


Males      Females     Annual  cost 
employed,  employed.         labor> 

27,304   157   $10,001,891  $26,848,905 

9,639     2     3,415,925   8,703,937 

335         22  129,540          374,350 


CLOCKS  AND  WATCHES. 

PERHAPS  there  is  no  one  article  of  more 
general  utility  than  "Yankee  clocks,"  and 
none  on  which  more  small  wit  has  been  ex- 
pended both  at  home  and  abroad.  The 
land  of  "wooden  clocks  and  nutmegs"  has 
been  a  standing  jibe  against  those  who  have 
so  cleverly  and  perseveringly  executed  those 
practical  ideas  that  tend  directly  to  the 
amelioration  of  the  human  condition.  When 
we  look  around  and  reflect  that  every  house, 
hut,  and  hovel  in  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land  is,  or  can  be,  supplied  with  an 
accurate  time-keeper  for  one  dollar,  that  is 
to  say,  a  bushel  of  grain,  and  reflect  that 
thirty  years  since  comparatively  no  time- 
keepers existed  within  reach  of  the  masses 
of  the  people,  we  begin  to  perceive  that 
Yankee  clocks  are  by  no  means  so  con- 
temptible a  commodity.  Doctor  Franklin 
demonstrated  that  "time  is  money,"  but 
the  people  at  large  had  no  more  means  of 
measuring  their  time  than  of  money  to 
count.  Alfred  the  Great  and  other  old 
progress  men  discovered  the  value  of  time, 
and  were  hard  put  to  it  to  measure  it  out. 
Some  of  the  old  fellows  sought  to  do  it  by 
the  dropping  of  water ;  many  marked  the 
progress  of  the  sun  ;  and  other  devices  were 
employed  without  very  great  accuracy. 
Alfred  contrived  twelve  candles,  which  be- 
ing burned  one  after  the  other,  divided  his 
day  into  twelve  portions,  which  had  each 
their  special  employment.  Twelve  candles 
were  not  convenient,  however,  to  carry  in 


one's  fob,  and  were  troublesome  to  light  and 
snuff.  If  a  Yankee  peddler  had  walked 
in  upon  him  with  a  wooden  clock  under  his 
arm  to  sell  for  a  dollar,  he  would  far  more 
likely  have  been  hanged  as  a  wizard  than 
sneered  at  as  a  humbug.  Time-keepers  were 
invented,  however,  in  the  process  of  time, 
and  gradually  found  their  way  into  the 
hands  of  the  rich.  They  were  imported  into 
this  country  from  Europe  down  to  the 
formation  of  the  federal  government,  at 
high  prices.  Some  of  these  were  the  pen- 
dulum clocks,  some  six  feet  high,  and  gen- 
erally stood  in  the  landings  of  the  old  houses. 
About  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
federal  government,  however,  Eli  Terry, 
of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  made  some  clocks 
of  wood,  of  a  small  size,  to  hang  up  against 
the  wall.  In  1793,  he  began  making  them, 
as  a  business,  in  Plymouth,  Connecticut. 
Then  he  made  a  few  in  the  year  by  his  own 
labor.  In  1800  he  had  procured  the  help 
of  a  couple  of  young  men.  The  wheels 
were  marked  out  on  the  wood  with  square 
and  compass,  and  then  cut  out  with  a  fine 
saw  and  jack-knife,  the  teeth  of  the 
wheels  being  formed  in  the  same  manner. 
Twice  a  year  Mr.  Terry  would  pack  up 
some  of  these  clocks  and  make  a  journey 
into  the  new  country,  by  which  name  the 
region  west  of  the  North  River  was  then 
called.  There  he  found  sale  for  his  wooden 
"  movements"  at  $25  each.  He  so  pros- 
pered in  this,  that  by  the  year  1807  a  num- 
ber of  persons  in  Waterbury  associated 
themselves  into  a  company  to  furnish  Terry 


CLOCKS    AND    WATCHES. 


369 


with  stock  of  which  he  was  to  make  the  ' 
movements.  To  execute  this  formidable 
work,  he  bought  an  old  mill,  introduced 
some  machinery,  and  laid  out  a  lot  of  500 
clocks  at  one  time,  a  larger  number,  it  is 
said,  than  was  ever  before  undertaken  at 
one  time  in  the  world.  Mr.  Terry  used  to 
sell  his  clocks  himself  at  a  price  of  $25,  but 
of  course  money  was  not  then  obtained. 
Salt  pork  was  currency,  and  when  he  took 
the  clock  out  of  his  saddle-bags,  he  put  salt 
pork  in  the  place  of  it.  In  1,810,  Mr. 
Terry  sold  his  factory  to  Thomas  &  Hoad- 
ley,  and  competition  springing  up  the  price 
of  the  wooden  movements  was  reduced 
from  $10,  the  then  price,  to  $5,  at  which 
low  price  some  of  the  manufacturers  failed. 
In  1814,  Terry  invented  a  new  style,  called 
the  pillar  scroll  top  case,  about  21  inches 
high.  These  sold  for  $15  freely,  for  many 
years,  and  he  made  a  fortune  of  some  $200,- 
000.  At  this  juncture  Chauncey  Jerome 
became  an  apprentice  to  Mr.  Terry,  and  the 
works  being  extended,  a  circular  saw  was 
introduced  for  the  first  time,  and  it  was  a 
great  curiosity.  Jerome  began  when  of  age 
to  make  a  few  clocks  for  himself,  and  sold 
them  at  $12  each.  He  continued  the  busi- 
ness under  many  vicissitudes,  making  large 
quantities  of  clocks  that  were  sent  all  over 
the  Union,  and  sold  by  means  of  peddlers. 
An  occasional  new  form  to  the  clocks  gave 
a  renewed  impulse  to  the  sales,  the  grow- 
ing competition  between  the  clockmakers 
continuing  to  force  down  prices.  The  panic 
of  1837  had  a  disastrous  influence  upon  the 
trade,  ruining  almost  all  the  manufacturers. 
Up  to  that  time  the  clocks  had  been  alto- 
gether of  wood,  of  which  it  was  difficult  to 
procure  the  right  description.  When  this 
was  obtained  it  required  a  year's  seasoning, 
and  then  it  was  a  slow  process,  even  with 
machines,  to  cut  out  the  works.  The  largest 
manufacturer  had  never  made  more  than 
10,000  per  annum.  These  clocks  were  one- 
day  clocks,  but  good  time-keepers.  In 
183*7,  Mr.  Jerome  invented  the  one-day 
clock  with  brass  works.  This  invention 
proved  a  new  era  in  the  clock  business,  and 
buried  the  old  wooden  works.  From  that 
time  the  business  made  very  rapid  progress, 
and  the  clocks  not  only  found  their  way  all 
over  the  Union,  but  also  to  Europe,  India, 
China,  Australia,  and  elsewhere.  The  old 
wooden  clock  could  not  well  be  exported, 
because  exposure  to  the  humidity  of  the 
ocean  air  caused  the  works  to  swell  in  a 


manner  that  ruined  them.  This  difficulty 
the  brass  works  did  not  encounter.  The 
new  business  improved  very  rapidly  under 
the  demand  for  the  clocks,  which  was  con- 
tinually stimulated  by  the  gradually  falling 
prices.  The  old  wooden  dial  was  supplant- 
ed by  one  of  zinc,  and  an  eight-day  clock, 
which  would  have  cost  $20  in  1837,  can 
now  be  had  for  $4.  The  one-day  clock  is 
sold  for  75  cents,  and  is  an  excellent  time- 
keeper. The  brass  works  of  the  clocks  are 
made  from  the  metal  sheets  with  the  great- 
est rapidity.  The  oldest  manufacturer,  Mr. 
Jerome,  states  that  three  experienced  men 
can  make  500  clocks  in  one  day  from  the 
sheets.  There  are  in  every  one-day  clock 
from  8  to  10  wheels;  an  eight-day  clock  re- 
quires more.  All  these  wheels  are  cut  from 
the  brass  at  one  operation,  pressed  out  and 
levelled  for  use.  The  expense  of  three  days' 
work  is  thus  distributed  through  500  clocks, 
not  quite  1^  cents  each  clock.  The  whole 
cost  of  the  movements  was  50  cents  each. 
The  frames  of  the  clocks  are  also  made  in 
large  quantities  by  machine.  For  the  body 
of  the  case,  common  merchantable  pine 
lumber  is  used.  The  boards  are  by  circular 
saws  cut  into  suitable  lengths  for  sides  and 
tops.  Those  free  from  knots  are  then  by 
another  saw  cut  into  their  proper  widths, 
and  go  to  the  planing  machine.  They  then 
are  by  an  appropriate  instrument  cut  in  the 
shape  designated  for  the  fronts.  The  pieces 
are  then  taken  by  a  workman  who  spreads 
glue  upon  them,  to  receive  the  rosewood  or 
mahogany  veneer.  These  are  then  in  lots 
of  a  dozen  placed  in  hand-screws  until  dry. 
When  ready,  the  veneer  is  polished  by  ap- 
plying it  to  a  revolving  cylinder  covered 
with  sand  paper,  by  which  it  is  soon  suffi- 
ciently polished  to  receive  the  varnish,  of 
which  several  applications  are  made,  and  it 
requires  about  ten  days  to  dry.  They  then 
receive  a  polish  and  are  put  together  in  the 
form  of  the  case.  It  was  usual  to  have 
10,000  clocks  undergoing  this  process  at 
once.  In  this  manner  a  case  would  cost  50 
cents,  20  for  labor  and  30  for  stuff;  a  cabi- 
net-maker could  not  make  one  such  under 
$5.  The  dials  are  cut  by  machinery  from 
sheets  of  zinc,  the  holes  being  punched  by 
the  same  operation.  They  are  then  painted 
and  the  letters  and  figures  printed  on.  One 
man  could  print  1,200  to  1,500  in  a  day. 
The  whole  dial  would  thus  cost  5  cents. 
The  tablets  printed  in  a  similar  manner,  and 
colored  by  girls,  cost  1£  cents  each.  The 


370 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRIES. 


glass  and  work  4  cents.  The  weights  cost 
13  cents.  Thus  the  complete  clock  would 
cost  about  $1.25,  a  price  brought  about  by 
the  systematizing  of  the  labor. 

The  great  clock  factory  of  Chauncey 
Jerome  was  one  of  31  that  were  in  operation 
in  1852.  It  had  been  merged  into  a  joint- 
stock  company  in  1850,  called  the  Jerome 
Manufacturing  Company.  In  1853  and 
1854  that  concern  produced  444,000  clocks 
per  annum  ;  another  factory,  that  of  J.  C. 
Brown,  produced  100,000  clocks  per  an- 
num, and  failed  subsequently ;  and  the 
Ansonia  Company,  which  was  afterward 
formed,  150,000  clocks  per  annum.  The 
sharp  competition  of  all  these  companies 
reduced  the  price  to  such  a  degree  that 
many  stopped.  In  the  ten  years  ending 
with  1856,  four  factories  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  nine  failed,  and  five  closed  on  account 
of  low  prices.  There  remained  1 3  factories, 
of  which  six  produced  95,000  per  annum, 
and  the  remaining  seven,  48,000  clocks. 
In  1855  the  great  showman,  Barnum,  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Jerome  Clock  Com- 
pany by  selling  a  clock  factory  which  he 
owned  in  Bridgeport  to  the  Jerome  Co.,  and 
taking  stock  of  the  company  in  payment. 
In  the  same  year  the  Jerome  Co.  failed 
utterly ;  its  owners  allege,  because  the 
debts  of  the  company  bought  from  Barnum 
ruined  them,  while  the  assets  of  the  con- 
cern were  of  no  value,  and  the  extensive 
financiering  to  stave  off  these  liabilities, 
swallowed  up  all  the  means  of  the  Jerome 
Company.  The  result  .was  almost  a  com- 
plete sweep  of  the  clock  business.  The 
New  Haven  Clock  Co.,  which  succeeded  to 
the  business  of  the  Jerome  Co.,  is  now  the 
largest  factory.  Its  method  of  making 
dials,  etc.,  is  the  same  as  was  that  of  the 
old  company.  There  is  also  the  Benedict  <fe 
Burnham  Co.,  at  Waterbury,  Conn.  The 
factory  of  Seth  Thomas  <fe  Co.,  at  Plym- 
outh, is  the  next  largest.  The  factory  of 
William  L.  Gilbert,  of  Winsted,  is  also  im- 
portant. The  factory  of  E.  N.  Welsh,  of 
Bristol,  is  the  successor  to  the  business  of 
J.  C.  Brown,  who  failed.  These  five  com- 
panies now  make  most  of  the  clocks  manu- 
factured in  Connecticut.  The  New  Haven 
Co.  produces  about  200,000  per  annum, 
and  the  other  four  companies  about  300,000. 
There  are  other  parties  engaged  in  making 
clock  movements  and  parts  of  clocks,  and 
one  house  in  Bristol  makes  thirty-day  brass 
clocks  that  keep  excellent  time. 


From  Connecticut,  by  the  perseverance 
of  these  energetic  men,  the  clocks  have 
spread  over  the  face  of  the  whole  country, 
ticking  in  almost  every  store  and  dwelling 
of  the  Atlantic  cities,  and  almost  every  log 
hut  of  the  frontier.  Nor  have  they  been 
confined  to  this  country.  In  1841  they 
were  introduced  by  Mr.  Jerome  into  Eng- 
land, exciting  there  great  surprise  and  in- 
dignation at  the  presumption  of  the  Yan- 
kees with  their  wooden  tickers.  The  tariff 
laws  of  England  permit  the  owner  of  goods 
to  enter  them  at  his  own  price,  on  which 
the  duty  is  to  be  cast.  If  the  officer  thinks 
that  price  too  low  he  can  take  the  goods  at 
10  per  cent,  advance  on  it.  The  first  cargo 
sent  by  Mr.  Jerome  were  entered  at  regular 
prices,  but  these  appeared  so  ridiculously 
low  to  the  officer  that  he  paid  the  10  per 
cent,  and  seized  the  goods.  The  owners, 
nothing  loath,  brought  forward  another  lot, 
which  met  the  same  fate  ;  but  on  present- 
ing the  third  the  officer  had  become  a  wiser 
man,  and  let  the  Yankees  do  their  own  busi- 
ness. Jerome's  clocks  had  there  a  great 
run,  and  they  also  tell  the  time  to  the  people 
at  Jerusalem  and  Joppa.  The  Chinese  have 
been  taught  to  use  them,  and  a  Yankee  clock 
marked  the  time  when  the  emperor  fled  from 
Pekin. 

While  Yankee  clocks  have  had  such  an  ex- 
tensive and  important  run  during  the  present 
century,  the  making  of  watches  has  been 
undertaken  only  within  the  last  ten  years. 
The  originator  of  the  business  was  Mr.  E. 
Howard,  of  Boston,  and  a  successful  busi- 
ness is  carried  on  at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts. 
A  distinctive  character  of  these  watches  lies 
in  that  part  of  the  watch  which  constitutes 
the  main  feature  of  difference  between  the 
English  and  Swiss  watches,  and  which  gives 
to  each  its  national  characteristics,  so  far  as 
the  principle  of  their  construction  is  con- 
cerned. In  the  English  watches,  the  motive 
power  is  conveyed  to  the  train  or  wheel- 
work  by  means  of  a  chain  and  fusee  ;  in  the 
Swiss  watches,  the  motive  power  is  convey- 
ed to  the  train  directly  by  means  of  what  is 
termed  the  "  going  barrel."  In  the  Ameri- 
can arrangement,  is  employed  neither  the 
fusee  nor  the  going  barrel,  but  the  sta- " 
tionary  barrel,  in  combination  with  the 
maintaining,  power.  The  stationary  barrel 
has  indeed  been  found  in  watches  made  a 
hundred  years  ago  ;  but  in  all  such  watches 
the  stationary  barrel  is  very  impractical,  as 
they  are  minus  the  maintaining  power,  and 


CLOCKS   AND    WATCHES. 


are  consequently  liable  to  stop  while  being 
wound  up.  But  by  the  direct  application 
of  the  maintaining  power  to  the  fixed  bar- 
rel, are  obtained  several  very  important  ad- 
vantages over  the  chain  and  fusee,  and  also 
over  the  going-barrel  arrangement.  These 
facts  add  much  to  the  character  of  Ameri- 
can-made watches,  and  in  point  of  national- 
ity, afford  features  of  difference  to  distin- 
guish them  from  the  foreign  watches. 

The  perfection  with  which  machinery  is 
adapted  to  fine  work,  is  beautifully  illus- 
trated in  the  works  of  the  Waltham  Co., 
which  we  believe  is  the  only  one  in  the 
world  where  all  the  parts  of  the  watch  are 
perfected  under  one  roof,  and  systematized 
so  that  all  the  parts  of  one  will  fit  any  num- 
ber of  others.  The  different  parts  of  the 
mechanism  of  foreign-made  watches  are 
cast  and  cut  laboriously  by  hand,  separately, 
and  often  in  places  remote  from  each  other, 
then  sent  to  the  finisher's  to  be  polished, 
fitted  together,  and  set  up.  Not  only  does 
this  arrangement  involve  a  vast  amount  of 
expense  for  the  time  and  labor  employed  in 
the  execution,  but  it  necessarily  results  that 
no  two  of  these  pieces  can  ever  be  so  pre- 
cisely alike  as  to  render  it  possible  to  substi- 
tute one  for  the  other,  and  that  the  whole 
mechanism,  made  thus  in  different  places  by 
skilful,  mediocre,  and  inferior  workmen,  can 
never  be  adjusted  with  the  same  precision 
as  though  manufactured  in  one  establish- 
ment, under  the  supervision  of  a  single 
head.  These  difficulties  have  been  obviated 
by  the  American  Watch  Company.  Every 
part  of  the  watch  is  cut  in  their  establish- 
ment by  the  aid  of  machinery,  graduated  to 
microscopic  exactness,  and  working  with  a 
delicacy  of  touch  that  the  fingers  would  strive 
in  vain  to  emulate.  The  pieces  are  thus  cut 
exactly  alike.  The  jewelling  department  in 
this  establishment  is  under  the  direction 
of  the  most  skilful  artisans.  The  precious 
stones,  rubies,  sapphires,  or  chrysolites,  infe- 
rior only  to  the  diamond  in  hardness,  and  re- 
sembling grains  of  brilliant  sand,  are  drilled  by 
the  diamond's  point  into  pivoted  reliances. 
They  are  then  opened  out  with  diamond 
dust,  on  a  soft,  hair-like  iron  wire,  their  per- 
forations having  certain  microscopic  differ- 
ences. In  like  manner,  the  pivots  of  steel 
that  are  to  run  in  these  jewels,  without 
wearing  out  in  the  least,  must  be  exquisitely 
polished.  By  this  operation  their  size  is 
slightly  reduced.  The  jewels  and  pivots, 
after  being  thus  finished,  are  classified  by 


means  of  a  gauge,  so  delicately  .graduated 
as  to  detect  a  difference  of  the  ten  thou- 
sandth part  of  an  inch.  The  jewels  are 
classified  by  means  of  the  pivots,  the  jewels 
and  pivots  of  the  same  number  fitting  each 
other  exactly.  The  sizes  of  the  several 
pivots  and  jewels  in  each  watch  are  careful- 
ly recorded  under  its  number,  so  that  if  any 
one  of  either  should  fail  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  by  sending  the  number  of  watch  to 
Waltham, the  part  desired  maybe  readily  and 
cheaply  replaced  with  unerring  certainty. 

By  the  old  method,  the  processes  of  bor- 
ing holes  and  shaping  wheels  and  pinions, 
and  bringing  them  to  a  size,  were  done  by 
the  drill-bow  alone,  a  slow  method,  and  de- 
pending wholly  on  the  quick  eye  and  steady 
hand  of  the  workman,  who  only  acquired 
the  requisite  skill  by  long  years  of  appren- 
ticeship. At  Waltham,  all  this  is  done  by 
lathes  connected  with  a  steam-driven  shaft, 
and  the  boring  or  cutting  tools  guided  by 
machines  of  most  ingenious  contrivance,  so 
as  to  make  the  pieces  absolutely  uniform  in 
all  their  dimensions. 

Take,  for  instance,  a  pinion,  which  is 
made  out  of  the  solid  steel  wire  drawn  for 
the  purpose.  Some  of  this  is  drawn  plain 
and  some  with  grooves  for  the  teeth.  In 
either  case,  the  arbor  or  axle  is  turned  to 
the  exact  size  and  taper  required  to  fit  the 
holes  in  the  jewels,  and  the  teeth  cut  to 
their  shape  and  distance,  all  by  various  ma- 
chinery, and  with  such  absolute  uniformity 
that  any  one  piece  will  fit  to  its  place  in  any 
other  watch  of  the  same  pattern.  In  like 
manner,  the  stones  for  pivots  are  first  cut, 
and  then  rounded  and  brought  to  a  size, 
polished,  and  fitted  for  use  by  machines, 
tended  by  young  women,  who  acquire  the 
requisite  skill  by  a  few  weeks'  practice. 
Little  screws,  so  minute  that  it  takes  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  thousand 
to  weigh  a  pound,  are  cut  from  the  wire 
with  surpassing  rapidity,  threaded,  and  the 
heads  finished  with  complete  accuracy. 

The  tools  and  mechanical  movements  by 
which  all  these  results  are  so  completely 
accomplished,  are  nearly  all  of  original  con- 
trivance, and  if  fully  and  scientifically  de- 
scribed, would  excite  general  admiration  for 
their  ingenuity. 

The  works  admit  of  the  employment  of 
220  hands,  and  can  turn  out  50  watches  per 
day.  Of  about  125  pieces  that  go  to  make 
a  watch,  some  pass  through  50  hands  before 
they  are  finished. 


372 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ELECTRO-PLATING, 

IT  is  now  scarcely  a  score  of  years  since 
this  wonderful  art  began  to  attract  attention, 
and  it  has  become  of  great  importance  in 
many  departments  of  industry.  By  its 
means  an  exact  copy  of  any  surface  may  be 
obtained  in  a  metallic  layer,  as  of  a  page  of 
type,  a  medal,  or  coin.  This  impression  ob- 
tained, being  backed  with  more  fusible  metal, 
becomes  a  duplicate  of  the  original  article. 
This  branch  of  the  art  is  called  electrotyping, 
and  some  account  of  it  is  given  in  respect  to 
type  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  other 
branch  of  the  art,  by  which  the  metal  held 
in  solution  may  be  made  to  settle  upon  and 
to  cover  permanently  the  surface  of  objects 
ornamental  and  otherwise,  is  called  electro- 
plating or  electro-gilding.  The  discovery 
that  this  might  be  done  was  made  early  in 
the  present  century,  but  it  was  not  followed 
up  as  a  useful  art  until  1839,  when  Mr. 
Jordan  published  an  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  obtained  impressions  of  en- 
graved plates  and  other  matters.  Attention 
was  then  directed  to  it.  Previous  to  1836 
silver-plating  or  gilding  was  executed  in  the 
old  way  or  various  ways.  Iron  was  gilded 
by  polishing  its  surface  and  then  heating  it 
till  it  acquired  a  blue  color.  When  this  was 
done  leaf  gold  was  applied,  slightly  burnished 
down,  and  exposed  to  a  gentle  fire,  after 
which  it  was  burnished  again.  Copper  or 
brass  may  be  gilded  in  the  same  manner. 
Gilding  metals  by  amalgamation  was  effect- 
ed by  forming  the  gold  into  a  paste  or  amal- 
gam with  mercury,  and  was  chiefly  employ- 
ed for  gilding  silver,  copper,  or  brass.  The 
metal  being  well  cleaned,  is  dipped  into  the 
amalgam  or  spread  over  with  it,  when  a 
quantity  will  adhere  to  the  surface.  The 
-metal  is  then  exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  fur- 
nace, which  volatilizes  the  mercury,  leaving 
the  gold  adhering;  this  is  afterward  bur- 
nished. In  this  way  buttons  and  similar  ar- 
ticles are  gilded. 

Ornamental  figures  may  also  be  delineated 
in  gold  upon  steel  by  a  very  ingenious  proc- 
ess, by  means  of  ether.  Gold  is  dissolved 
in  nitro-muriatic  acid,  and  a  quantity  of 
ether  is  added,  and  the  mixture  shaken. 
The  ether  will  then  take  the  gold  from  the 
acid,  and  an  ethereal  solution  of  gold  will  be 
produced,  which  is  separated  and  applied  to 
the  surface  of  the  steel  by  a  camel  hair ;  the 
ether  will  evaporate,  leaving  the  gold  on  the 
surface  of  the  steel.  The  metal  is  then 


heated  and  the  gold  burnished.  In  this  way 
sword-blades  are  ornamented.  Instead  of 
ether  the  essential  oils  may  be  used. 

Making  gilded  trinkets  was  brought  to 
such  perfection  that  the  use  of  real  gold 
was  very  much  diminished.  The  most  ele- 
gant patterns  are  struck  in  thin  copper,  and 
then  gilded  so  perfectly  as  not  to  be  distin- 
guishable in  a  general  way,  while  new,  from 
gold,  and  with  proper  care  they  will  last  for 
a  considerable  time ;  but  when  the  gilding 
does  wear  off,  the  color  cannot  be  restored, 
as  in  the  case  of  jeweller's  gold.  These 
were  the  processes  in  use  up  to  1836, 
when  Mr.  Ames  was  one  of  a  committee  sent 
to  England  by  the  government  to  acquire 
knowledge  in  aid  of  a  government  arms  man- 
ufactory, and  his  attention  was  attracted  to 
the  subject  of  depositing  silver  by  electricity, 
which  was  then  being  discussed,  and  its  the- 
ory established.  No  process  of  depositing  the 
silver  upon  any  base  metal,  as  german-silver, 
had  been  discovered.  Subsequently,  pur- 
suant to  some  suggestions  of  Professor  Silli- 
man,  it  was  discovered  that  prussiate  of 
potash  would  hold  the  silver  in  solution 
without  oxidizing  the  baser  metals.  This 
removed  a  part  of  the  difficulty,  but  there 
yet  remained  to  deposit  any  given  weight 
of  silver  that  might  be  required.  This  was 
also  removed  by  the  discovery  of  the  cyanide 
solution.  From  that  time  the  art  of  deposit- 
ing the  precious  upon  base  metals  gained 
ground,  and  has  since  become  important. 

The  early  process  was  to  dissolve  sulphate 
of  copper  in  a  vessel,  and  to  suspend  a  zinc 
plate  by  wires  soldered  to  it,  and  the  object 
to  be  coated  by  the  same  wires  in  the  liquid 
facing  the  zinc  and  very  near  to  it.  On  the 
application  of  the  electric  battery,  the  zinc 
dissolves,  and  about  the  same  amount  of 
copper  deposits  itself  upon  the  object  to  be 
coated,  which  is  attached  to  the  negative 
pole  of  the  battery.  A  quantity  of  sulphate 
of  copper  is  suspended  in  bags  in  the  upper 
portion  of  the  liquid  to  supply  that  which 
deposits.  In  electro-plating  with  gold  or 
silver  there  should  be  a  constant  motion 
sustained,  in  order  to  aid  in  equalizing 
the  deposit.  In  plating,  the  utmost  care 
is  to  be  taken  to  remove  all  traces  of 
grease  by  boiling  the  object  in  alkali.  This 
process  is  extensively  employed  for  giving  a 
very  thin  coating  of  silver  to  german-silver, 
britannia,  pewter,  or  bras,*,  by  which  they 
have  all  the  apparent  beauty  of  the  precious 
j  metal.  The  mode  of  dissolving  tlie  silver 


The  following  few  engravings  arc  a  selection  from  among  500  different  patterns  of  ar- 
tieles  manufactured  by  Messrs.  ROGERS,  SMITEI  &  Co.,  in  Hartford,  and  show  the  beauty 
of  design  and  elegance  of  finish  to  which  this  branch  of  American  industry  has  attained. 


FISHERIES. 


377 


was  originally  by  pure  nitric  acid ;  distilled 
water  then  being  added,  the  silver  is  pre- 
cipitated as  a  cyanide  by  a  solution  of  cyan- 
ide of  potassium.  The  precipitate  being  col- 
lected and  washed,  is  dissolved  in  a  solution- 
of  cyanide  of  potassium,  and  this  is  used  for 
silver,  in  place  of  the  sulphate  of  copper  used 
for  the  deposit  of  that  material.  The  object  is 
more  conveniently  obtained  by  connecting  a 
plate  of  silver  with  the  positive  pole  of  the 
battery,  suspended  in  a  solution  of  cyanide 
of  potassium,  and  allowing  the  current  to  pass 
until  the  silver  begins  to  deposit  upon  the 
negative  pole.  To  insure  the  adhesion  of 
the  silver  to  every  part  of  the  object  to  be 
coated,  it  is  well  washed  in  an  alkaline  lye. 
The  copper  wire  is  then  attached  to  the  ob- 
ject, which  is  dipped  in  nitric  acid,  and  then 
placed  in  the  solution  ;  after  being  in  it 
some  minutes  it  is  taken  out  and  well  brush- 
ed with  sand.  It  is  then  replaced  in  the 
solution,  and  in  several  hours'  time  it  will 
have  acquired  a  coating  of  dead  white  silver 
as  thick  as  tissue  paper.  It  may  then  be 
burnished  or  polished  with  a  hard  brush  and 
whiting.  The  strength  of  the  battery  makes 
a  difference  in  the  hardness  of  the  silver. 
When  the  battery  is  weak,  the  deposit  is 
soft,  and  it  hardens  with  the  increase  of  the 
magnetic  strength,  accompanied  by  contin- 
ual motion,  which  also  equalizes  the  depos- 
it up  to  a  certain  point,  beyond  which  the 
silver  changes  to  a  black  powder.  To  pro- 
duce the  natural  hardness  of  the  hammered 
metal,  it  is  requisite  to  preserve  certain  pro- 
portions between  the  size  of  the  silver  plate, 
and  the  object  to  be  plated.  If  the  time  of 
the  operation  is  prolonged,  the  deposit  may 
be  thickened  to  almost  any  extent.  To  de- 
posit a  plate  as  thick  as  ordinary  writing 
paper,  will  require  1^  or  ]  i  oz.  of  silver  to  1 2 
square  inches.  The  pure  metal  thus  deposit- 
ed is  as  durable  as  that  used  for  silver  coin. 
By  the  electro-plating  process  all  ornaments, 
however  elaborate  as  designs,  however  com- 
plicated they  may  be,  can  be  produced 
as  readily  and  in  as  great  perfection  as  in 
solid  silver.  The  most  elaborate  epergne 
or  the  plainest  tea  or  dinner-set  is  wrought 
and  plated  in  the  perfection  of  the  purest 
silver.  Door  plates,  knobs,  bell-pulls,  cutlery, 
etc.,  all  come  within  the  scope  of  this  rare 
art.  The  manufacture  is  carried  on  in  New 
York,  New  England,  and  Philadelphia,  on  a 
g;-eat  scale:  but  perhaps  the  house  of  Rogers, 
Smith  <fe  Co.,  of  Hartford,  the  first  that  en- 
gaged largely  in  the  business,  has  retained 


the  relative  magnitude  of  its  position. 
Their  manufactory  is  a  very  extensive  one,  em- 
ploying many  hundreds  of  hands  at  the  same 
time.  They  make  more  than  fifty  different 
patterns  of  tea-sets,  and  their  ware  excels 
in  richness  and  durability.  Their  ware  has 
found  its  way  into  private  families,  hotels, 
and  steamboats  to  a  considerable  extent,  and 
also  swells  the  volume  of  the  national  exports. 

In  electro-gilding  the  metal  is  dissolved  in 
nitre-muriatic  acid,  when  the  chloride  of 
gold  thus  obtained  is  digested  with  calcined 
magnesia.  The  oxide  precipitated  is  washed 
by  boiling  in  nitric  acid,  and  is  then  dis- 
solved in  cyanide  of  potassium.  The  tem- 
perature in  gilding  copper  should  be  at  least 
130°  F.,  and  in  gilding  silver  still  higher. 
The  positive  plate  of  the  battery  must  be  of 
gold,  and  the  negative  of  iron  or  copper. 
Some  of  the  metals,  as  iron,  steel,  lead,  do 
not  readily  receive  the  gold  in  deposit 
(unlike  banks  in  that  respect),  but,  being 
first  covered  with  a  light  coat  of  copper, 
the  gold  is  deposited  upon  that.  The  cop- 
per may  be  said  to  act  in  this  case  like  the 
mordant  in  calico  printing.  The  solution 
should  contain  as  much  gold  as  will  perfect 
the  desired  work  at  once.  In  this  operation 
the  smallest  quantities  produce  the  most  ex- 
traordinary effects.  The  almost  infinite  mallea- 
bility of  gold  is  well  known,  and  its  capaci- 
ty to  "spread  itself"  upon  properly  pre- 
pared metals  beats  that  of  a  4th  of  July 
orator.  An  ordinary  watch-case  may  re- 
ceive a  heavy  coat  on  the  outside  and  be 
well  covered  within,  and  yet  the  expenditure 
of  gold  will  be  only  20  grains,  or  the  value 
of  one  dollar.  "  A  magnificent  gold  pencil- 
case"  will  have  cost  3  grains  of  gold,  or  16 
cts.  worth.  •  The  expense  of  tipping  a  taper 
finger  with  gold  for  sewing  is  5  cts.,  and 
probably  that  is  all  it  is  worth  since  sewing- 
machines  have  laid  both  thimbles  and  sailors' 
palms  upon  the  shelf. 

It  is  easily  understood  that  the  introduction 
of  such  an  art  as  this  should  have  at  once  su- 
perannuated the  old  system  of  plating.  Prog- 
ress is  being  continually  made,  and  in  New 
York  machines  have  been  introduced  and  ap- 
plied to  practical  operation  in  electro-plating. 


FISHERIES, 

THE  fisheries,  as  we  have  elsewhere  shown, 
were  the  first  successful  industry  of  the  col- 


378 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


onies,  and  they  laid  the  foundation  of  our 
national  commerce  and  marine.  The  results 
are  not  singular  in  this  respect,  since  the 
most  flourishing  commercial  countries  of  the 
modern  world  owed  their  origin,  like  the 
Romish  church,  to  the  "  poor  fisherman." 
When  the  subjects  of  ancient  Rome,  flying 
before  the  hordes  of  Attila,  retreated  to  the 
lagunes  of  the  Adriatic,  nothing  remained 
to  them  but  the  sea  and  its  treasures.  This 
pursuit  enabled  them  to  rear  on  the  rocks 
that  had  sheltered  them,  the  proud  Venice 
which  awed  the  world,  and  whose  power  fell 
only  when  the  republic  had  become  a  cor- 
rupt oligarchy,  and  the  young  general  Bona- 
parte, the  agent  of  a  new  republic,  called 
them  to  account.  With  the  same  origin 
Genoa  grew  into  the  dominion  of  the  seas, 
and  encountered  the  same  fate  when  wealth 
and  corruption  succeeded  the  humble  vir- 
tues of  the  founders.  The  Dutch,  from  a 
band  of  herring-catchers,  whose  collection  of 
fishing  huts  was  called  Amsterdam,  carried 
on  that  system  of  energetic  industry  that 
conquered  Holland  from  the  sea,  and  pre- 
vented the  future  encroachments  of  that  ele- 
ment by  dikes ;  while  the  country  grew  rich 
and  so  powerful  that  the  successors  of  those 
old  herring-busses  carried  a  broom  at  the 
mast-head  in  token  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  seas.  To  them  succeeded  the  Eng- 
lish, whose  fishing-nurtured  marine,  coupled 
with  an  aptitude  for  commerce,  gave  them 
the  mastery  over  the  wealth-enervated  Dutch. 
The  English  felt  the  maritime  sceptre  to 
tremble  in  their  grasp  for  the  first  time, 
when  the  New  England  trained  fishermen 
met  them  in  battle,  and  almost  every  en- 
gagement resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the 
"  bit  of  striped  bunting."  But  warlike 
supremacy  is  the  least  of  the  triumphs, 
since  the  commercial  and  maritime  superi- 
ority has  every  day  become  more  mani- 
fest, from  the  moment  Paul  Jones  "  began 
to  fight"  and  "  old  Stewart"  out-manoeuvred 
the  Engish  fleet,  to  the  success  of  the 
yacht  America  in  the  British  waters.  In 
that  period  the  Yankee  fishermen  have  car- 
ried the  stars  and  stripes  to  every  corner 
of  every  continent  and  shown  them  to  every 
isle  of  the  ocean.  The  Vigor  and  address 
with  which  the  New  Englanders  early  em- 
barked in  the  cod  and  mackerel  fishing, 
and  built  vessels  with  which  to  prosecute  it, 
not  only  excited  the  admiration  of  the 
mother  country,  but  roused  the  alarm  of 
the  government,  who  foresaw,  in  their  indus- 


try and  intelligence,  the  causes  of  the  defeat 
they  sustained  a  century  later. 

About  the  time  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, the  trade  growing  out  of  the 
cod  fishery  furnished  the  northern  colonies 
with  nearly  one  half  of  their  remittances  to 
the  mother  country,  in  payment  for  goods.J 
All  the  seaport  towns  were  engaged  mostly'- 
in  it,  and  thus  grew  in  proportion  to  the 
success  of  that  business.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  fishing  rights  were  a  very 
important  part  of  the  negotiations  entered 
into  at  the  peace.  The  general  result  of  the 
negotiations  was  that  the  Americans  might 
catch  fish  anywhere  except  within  three 
miles  of  certain  English  colonial  coasts,  and 
might  land  to  dry  and  cure  on  the  southern 
side  of  Newfoundland  and  other  convenient 
coasts.  Congress,  by  law,  also  granted  a 
bounty  to  vessels  of  which  all  the  officers 
and  three  fourths  of  the  crew  were  American 
citizens.  The  bounty  was  altered  from  time 
to  time,  and  as  it  now  exists  under  the  law 
of  1855  is  as  follows  :  If  the  vessel  is  more 
than  five  tons  and  not  more  than  30,  $3i 
per  ton;  more  than  30  tons,  $4.  The  al- 
lowance of  one  vessel  during  the  season, 
whatever  may  be  her  tonnage,  cannot  exceed 
$360.  The  bounty  paid  out  in  the  last  12 
years  amounts  to  $4,046,929,  or  $337,244 
per  annum  average.  The  whole  amount 
paid  since  the  formation  of  the  government 
has  been  $12,944,998,  and  the  following 
states  were  the  recipients : — 

STATES    THAT    RECEIVE    THE   FEDERAL    BOUNTY. 

Maine $4,175,050 

New  Hampshire 563, 134 

Massachusetts 7,926, 273 

Connecticut 182, 853 

Rhode  Island 78,895 

New  York 18,319 

Virginia 479 


Total $12,944,998 

The  cod  fishery  is  the  most  important,  if 
we  take  the  number  of  tons  employed  as  the 
guide.  In  1795  there  were  37,000  tons  of 
shipping  so  employed.  At  present  there 
are  110,000  tons  employed  in  the  business. 
There  are  several  ways  in  which  the  fishing- 
vessels  are  fitted  out.  The  leading  one  is 
for  six  or  seven  farmers  with  their  sons  to 
build  a  schooner  during  the  winter.  When 
the  spring  crops  are  in,  they  fit  out  the  ves- 
sel with  the  necessary  stores  and  go  on 
board  to  make  the  voyage  before  harvest. 
They  proceed  to  the  "Banks,"  the  Gulf  of 


FISHERIES. 


381 


St.  Lawrence,  or  Labrador,  and,  with  a  good 
catch,  get  home  in  time  to  harvest.  From 
the  proceeds  of  the  voyage  they  pay  any  out- 
standing claims  for  outfit,  draw  the  govern- 
ment bounty,  and  divide  the  proceeds.  Af- 
ter harvest  they  make  another  voyage,  the 
catch  of  which  is  not  dried,  but  salted  down 
for  home  use,  under  the  name  of  mud  fish. 
Another  plan  is  to  charter  a  vessel  from  the 
owner,  merchant,  or  other,  in  a  company  of 
10  or  15,  on  shares;  the  owner  finding  the 
vessel,  and  nets,  and  salt  for  his  share,  which 
is  usually  three  eighths  of  the  whole  catch. 
The  men  supply  provisions,  hooks,  lines,  and 
the  salt  for  their  share  of  five  eighths  of  the 
fish.  One  of  them  is  selected  to  navigate, 
for  which  service  he  gets  $4  or  $5  per 
month  ;  otherwise  he  turns  in  to  catch  fish, 
or  to  work  with  the  rest.  The  first  spring 
voyage  is  usually  made  to  the  Banks ;  the 
second  either  to  the  Banks,  the  Gulf,  or  Labra- 
dor ;  and  the  two  fall  voyages  also  generally 
to  the  Banks. 

Fish  here  are  all  caught  with  hooks,  and 
are  taken  from  the  bottom.  Each  fisher- 
man has  a  strong  line,  of  from  sixty  to  sev- 
enty fathoms  in  length,  to  which  is  attached 
a  lead  of  a  cylindrical  shape,  weighing  about 
five  pounds.  This  of  course  is  the  sinker. 
From  this  proceeds  the  "  pennant,"  which  is 
a  cord  about  twice  the  size  of  the  line,  and 
is  about  three  feet  in  length.  To  the  lower 
end  of  the  pennant,  and  attached  to  it  by  a 
small  copper  swivel,  is  the  "  craft,"  which  is 
a  small  stout  cord  about  two  and  a  half  feet 
in  length,  having  three  strips  of  whalebone 
laid  around  it  at  the  middle,  where  it  is  at- 
tached to  the  swivel  of  the  pennant.  The 
whole  is  then  serried  or  wound  round  with 
tarred  twine.  On  each  end  of  the  craft  is 
a  smaller  swivel,  to  which  the  gauging  of 
the  hooks  is  attached.  The  whalebone 
serves  to  keep  the  hooks  about  a  foot  apart, 
so  there  is  little  danger  of  their  becoming 
entangled  with  each  other. 

The  men  arrange  themselves  on  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  deck,  throw  over  their 
leads,  and  unreel  their  lines,  till  the  lead 
rests  on  the  bottom.  It  is  then  drawn  up 
so  that  the  hook  will  be  on  the  bottom  with, 
the  down  pitch  of  the  vessel,  and  with  nip- 
pers drawn  on  their  fingers  to  keep  the  line 
from  cutting  them,  they  lean  over  the  bul- 
warks, patiently  awaiting  a  bite,  which  is 
known  by  a  slight  jerk  on  the  line.  They 
then  give  a  sudden  pull,  in  order  to  hook 
him,  stand  back  and  haul  in  the  long  line, 

23 


hand  over  hand,  until  the  fish  is  hauled  up 
to  the  surface,  when  he  is  taken  in  on  deck, 
unhooked,  and  thrown  into  a  square  box, 
which  each  man  has  fastened  by  his  side, 
called  a  "  kid."  Tke  hooks  are  then  baited 
and  hove  over  again,  and  the  fisherman, 
while  the  line  is  running,  picks  up  the  fish 
caught,  and  cuts  out  his  tongue. 

Toward  night,  the  fish  are  counted  out 
from  the  kids,  each  one  separately,  and 
thrown  into  a  large  kid  near  the  main- 
hatch,  called  the  "  dressing-kid."  They  are 
counted  aloud  as  they  are  thrown  along,  and 
each  man  is  required  to  keep  his  own  ac- 
count and  report  to  the  skipper  at  night,  who 
keeps  a  separate  account  for  each  man  on 
the  log-book.  The  dressing-gang,  consisting 
of  a  "throater,"  a  "header,"  a  "splitter," 
and  a  "  salter,"  now  commence  dressing 
down.  After  passing  through  the  hands  of 
the  first  three,  they  assume  somewhat  the 
shape  seen  in  market.  They  are  then  passed 
down  between  decks  to  the  salter,  who  puts 
them  up  in  kenches,  or  layers,  laying  the 
first  tier  on  the  bottom  of  the  hold,  and 
building  up  with  alternate  layers  of  salt  and 
fish  till  the  kench  reaches  the  desired  height. 
The  decks  are  then  washed  down,  sails  taken 
in,  and  the  vessel  anchored  for  the  night. 

A  popular,  though  somewhat  dangerous 
method,  called  "trawling,"  has  been  em- 
ployed of  late  years.  The  trawl  is  a  long 
rope,  with  from  twenty  to  a  hundred  lines 
depending  from  it,  to  which  hooks  are  at- 
tached as  to  the  common  line.  The  rope  is 
kept  at  the  surface  by  means  of  keg-buoys, 
each  one  marked  with  the  vessel's  name,  to 
prevent  any  dispute  as  to  ownership.  The 
hooks  are  baited  and  the  trawl  got  clear  and 
ready,  and  it  is  then  taken  in  a  dory  some 
distance  from  the  vessel,  and  set.  It  is 
generally,  we  believe,  set  at  night,  and 
hauled  in  the  morning.  The  very  laborious 
duty  of  hauling  the  trawls  is  performed  also 
in  dories,  by  two  or  three  men  in  each. 
Occasionally,  nearly  every  hook  has  done 
its  work,  but  most  frequently  from  twenty 
to  fifty  fish  are  the  reward  of  their  toil. 
Sometimes  trawls  are  set  at  a  distance  of 
five  or  six  miles  from  the  craft,  and  not  un- 
frequently  do  the  trawl-men  get  astray  from 
their  vessel.  In  this  case,  they  generally 
board  some  other  vessel,  if  one  is  lying  near, 
or  drift  about  for  hours  until  they  find  their 
own. 

The  herring  fishery,  which  was  formerly 
very  abundant,  has  of  late  years  fallen  into 


382 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


decay,  for  the  reason  that  the  great  schools 
that  formerly  visited  these  shores  have 
ceased  to  come,  most  probably  because  the 
waters  resorted  to  by  the  fish  to  deposit 
their  spawn  have  been  obstructed  by  dams, 
mills,  etc.  For  the  same  reason  the  once 
abundant  salmon  has  now  become  scarce. 
The  indentures  of  the  apprentices  in  colonial 
times  were  said  to  have  contained  clauses 
that  the  apprentice  should  not  be  compelled 
to  eat  salmon  oftener  than  thrice  a  week. 
Since  then,  through  scarcity,  that  fish  has 
risen  to  $2  a  pound,  at  certain  seasons. 
Streams  that  once  afforded  supplies  for  do- 
mestic consumption  and  thousands  of  barrels 
for  export,  now  supply  less  than  the  local  de- 
mand. Along  the  Maine  waters  forty  years 
ago  two  hundred  a  day  for  three  months  in 
the  year  was  not  extra.  A  boy  of  15  would 
take  1500  in  a  season  with  a  dip-net. 
They  probably  caught  them  all,  for  very  few 
are  seen  of  late  years.  Until  within  twenty 
years  salmon  were  plenty  in  the  Merrimac 
river,  but  they  have  been  driven  away  by 
turbine  wheels.  Of  the  Delaware,  Susque- 
hanna,  Hudson,  Connecticut,  and  Thames, 
the  same  story  may  be  told  of  former  abun- 
dance and  present  scarcity.  As  an  instance 
of  relative  values,  one  shad  was  formerly 
thought  equal  to  three  salmon,  but  in  certain 
seasons  one  salmon  will  now  be  worth  a 
bushel  of  shad.  The  Aroostook  river  is  now 
the  source  of  greatest  supply,  but  the  chief 
quantity  that  comes  upon  the  market  is 
from  the  colonies.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  as 
far  south  as  the  Columbia  river,  they  are 
Btill  abundant.  In  that  river  a  navigator 
asserted  he  purchased  a  ton  of  salmon  for  a 
jack-knife.  There  are  those  who  already 
anticipate  a  dinner  in  New  York  upon  a 
Columbia  river  salmon,  to  be  brought  by 
the  Pacific  railroad.  Some  seven  years  ago 
the  same  table  on  Lake  Erie  presented  Ken- 
nebec  salmon  side  by  side  with  Lake  Supe- 
rior salmon-trout. 

The  halibut  fishery  on  George's  Banks 
is  an  enterprise  of  recent  years.  It  is  pur- 
sued in  mid-winter,  and  few  occupations, 
even  on  the  ocean,  are  more  hazardous. 
This  delicate  fish  is  packed  in  ice,  and  sent 
by  railroads,  sound  and  sweet,  to  the  most 
distant  markets. 

Before  the  construction  of  railroads,  the 
whole  number  of  halibut  annually  caught 
and  brought  into  Cape  Ann,  did  not  exceed 
2500,  which  were  nearly  all  sold  fresh  for 
immediate  consumption  ;  for  not  having 


been  in  demand,  when  cured  in  any  manner 
by  salt,  for  the  domestic  or  foreign  markets, 
but  few  were  prepared  for  that  purpose.  In 
fact,  so  worthless  were  they  considered  as 
salted  fish,  that  the  owners  of  the  vessels 
employed  in  the  fisheries  generally  in- 
structed the  crews  to  cut  adrift  all  the 
halibut  which  were  drawn  up,  and  every 
year  many  thousands  had  been  thus  turned 
back  to  the  deep  with  a  fatal  wound.  But 
such  was  now  the  facility  of  transporting 
them  fresh  to  the  New  York  market,  that 
at  least  1 6,000  were  taken,  and  a  large  portion 
of  them  sent  to  that  city  by  the  railroads 
and  steamboats. 

The  mode  of  taking  halibut  is  as  follows  : 
The  lines  are  thrown  over  and  allowed  to 
sink  to  the  bottom ;  a  heavy  lead  is  attached, 
for  the  under  current  on  the  Banks  is  very 
strong ;  the  fish  takes  the  hook  by  suction, 
but  the  force  of  suction  is  sufficient  to  en- 
able the  fisherman  to  discover  that  he  is 
"  thar ;"  then  commences  the  "  hauling  in," 
and  the  reader  may  believe  it  is  no  joke  to 
haul  in  a  line,  in  a  rough  sea,  of  some 
eighty  or  ninety  fathoms  in  length,  with  a 
fish  of  from  twenty-five  to  two  hundred 
pounds'  weight  at  the  end.  Sometimes  the 
fish  comes  up  very  readily  to  the  surface, 
but  in  most  cases  it  is  necessary  to  "  drown" 
it,  by  drawing  it  some  ten  or  twenty  feet 
from  the  bottom,  and  very  suddenly  letting 
go.  This  last  process  is  of  course  a  very 
tedious  one.  The  fish  upon  coming  to  the 
surface  is  seized  by  a  "  gaff,"  an  oaken  pole 
or  stick  with  a  strong  hook  attached,  drawn 
on  board  the  vessel,  and  thrown  into  the 
ice-house.  Each  man  keeps  account  of  the 
number  of  fish  he  takes,  of  which  he  re- 
ceives the  proceeds  from  one  half  the 
amount  of  sale. 

Formerly  the  halibut  was  only  caught 
late  in  the  spring  and  during  the  summer 
and  autumnal  months,  on  the  south  shoals 
of  Nantucket,  along  the  coast  of  Cape  Cod, 
in  Barnstable  Bay,  on  Cash's  Ledge,  and 
some  other  places,  where  they  were  most 
abundant  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  always  in  deep  water,  being  consid- 
ered, as  it  is  termed,  a  bottom  fish.-  But 
since  the  demand  for  this  American  turbot, 
as  it  may  with  propriety  be  called  (for  it 
much  resembles  that  delicious  fish  in  form 
and  flavor),  has  so  vastly  increased,  the  fish- 
ermen have  made  explorations  in  search  of 
other  haunts,  and,  to  their  great  astonish- 
ment, found  them  in  immense  quantities  on 


FISHERIES. 


383 


George's  Banks,  early  in  March ;  and  what 
was  still  more  surprising,  and  a  fact  until  then 
entirely  unknown  to  them,  they  appeared  in 
extensive  shoals  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
like  mackerel,  and  were  taken  with  but  three 
or  four  fathoms  of  line,  instead  of  from  26  to 
70,  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  use 
time  out  of  mind  in  the  bottom  fishing. 
The  Cape  Ann  vessels  take  from  200  to 
500  each  trip,  weighing  from  25  to  200 
pounds. 

The  fish  is  packed  and  shipped  mostly,  if 
not  altogether,  in  Boston,  and  thence  sent 
to  the  most  distant  points  of  the  South.  It 
much  surprised  the  epicures  of  New  Orleans 
when  it  popped  out  of  the  ice-box  in  the 
market,  not  only  by  the  strangeness  of  its  ap- 
pearance,  being  altogether  unknown  in  those 
parts,  but  also  by  the  delicacy  of  its  rich 
flavor. 

The  growth  of  this  fishery  has  been  so 
rapid  that  from  a  small  beginning  it  has 
in  a  few  years  increased  to  $60,000  per  an- 
num, and  employs  75  nearly  new  and  well- 
adapted  vessels,  chiefly  owned  at  the  port 
of  Gloucester. 

The  mackerel  fishery  was  one  of  the  earli- 
est pursued,  but  it  did  not  reach  much  im- 
portance until  the  close  of  the  last  century ; 
and  it  is  now  mostly  confined  to  Maine  and 
Massachusetts.  There  are  about  30,000 
tons  employed  in  it,  and  the  number  of 
barrels  caught  annually  will  vary  from  131,- 
000  to  360,000  barrels.  Nearly  the  whole 
of  the  business  is  carried  on  in  Massachu- 
setts, the  other  states  doing  but  little  in  it. 
A  few  vessels  from  Maine  and  Connecticut 
fit  out  at  Gloucester,  the  chief  place  for  that 
industry.  The  merchants  of  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  and  Boston  have  their  agents  at 
that  place  to  purchase  and  ship  for  them. 
There  are  now  employed  in  it  over  1000 
vessels  and  10,000  men.  The  value  is  given 
as  follows  by  the  inspector  general  of  Mas- 
sachusetts : — 

Value  of  vessels  and  outfits  in  Mas- 
sachusetts,   $6,032,000 

Value  average  of  catch, 4,400,000 

The  American  mackerel-catchers  took  of 
this  fish  one  year  as  follows  :  188,336  barrels 
in  American  waters,  and  140,906  barrels  in 
waters  now  claimed  as  the  exclusive  right 
of  the  Earl  of  Derby. 

Gloucester  sends  out  annually  about  four 
hundred  schooners,  ranging  from  65  to 
110  'tons,  and  averaging  90  tons.  Their 


crews  for  the  mackerel  fishery  generally 
consist  of  from  10  to  14  men,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  craft;  for  the  cod  and 
halibut  fishery,  of  about  8  men.  The  ves- 
sels are  nearly  all  of  a  clipper  build,  fore- 
and-aft  rig,  and  are  valued  at  an  average  of 
about  $4000.  Most  of  them  have  all  the  con- 
veniences of  a  mechanic's  house  on  shore, 
and  their  cabins  will  generally  compare,  in 
a  due  proportion  of  course,  with  the  cabins 
of  any  merchant-ship.  It  is  the  fisherman's 
pride  that  his  craft  shall  compare  in  beauty 
with  any  other  he  may  meet.  In  Glouces- 
ter the  value  of  shipping  tonnage  is  $1,600,- 
000.  In  the  months  of  May  and  June, 
nearly  all  the  vessels  owned  in  the  port 
commence  "  fitting  out"  for  the  Bay  of  St. 
Lawrence,  in  which  locality,  for  the  past 
few  years,  mackerel  abound  in  the  greatest 
numbers.  The  "  fit-out"  consists  in  the 
craft  being  newly  painted,  rigging  and  sails 
renovated,  anchors  and  cables  replenished, 
if  necessary,  men  shipped,  and  bait,  salt, 
and  provisions  taken  on  board.  She  is  then 
ready  for  a  start.  For  the  first  few  days  of 
the  passage  all  hands  are  busily  employed 
in  arranging  or  deciding  for  their  fishing 
quarters  at  the  rail.  The  best  men  are  gen- 
erally given  positions  near  the  main  rigging, 
which  is  considered  the  most  advantageous, 
as  the  fish  usually  rise  there  in  greatest 
numbers.  The  men  are  shipped  "  on 
shares,"  as  it  is  termed,  i.  e.  each  man  is 
entitled  to  one  half  the  fish  he  takes — the 
other  half  going  to  the  vessel.  After  about 
a  week's  sail  they  arrive  at  their  destina- 
tion, which  comprises  the  Bay  of  St.  Law- 
rence, from  Cape  Breton  island  on  the 
south  and  Prince  Edward's  island  on  the 
west  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  on 
the  north.  When  arrived,  bait  is  got  up 
and  ground.  The  "  toll-bait,"  as  it  is 
called,  is  generally  menhaden,  or  porgies,  a 
small  bony  fish,  little  used  as  an  article  of 
food.  This  is  supplied  in  great  quantities 
to  each  vessel.  It  is  finely  ground  in  a  mill 
provided  for  the  purpose,  then  mixed  with 
water,  and  it  is  ready  for  use.  Upon  the 
appearance  of  a  school  of  mackerel,  which  is 
indicated  by  a  rippling  of  the  surface  of  the 
water  not  unlike  that  of  the  schools  of  her- 
ring, the  vessel  is  "  hove  to,"  and  the  "  toll- 
bait"  thrown.  The  fish  will  generally  fol- 
low this  bait  to  the  side  of  the  vessel,  where 
all  hands  are  at  their  quarters,  and  anxiously 
awaiting  the  first  "bite."  And  now  com- 
mences a  general  excitement.  Each  man 


384 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


has  his  barrel  by  his  side,  and  to  those  who 
have  never  seen  the  operation,  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  fish  are  taken  from  the 
water  is  almost  incredible.  The  men  are 
also  provided  with  two  lines  each,  and  upon 
a  "  strike,"  which  means  when  the  fish  bite 
rapidly,  these  lines  are  in  constant  motion, 
and  what  seems  strangest  of  all  is  the  fact, 
that  although  a  space  of  only  about  a  foot 
and  a  half  or  two  feet  is  allowed  to  each 
man  for  himself  and  his  barrel,  it  is  very 
seldom  that  the  lines  become  entangled, 
even  when  the  school  being  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  vessel,  some  15  or  20  fath- 
oms of  length  of  line  is  required,  and  the 
fish,  as  soon  as  the  hook  is  felt,  dart  hither 
and  thither  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 
After  a  "  deck"  of  mackerel  is  obtained 
(which  signifies  a  goodly  number  of  bar- 
rels), all  hands  immediately  prepare  to  put 
them  in  salt.  The  operations  of  "  passing 
up,"  "splitting,"  and  "gibbing"  are  gone 
through,  and  they  are  packed  in  salt  in  the 
barrels.  This,  with  a  plenty  of  leisure,  when 
the  fish  are  "slack,"  or  do  not  take  the 
hook,  is  the  routine  of  the  Gloucester  mack- 
erel fisherman's  sea  life. 

The  process  of  netting  and  seining  is  used 
very  little,  it  being  a  much  easier  and  safer 
method  to  take  them  by  the  hook  and  line. 

Numbers  of  city  and  country  people  make 
trips  in  these  fishing  craft  in  summer  sea- 
son, from  the  fact  that  the  business  is  of  a 
healthful  nature,  and  is  a  pleasant  and  very 
convenient  manner  of  enjoying  a  few  weeks' 
leisure. 

These  schooners  make  two  or  three  trips 
each  season,  starting  about  the  middle  of 
May  or  first  of  June,  on  their  first  voyage, 
and  returning  in  October  or  November  from 
their  last  one.  A  "good  trip"  is  considered 
to  be  about  250  to  300  barrels. 

The  oyster  trade  is  a  large  and  general 
one,  and  pervades  most  of  the  towns  and 
cities  of  the  Union,  having  spread  with  the 
facilities  of  transport  to  points  that  distance 
before  deprived  of  the  bivalvular  luxury. 
The  oysters  are  of  a  great  variety  of  species, 
seemingly  dependent  upon  the  locality  where 
they  are  fatted.  Large  numbers  of  oysters 
taken  from  the  original  beds  are  unfit  for 
market  until  they  have  been  planted  or 
transferred  to  a  favorable  locality  for  them 
to  fat.  The  different  localities  impart  to 
them  various  flavors,  more  or  less  salt,  and 
which  are  difficult  to  discriminate  other- 
wise than  by  the  name  of  the  place  where 


they  were  fatted,  as  "East  Rivers,"  "Shrews- 
burys,"  etc.  The  setting,  planting,  and  bring- 
ing them  to  market  occupy  a  great  num- 
ber of  men  and  no  inconsiderable  tonnage. 
They  attain  a  marketable  size  in  about 
eighteen  months,  and  breed  very  rapidly. 
When  the  oyster  vessel  arrives  in  the  spring 
from  the  South,  it  is  anchored  near  the  site 
of  the  proposed  bed.  The  cargoes  are  then 
put  into  small  boats  that  come  alongside. 
The  beds  having  been  staked  off  into  small 
squares,  about  50  bushels  are  spread  over 
one  of  the  squares  in  such  a  manner  that 
no  oyster  shall  be  upon  another.  By  the 
fall,  the  oysters  will  have  considerably  in- 
creased in  size,  and  greatly  improved  in  fla- 
vor. If  allowed  to  remain  too  long  in  shel- 
tered waters,  the  oyster  not  long  acclimated 
will  perish  with  the  rigor  of  the  northern 
winter.  The  breeding  time  of  native  oysters, 
is  in  April  and  May,  from  which  time  to 
July  or  August,  they  are  said  to  be  sick,  or 
in  the  milk,  and  in  most  localities  laws  for- 
bid taking  them  until  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, with  a  view  to  favor  their  growth. 
They  are  then  caught  in  a  net,  which  has 
on  its  lower  edge  an  iron  scraper.  This 
being  attached  to  a  rope  and  cast  over  from 
a  boat,  is  dragged  along  the  bottom  by  a 
forced  motion  when  rowed  by  the  fisher- 
men. The  iron  scraper  turns  up  the  oysters 
and  they  are  retained  in  the  net,  which  from 
time  to  time  is  drawn  up  to  be  emptied. 
When  the  water  is  shallow  a  pair  of  huge 
tongs  are  used  to  pick  up  a  number  at  a 
time.  In  some  places  the  drag  or  dredge 
is  very  large  and  heavy,  and  is  drawn  along 
by  the  vessel  under  sail.  This  process  is 
forbidden  by  law  in  some  districts,  since  the 
heavy  drag  crushes  and  destroys  as  many  as 
it  catches.  When  the  season  sets  in,  the 
fishermen  crowd  the  waters  where  the  oys- 
ters are  to  be  had,  and  sell  their  catch  in 
the  neighboring  cities.  The  larger  dealers 
buy  their  oysters  in  Virginian  waters,  and 
carry  them  North  to  plant  until  they  are  fat. 
The  value  of  the  Virginia  oyster  trade  has 
been  given  as  follows,  showing  the  destina- 
tion of  the  oysters  : — 

No.  of  bushels.  Value. 

Virginia  cities 1,050,000  $1,050.000 

Baltimore 3,500,000  3,500,000 

Philadelphia 2,500,000  2,500,000 

New  York 6,950,000  6,950,000 

Fair  Haven 2,000,000  2,000,000 


Total 16,000,000 

Other  cities, Providence,  etc.    4,000,000 


$16,000,000 
4.000,000 


Total 20,000,000  $20,000,000 


FISHERIES. 


385 


It  has  been  estimated  that  the  oyster 
trade  of  Baltimore  is  more  valuable  than 
the  whole  wheat  trade  of  Maryland.  The 
whole  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  are 
admirably  adapted  to  their  growth,  and  they 
reach  maturity  in  one  year.  There  are  there 
250  vessels  engaged  in  the  business,  and 
their  catch  is  900  bushels  every  trip  of  ten 
days,  and  the  annual  aggregate  is  4,800,000 
bushels.  The  average  value  being  50  cents 
per  bushel,  the  value  is  $2,400,000  paid 
by  the  Baltimore  dealers.  Some  of  these 
houses  send  West  over  the  railroads  8  to  10 
tons  of  canned  oysters  per  day.  The  shells- 
sold  for  manure  are  put  at  6,000,000  bush- 
els annually,  worth  two  cents  per  bushel,  or 
$120,000.  The  Long  Island  Sound  oys- 
ters were  originally  from  Chesapeake  Bay. 
These  oysters  cost  originally  25  cents,  and 
the  freight  is  15  cents.  The  native  oysters, 
or  what  are  considered  such,  being  propa- 
gated from  old  plants,  are  taken  mostly  for 
the  city  trade,  while  the  transplanted  oys- 
ters find  their  way  all  over  the  country  by 
railroad.  To  preserve  them  they  are  first 
opened  and  put  into  kegs  or  cans  of  a  ca- 
pacity of  12  to  20  gallons  each.  These  are 
then  put  into  boxes  and  surrounded  with 
ice.  There  are  some  250  vessels  employed 
in  carrying  oysters  to  New  Haven.  There 
are  about  20  houses  engaged  in  the  business, 
the  largest  having  branches  in  Buffalo,  Cleve- 
land, Hamilton  and  elsewhere.  These  firms 
employ  a  great  number  of  boys  and  girls  in 
opening  the  oysters.  The  operation  is  per- 
formed with  incredible  dispatch  by  the  ex- 
perienced hands.  The  instruments  used  are 
a  hammer  to  crack  the  edge  on  a  slip  of 
iron  fixed  upright  in  the  bench,  and  a  knife. 
The  latter  is  always  held  in  the  hand,  while 
the  hammer  is  seized,  the  blow  given,  and 
dropped,  the  knife  inserted,  and  the  oyster 
being  seized  between  the  knife  and  the 
thumb  is  pitched  into  the  tub.  The  move- 
ment produces  a  constant  click-gouge-splash, 
click-gouge-splash,  as  the  tub  rapidly  fills 
with  the  "  bivalves"  previous  to  packing. 
The  openers  get  2  cents  a  quart,  and  they 
earn  from  $1  to  $2  per  day.  There  are  150 
oysters  to  the  gallon,  and  to  earn  $2,  100 
quarts,  or  3750  oysters  must  be  opened,  or 
during  12  hours  50  per  minute ! 

The  sea-coast  by  no  means  monopolizes 
good  fishing.  In  and  about  the  great  lakes 
there  are  35  varieties  of  fish,  and  it  is  said 
that  a  larger  number  and  variety  of  fish  as- 
cend the  Maumee  river  in  the  spring  to 


spawn,  than  in  any  other  river  on  the  globe. 
These  fish  give  rise,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to 
a  large  business.  The  number  of  barrels 
caught  annually  is  some  42,000,  which  may 
be  divided  as  follows:  Lake  Superior,  3000; 
Michigan,  15,000;  Huron,  14,000;  Erie, 
3000;  and  7000  barrels  in  Detroit  riv- 
er. Being  sold  at  an  average  of  $11  per 
barrel,  the  aggregate  value  is  some  $462,000. 
About  one  sixth  of  the  whole  quantity  is 
trout,  the  remainder  white  fish.  The  mode 
of  taking  them  is  by  "  gill  nets"  set  some 
ten  miles  from  the  shore.  Considerable 
numbers  are  taken  when,  having  been  up 
Detroit  river  from  Lake  Erie  to  spawn,  they 
are  on  their  return.  There  are  about  50 
fisheries  on  the  river.  In  some  of  the  rivers 
that  flow  into  the  lakes,  great  quantities  of 
pickerel  are  caught,  say  Fox  river,  Wiscon- 
sin, 1000  barrels;  Saginaw  river,  1500  bar- 
rels; St.  Clair,  15,000  barrels;  Maumee, 
3000  barrels,  and  as  much  mullet,  bass,  etc. 
The  annual  product  of  the  lakes  and  tribu- 
taries is  given  as  follows  : — 


Barrels. 

Lakes 35,000 

Detroit  river 7,000 

Otherrivers 10,000 


Value. 
$385,000 
77,000 
85,000 


52,000         $547,000 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  fisheries  is 
carried  on  in  Long  Island  Sound  and  some 
other  localities.  It  is  the  taking  of  what 
are  called  bony  fish  for  manure.  These  fish 
go  in  immense  schools,  which  show  them- 
selves in  ripples  upon  the  surface  of  the 
water.  They  are  taken  by  nets,  which  may 
be  seen  by  the  steamboat  traveller,  hung 
upon  immense  reeds  at  the  water's  edge  to 
dry.  These  nets  are  weighted  with  lumps 
of  lead  at  the  lower  edge,  having  floats  at 
the  top,  so  as  to  keep  them  upright  in  the 
water.  The  fishers,  in  boats,  pay  out  the 
net  from  one  and  the  other,  and  encircle  the 
school  with  it.  The  two  ends  then  being 
carried  to  the  shore  are  drawn  in  with  great 
force,  and  an  immense  haul  of  fish  results. 
With  the  bony  fish,  many  of  a  better  class 
are  caught,  but  if  the  aggregate  will  not 
equal  150  cart-loads  it  is  not  thought  large. 
These  fish  are  spread  upon  the  land  as  fer- 
tilizers. They  are  far  better  for  the  land 
than  for  the  neighbors,  who  for  miles  round 
suffer  odors  not  from  "Araby  the  blest." 

The  whale  fishery  began  at  the  close  of 
the  17th  century,  in  Nantucket,  and  that 
has  been,  until  very  recently,  its  chief  loca- 


386 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


tion.  About  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  Massachusetts  employee?  183  vessels,  of 
13,820  tons,  navigated  by  4,059  men,  and  pro- 
ducing about  $2,000,000  per  annum.  The 
business  has  progressed  until  the  American 
seamen  have  nearly  driven  all  others  from  the 
seas  in  that  pursuit.  England,  to  encourage 
her  whalers,  .imposed  a  duty  on  foreign  oils, 
but  finding  her  fishers  coming  home  more 
frequently  .without  oils,  while  her  wants 
were  greater,  and  the  American  whalers 
offering  to  supply  it,  she  "  caved  in,"  and 
took  off  the  duty,  in  order  to  encourage 
her  own  manufacturers.  Our  own  whalers 
have  never  had  the  bounty  of  the  govern- 
ment like  the  cod  fishery,  to  encourage 
them,  but  have  on  the  other  hand  been 
compelled  to  encounter  the  opposition  of 
"  prairie  whales,"  which  yield  their  lard  oil, 
and  the  multitudes  of  inventions  of  patent 
oils  from  coal  and  other  substances,  while 
from  the  growing  scarcity  of  whales,  that 
desert  their  old  feeding  grounds,  the  ex- 
treme difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  busi- 
ness are  continually  increasing.  Neverthe- 
less, the  hardy  American  seamen  continue 
to  chase  them,  even  into  the  extreme  arctic 
regions,  whither  the  whales  resort,  as  it  was 
said  by  an  old  "  ship's  lawyer,"  to  supply 
the  "  northern  lights"  with  oil.  In  spite  of 
all  these  difficulties  the  business  has  grown, 
probably  in  consequence  of  the  peculiar 
manner  in  which  it  has  always  been  con- 
ducted. The  voyage  being  projected  by 
the  owners,  the  officers  and  crew  are  shipped 
on  "  lays,"  every  man  having  an  interest  in 
the  voyage.  If  the  voyage  is  not  success- 
ful he  gets  nothing,  but  if  the  usual  suc- 
cess is  met  with,  he  gets  a  certain  number 
of  gallons  proportioned  to  the  Avhole,  and 
is  thus  interested  in  the  price  as  well.  The 
shares  of  officers  and  men  equal  one  third 
of  the  whole.  This  system  has  developed 
a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  hardihood  never 
surpassed,  if  it  was  ever  equalled  by  any 
other  nation.  The  largest  seat  of  this  busi- 
ness is  now  New  Bedford,  and  the  next  in 
importance  is  New  London.  Fair  Haven 
ranks  next,  and  Nantucket  has  declined  to 
the  fourth  position  in  relative  importance. 
The"  annual  report  of  the  United  States 
Secretary  of  State  of  a  late  date  contain- 
ed the  following  statistics  of  the  trade, 
to  which  is  added  a  summary  of  the  capi- 
tal and  value  of  all  the  fisheries,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  authorities,  official  and  ex- 
perienced : — 


Value. 

Vessels  employed,  661  Sperm  oil,  bbls.  193.300  $7,571.812 
Tonuage,  "  203,062  Whale  "  "  153,850  8,392.892 
Seamen,  "  16,370  Whalebone,  Ibs.  1,538,000  1,076,600 

Total  value  of  product $1 2,040,  f  04 

Value  of  vessels,  outfit,  advances  to  seamen,  etc  $16,625,000 

Supplies  by  masters 793,0l!t> 

Money  paid  to  officers  and  men  for  their  shares. .     4,018  601 


,,,,     ,;  $21,431,601 

Add  Interest  and  wear  and  tear 2,004, 6'21 

Total  investment $23,436.222 

The  value  of  all  the  fisheries,  including  the 
whale,  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : — 

Vessels.  Ton 'ge.  Capital.  Persons.    Value. 

Whale 66 1  203,062  23.436,226  1 6.370  $  1 2,040.804 

Cod,mackerel,etc.  2,280  175,306    7,280,000  19, ISO      8,730.000 

Oysters,  etc 25,000.000 

T.ake,  etc 2,375.000 

Fish  for  manure 260,000 

Total $48,405,804 

The  "  cod,  mackerel,  etc.,"  includes  shad 
and  other  marketable  fish.  The  item  for 
oysters,  etc.,  includes  the  turtle,  clam,  and 
other  shell-fish. 


ICE, 

"  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  terrors  of  the  snow,  or  hast 
thou  seen  the  terrors  of  the  hail?"— JOB. 

FOR  how  many  years,  not  to  say  centuries, 
was  the  vast  icy  wealth  which  nature  confers 
upon  northern  latitudes  in  such  profusion, 
and  within  reach  of  every  individual,  utterly 
unappreciated  and  neglected !  The  use  of 
ice  was  indeed  known  to  the  luxurious  few 
in  remote  ages.  The  ancient  Romans  learn- 
ed to  cool  their  choice  wines  with  frozen 
water,  and  almost  in  every  age,  the  "  upper 
ten"  were  acquainted  with  its  merits.  Like 
education,  and  suffrage,  and  freedom  of 
opinion,  and  toleration  in  religion,  it  how- 
ever became  known  to  and  extended  among 
the  people  only  under  our  federal  govern- 
ment. It  is  now  no  longer  rcgarde'd  as  ex- 
clusively a  luxury,  but  has  become  a  neces- 
sity. Under  almost  all  circumstances  water 
is  made  palatable  by  it,  and  wines  are  im- 
proved by  its  application.  The  introduction 
of  water  into  large  cities  by  aqueduct,  is 
made  acceptable  to  citizens  not  only  in  the 
summer  but  also  in  the  winter  by  the  use  of 
ice.  The  excuse  for  ardent  drinks  based  on 
poor  water,  is  removed  by  the  possession  of 
ice,  since  tepid  water  is  rendered  attractive 
by  it.  When  water  is  thus  rendered  agree- 
able, the  temptation  to  indulge  in  strong 
drinks  is  diminished.  By  its  use,  also,  the 
supply  of  food  is  virtually  enhanced,  since 


ICE. 


387 


the  surplus  of  districts,  that  might  otherwise 
be  lost,  can  be  sent  to  a  considerable  distance 
to  supply  the  wants  of  large  cities.  The 
surplus  supplies  that  may  thus  accumulate, 
can  be  preserved  for  a  longer  time  by  the 
use  of  ice.  The  fruits  of  the  West  Indies 
may  be  preserved  in  the  northern  cities,  and 
those  of  our  own  orchards  are  by  the  same 
means  preserved  for  the  markets  of  India, 
'  Brazil,  and  the  West  Indies.  Packet  ships 
no  longer  carry  live  fowls  and  pigs,  since  a 
small  ice-house  may  be  packed  with  fresh 
provisions  for  the  voyage.  The  markets  of 
all  large  cities  'are  provided  with  hundreds 
of  ice-chests,  in  which  fresh  provisions  are 
preserved  free  from  taint.  Fishermen  have 
become  greatly  dependent  upon  ice,  which 
enables  them  to  keep  a  large  and  full  supply 
of  fish  in  every  variety,  and  almost  every 
family  has  its  refrigerator  or  ice-box,  which, 
regularly  supplied,  is  the  recipient  for  butter, 
milk,  and  other  food.  Thus  families  are  as 
readily  furnished  with  ice  as  with  milk. 
To  country  houses  and  substantial  farmers, 
ice-houses  have  become  a  necessity  for  the 
same  general  reasons. 

Not  the  least  important  use  of  ice  is  its 
medical  applications.  It  is  a  reliable  tonic 
and  of  the  safest.  In  cases  of  fever  it  has 
become  of  general  use.  In  India  the  first 
prescription  of  a  physician  is  ice,  and  some- 
times it  is  the  only  one,  and  the  ice  is  always 
American !  If  India  sends  us  her  opium, 
she  gets  as  valuable  a  return  in  ice.  That 
article  is  also  a  styptic,  and  has  many  impor- 
tant medical  applications.  All  these  benefits 
and  many  more  were  annually  provided 
for  humanity  in  the  frosts  of  winter  and 
in  the  congealing  of  water,  but  were  disre- 
garded until  an  enterprising  Yankee  adopted 
the  notion  of  harvesting  that  crop.  Massa- 
chusetts to  be  sure  has  but  two  crops,  and  it 
required  two  centuries  to  discover  them. 
For  more  than  200  years  the  snow  fell  upon 
and  melted  from  her  granite  hills,  before 
speculation,  putting  its  hand  upon  them,  sent 
them  along  the  coast  by  schooner  loads  as 
material  for  palaces.  For  more  than  £00 
successive  winters  the  clear  and  sparkling 
ice  showed  itself  upon  her  ponds,  and  van- 
ished under  the  vernal  sun,  before  enterprise 
detected  in  its  preservation  the  means  of  in- 
creasing human  enjoyment.  Those  frozen 
lakes  were  each  winter  covered  with  gold, 
but,  like  that  of  California,  it  was  long  undis- 
covered. It  will,  however,  never  run  out, 
since,  without  ploughing  or  sowing,  nature 


sends  the  annual  crop,  which  like  the  manna 
has  only  to  be  gathered,  and  the  market  for 
it  is  ever  increasing. 

There  were  many  farmers  possessed  of  ice- 
houses in  the  middle  states,  at  a  date  as  far 
back  as  the  formation  of  the  government. 
But  the  idea  of  making  a  trade  of  it  seems 
to  have  occurred  first  to  Frederick  Tudor, 
Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  1805.  He  shipped  a 
cargo  in  that  year  from  Boston  to  Martinique. 
The  ice  was  cut  with  axes,  and  carted  in 
wagons  to  Gray's  wharf,  Charlestown,  where 
it  was  shipped.  The  voyage  proved  a  total 
loss,  as  did  several  succeeding  ones,  until  the 
war  put  an  end  to  trade.  Mr.  Tudor  resum- 
ed it  at  the  peace,  and  persevered  in  face  of 
continued  losses,  until  1823,  when  he  ex- 
tended it  to  the  southern  states,  and  the 
West  Indies,  and  it  began  to  pay.  As  long 
as  it  was  a  losing  business  he  had  it  all  to 
himself;  as  soon  as  his  perseverance  had 
mastered  the  business  and  made  an  art  of  it, 
he  began  to  have  competitors.  Up  to  1832, 
however,  he  was  alone  in  it,  and  in  that 
year  extended  his  shipments  to  Calcutta, 
Madras,  and  Bombay,  and  also  to  BraziL 
These  were  the  first  ice  shipments  ever  made 
to  those  countries,  and  they  have  ever 
since  been  good  customers.  Since  1832,  a 
number  of  firms  have  engaged  in  it.  In  that 
year  the  shipment  was  4,352  tons,  cut  from 
Fresh  Pond.  In  1854,  it  had  grown  to 
154,540  tons. 

The  use  of  ice  extended  itself  in  all  the 
cities  of  New  England,  and  in  Boston  be- 
came very  general.  The  quantity  there  used 
is  about  70,000  tons  per  annum,  against 
about  27,000  tons  in  1847.  The  ice  is  cut 
mostly  from  Fresh  and  Spy  Ponds ;  at  the 
former  the  houses  are  capable  of  containing 
about  87,000  tons.  The  price  of  ice  for 
shipping  is  usually  $2  per  ton,  and  rises 
from  that  to  $6  after  mid-winter.  The 
article  is  served  to  families  at  the  rate  of  $5 
for  the  season,  May  to  October,  for  nine  Ibs. 
per  day  ;  15  Ibs.  are  served  for  $8,  and  24  Ibs. 
for  $12.  When  large  quantities  are  served, 
the  price  is  1 7  cts.  per  hundred,  and  $3  per 
ton  to  hotels  when  500  Ibs.  per  day  are  taken. 
In  New  York  the  quantity  used  is  nearly 
285,000  tons.  This  is  supplied  in  the'pro- 
portions  of  120,000  tons  from  Rockland 
Lake;  30,000  from  Highland  Lake ;  NewRo- 
chellc,  10,000;  Athens,  15,000;  Rhinebeck, 
18,000;  Kingston  Creek,  60,000;  Catskill, 
20,000;  Barrytown,  12,000.  Of  this  quan- 
tity, 113,000  tons  are  stored  by  the  Knicker- 


388 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


bocker  Co.,  and  the  remainder  by  four  firms. 
The  cities  of  Newburg,  Poughkeepsie,  Hud- 
son, Albany,  Troy,  lay  up  from  5000  to 
20,000  tons  each.  In  central  and  western 
New  York  the  use  of  ice  is  large.  It  com- 
menced at  Syracuse  in  1 844  for  the  supply 
of  a  saloon,  and  it  was  gradually  extended 
to  butchers  and  families,  and  the  quantity 
there  used  is  about  10,000  tons,  taken  mostly 
from  Onondaga  Lake,  from  which  it  is  drawn 
two  or  three  miles  to  be  stowed  in  an  ice- 
house. The  other  cities  of  western  New 
York  have  followed  the  example,  and  the 
average  price  is  20  cts.  per  hundred.  Cin- 
cinnati used  to  draw  its  supply  of  ice  from  its 
own  vicinity ;  but  the  railroad  facilities  per- 
mit of  drawing  it  cheaper  and  better  from 
the  lakes.  Chicago  is  well  supplied  from 
the  same  source.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Peru,  Illinois,  a  large  quantity  is  cut  'for 
the  supply  of  the  lower  Mississippi.  It  is 
cut  in  the  winter  and  packed  in  flat-boats 
which  are  allowed  to  freeze  up  in  the  Illinois 
river ;  there  is  therefore  no  other  ice-house 
needed.  As  soon  as  the  river  breaks  up  in 
the  spring,  the  boats  float  down  stream  and 
supply  the  markets  below.  In  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore,  and  Washington,  ice  is  more 
important  than  in  the  cities  of  the  North. 
When  the  weather  sets  in  cold  in  the  early 
part  of  the  winter,  they  cut  ice  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, but  the  best  supplies  are  from  Bos- 
ton or  from  more  northern  lakes.  The 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  cities  of  the  South  get 
most  of  their  ice  from  Boston,  which  sends 
them  about  110,000  tons  per  annum,  and 
further  quantities  to  Havana  and  the  West 
Indies.  Rio  Janeiro,  Callao,  and  Peru, 
Charleston,  Mobile,  and  New  Orleans,  are 
large  customers  of  Boston  in  the  article 
of  ice.  In  New  Orleans,  substantial  brick 
ice-houses  have  been  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$200,000,  and  similar  arrangements  have 
been  made  in  Mobile  for  its  distribution. 
The  quantity  exported  to  Europe  is  large, 
and  England  takes  about  1,000  tons  of 
American  ice. 

It  follows  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  where 
this  object  of  industry  and  enterprise  is 
formed  by  nature,  the  means  of  conducting 
the  trade  will  gather  around  it.  Hence 
the  land  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  fresh-water  lakes  at  the  North  rises  in 
value,  and  good  wages  come  to  be  earned  in 
the  winter  by  men  who  at  the  dull  season 
would  otherwise  not  be  employed.  The 
question  soon  presented  itself  to  those  who 


were  engaged  upon  cutting  ice  on  the  same 
pond  as  to  their  comparative  rights.  This  was 
settled  at  Fresh  Pond  by  a  committee,  who 
decided  that  each  owner  should  hold  the 
same  proportion  of  the  contiguous  surface  of 
the  pond  as  the  length  of  his  shore  line  is  to 
the  whole  border. 

The  time  for  cutting  is  December  and 
January.  The  "experts"  can  in  the  middle 
of  January  estimate  the  value  of  the  crop. 
WThen  the  ice  is  sufficiently  thick  to  cut,  say 
from  nine  to  twenty  inches,  the  former  for 
home  use  and  the  latter  for  exportation,  if 
there  should  be  snow  upon  the  surface,  it  is 
removed  by  wooden  scrapers  drawn  bv 
horses.  There  is  a  layer  of  what  is  called 
"  snow  ice,"  that  is  not  fit  for  market ;  this 
must  be  removed,  and  for  this  purpose  an 
iron  scraper  with  a  cutting-edged  steel  is 
drawn  over  it  by  a  horse.  A  man  rides  upon 
the  scraper,  which  in  its  progress  cuts  several 
inches  of  the  snow  ice  from  the  surface  of 
the  clear  and  glittering  article  that  is  to  go 
to  market.  When  this  is  completed,  the 
field  of  ice  is  marked  off  into  squares  of  five 
feet  each.  The  marker  is  drawn  by  a  horse, 
and  is  guided  by  handles  like  a  plough.  In 
the  tracks  of  these  marks  and  cross  marks  fol- 
lows the  cutter.  This  is  a  remarkable  inven- 
tion, which  has  reduced  the  cost  of  cutting 
ice  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  alone, 
some  $15,000  per  annum.  Acres  of  ice  are 
thus  cut  into  square  pieces,  which  are  then 
floated  off  through  canals,  and  impelled  by 
long  poles,  to  the  sides  of  the  pond,  where 
inclined  planes  lead  up  to  the  ice-houses ;  up 
this  inclined  plane  each  piece  is  dragged  with 
great  celerity  by  a  powerful  steam  engine. 
In  the  house  it  is  directed  by  hand  down 
other  planes  to  be  packed  away  by  the 
requisite  number  of  men.  By  the  aid  of 
steam  ten  tons  of  ice  may  be  cut  and  housed 
in  a  minute.  With  a  full  power,  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  stow  600  tons  an  hour.  Some- 
times there  are  several  parties  on  the  pond, 
each  vicing  with  the  other  in  the  rapidity  of 
their  operations. 

Most  of  the  ice-houses  that  we  have  seen 
are  built  of  wood.  Sometimes  they  are 
found  of  brick.  They  are  very  high  and 
broad,  and  are  usually  from  100  to  200  feet 
in  length.  Fresh  Pond,  Cambridge,  Mass., 
has  its  shores  almost  covered  with  some  fifty 
of  these  ice-houses.  They  present  a  singular 
appearance,  neither  looking  like  barns  nor 
houses ;  and  one  unacquainted  with  the  ice 
business  would  be  almost  certain  to  ask,  on 


PINS. 


389 


seeing  them  for  the  first  time,  "  What  are 
they  ?"  The  construction  of  these  houses,  in 
which  ice  is  to  be  stored  until  sold,  must  be 
regulated  by  the  climate — the  amount  to 
be  stored — the  material  nearest  at  hand — 
and  the  facility  of  reaching  the  shore — the 
object  being  to  have  a  cool  spot,  where  the 
influence  of  the  sun  and  a  warm  atmosphere 
shall  be  least  felt.  Added  to  this,  the  mass  of 
ice  must  be  preserved  as  much  as  possible 
from  wasting,  by  being  surrounded  by  saw- 
dust, tan,  shavings,  rice-hulls,  charcoal,  or 
leaves,  which  must  be  used  iti  the  ice-house, 
or  aboard  ship,  according  to  circumstances. 

Private  ice-houses  are  constructed  in  dif- 
ferent ways.  They  were  formerly  merely 
cellars ;  they  are  now  in  the  most  approved 
methods  erected  above  ground,  with  a  drain 
under  the  mass  of  ice.  The  opening  is  gen- 
erally to  the  north,  and  the  ice  is  the  better 
preserved  for  a  double  roof,  which  acts  as  a 
non-conductor.  The  waste  of  ice  is  different 
under  different  circumstances ;  shipping  ice 
should  not  waste  more  than  40  per  cent. ;  and 
when  shipped  on  an  India  voyage  of  16,000 
miles,  twice  crossing  the  equator,  and  oc- 
cupying some  months,  if  one  half  the  cargo 
is  delivered  it  is  considered  a  successful 
voyage.  The  cost  of  the  ice  delivered  is  of 
course  affected  by  this  element  of  wastage. 
In  Boston,  it  is  $2  per  ton;  in  Calcutta, 
2<l  cts.  per  lb.,  or  $56£  per  ton.  The  use  of 
ice  in  India,  as  we  have  said,  is  medicinal  as 
well  as  luxurious,  and  the  demand  is  gener- 
ally quick.  There  is  hardly  a  nook  or  cor- 
ner of  the  civilized  world  where  ice  has  not 
become  an  essential  if  not  a  common  article 
of  ti'ade.  While  we  admire  the  persever- 
ing energy  of  the  enterprising  Yankee,  who 
started  the  trade  amid  every  discouragement, 
and  carried  it  to  a  successful  issue,  which  gives 
employment  to  thousands  of  men,  and  freights 
to  hundreds  of  ships  and  boats,  and  confers  an 
inestimable  blessing  upon,  we  might  say,  the 
human  race  in  all  warm  climates,  we  cannot 
but  consider  how  vast  a  harvest  perishes 
yearly.  Hundreds  of  lakes  and  rivers  in  the 
northern  section  of  the  country  present  their 
annual  harvest  of  pure  ice,  and  yet  they  pass 
away  ungathered.  How  many  millions  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  even  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States,  pine  during  the  long 
summer  months  of  each  year  for  this  tonic  ! 
The  time  is  coming  when  every  farmer  will 
gather  this  crop  as  regularly  as  his  potatoes. 
When  Daniel  Webster  took  his  farm  at 
Marshfield,  his  ice-house  cost  $100,  and  it 


was  filled  annually  at  an  expense  of  $25.  In 
that  he  preserved  his  fresh  meat  and  fish,  and 
prevented  his  butter  from  "  running  away." 
Sometimes  farmers  live  in  sight  of  fine  ponds 
that  would  give  a  plentiful  crop,  that  might 
be  harvested  and  sent  by  railroad  to  good 
markets,  without  ever  bestowing  a  thought 
upon  the  matter.  To  get  $2  or  $5  for  hauling, 
would  pay  their  otherwise  idle  teams  at  that 
season  well.  We  may  close  this  notice  by 
an  extract  from  an  oration  of  the  Hon. 
Edward  Everett,  as  follows  : — 

"  When  I  had  the  honor  to  represent  the 
country  at  London,  I  was  a  little  struck  one 
day,  at  the  royal  drawing-room,  to  see  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Control  (the  board 
charged  with  the  supervision  of  the  govern- 
ment of  India)  approaching  me  with  a 
stranger,  at  that  time  much  talked  of  in 
London — the  Babu  Dwarkananth  Tagore. 
This  person,  who  is  now  living,  was  a  Hin- 
doo of  great  wealth,  liberality,  and  intelli- 
gence. He  was  dressed  with  Oriental  mag- 
nificence— he  had  on  his  head,  by  way  of 
turban,  a  rich  Cashmere  shawl,  held  together 
by  a  large  diamond  broach  ;  another  Cash- 
mere around  his  body ;  his  countenance  and 
manners  were  those  of  a  highly  intelligent 
and  remarkable  person,  as  he  was.  After 
the  ceremony  of  introduction  was  over,  he 
said  he  wished  to  make  his  acknowledgments 
to  me,  as  the  American  minister,  for  the 
benefits  which  my  countrymen  had  conferred 
on  his  countrymen.  I  did  not  at  first  know 
what  he  referred  to ;  I  thought  he  might 
have  in  view  the  mission  schools,  knowing, 
as  I  did,  that  he  himself  had  done  a  great 
deal  for  education.  He  immediately  said 
that  he  referred  to  the  cargoes  of  ice  sent 
from  America  to  India,  conducing  not  only 
to  comfort,  but  health ;  adding  that  numer- 
ous lives  were  saved  every  year  by  applying 
lumps  of  American  ice  to  the  head  of  the 
patient  in  cases  of  high  fever." 


PINS. 

THE  manufacture  of  pins  has  reached  a 
great  development  in  the  United  States, 
where  the  most  important  invention  in  the 
art  of  making  them,  that  of  "solid  heads," 
originated.  So  simple  an  article  as  pins 
formerly  required  a  great  manipulation  in 
their  production,  but  are  now,  like  most  ar- 
ticles that  have  been  the  objects  of  American 


390 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ingenuity,  produced  in  great  perfection  and 
abundance  by  machines.  Up  to  the  war  of 
1812,  pins,  like  almost  every  other  article  of 
manufacture,  were  imported,  and,  as  a  con-  < 
sequence,  became  very  scarce  when  cominu-  j 
nication  was  interrupted,  and  the  price  rose 
in  1813  to  $1  per  paper,  of  a  quality  much 
worse  than  are  now  purchased  for  6£  cts.  per 
paper.  These  high  war  prices  prompted 
the  manufacture,  and  some  Englishmen  com- 
menced the  business  at  the  old  State  Prison, 
at  what  was  called  Greenwich  village,  now 
a  part  of  New  York  city.  The  labor  of 
the  convicts  was  employed  in  the  business. 
The  return  of  peace  bringing  a  deluge  of 
cheap  pins  from  abroad,  put  an  end  to  that 
enterprise.  The  tools  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture at  the  prison  fell  into  the  hands  of  a 
Mr.  Turman,  who  in  1820  undertook  to  em- 
ploy the  pauper  labor  of  the  Bellevue  Alms- 
house  in  the  manufacture,  which  was,  how- 
ever, unsuccessful.  "  Pauper  labor"  here,  it 
seems,  could  not  compete  with  pauper  labor 
abroad.  A  machine  had  been  invented  dur- 
ing the  war,  for  making  pins,  in  Boston,  but 
it  did  not  work  successfully.  The  old  pins 
had  the  heads  put  on  them  ;  but  Mr.  L.  W. 
Wright,  of  Massachusetts,  invented  a  ma- 
chine for  making  solid-head  pins.  He  car- 
ried this  to  England  and  operated  it  there, 
and  the  first  "  solid-head"  pins  were  sold  in 
.the  market  in  1833.  In  1832  a  pin  machine 
was  patented  in  the  United  States  by  John 
J.  Howe.  The  machine  was  designed  to 
make  pins  similar  to  the  English  diamond 
pins,  the  heads  being  formed  of  a  coil  of 
small  wire  fastened  upon  the  shank  by  a 
pressure  between  dies.  In  December,  1835, 
the  Howe  Manufacturing  Company  was 
formed  in  New  York  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  with  this  machine.  The  com- 
pany moved  to  Birmingham,  Connecticut, 
where  it  continues  operations  with  a  new 
patent  for  manufacturing  solid-head  pins,  got 
out  by  Mr.  'Howe  in  1 840.  In  1 838  another 
company  was  started  at  Poughkeepsie,  not- 
withstanding that  by  an  extraordinary  over- 
sight pins  were  under  the  tariff  admitted 
free  of  duty,  while  the  wire  of  which  they 
were  made  paid  20  to  25  per  cent.  duty.  In 
1846  there  was  much  excitement  in  respect 
to  the  pin  manufacture,  and  many  machines 
were  invented ;  few  of  them,  however,  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  good  work.  Most  of  the 
attempts  to  manufacture  failed.  The  Pough- 
keepsie Company  was,  however,  sold  to  the 
American  Pin  Company,  Waterbury,  Con- 


necticut.     About  the  year  1850  the  copper 
from  Lake-  Superior  began  to  be  used  for  the 
wire,  giving  an  impetus  to  the  business,  and 
250  tons  were  used  per  annum.     Great  im- 
provements were    made    by  self-acting  ma- 
chinery superseding  a  process  that  formerly 
j  required   six    or   seven    hands.       The    old 
I  method  of  sheeting  pins,  or  sticking  them  on 
,  paper,  was  a  tedious  process ;   a  good  hand 
!  could  stick  five  or  six  dozen  papers  in  a  day. 
j  By  the  improved  machinery  now  in  use,  a 
|  hand  will  stick  from  75  to  125  dozen  a  day,  and 
',  do  the  work  in  far  greater  perfection.     There 
;  are  three  patents  in  force  for  improvements 
,  in  the  machines  in  use  for  this  operation, 
I  viz.,  those  of  S.  Slocum,  De  Gras  Fowler, 
i  and  J.    J.    Howe.     The    present   price    of 
;  American  solid-headed  pins  is  only  about  two 
;  thirds  of  the  lowest  price  at  which  imported 
pins  of  the  same  weight  were  ever  afforded  be- 
fore the  manufacturing  was  introduced,  and 
for  service  they  are  undoubtedly  better  than 
the   article  of  which  they  have   taken  the 
place.     The  American  improvements  in  both 
the    pin-making  and    the  pin-sticking    ma- 
chinery have  been  for  several  years  in  oper- 
ation in  England  and  some  other  parts  of 
j  Europe. 

One  firm  in  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  have 
in  operation  an  improved  machine  for  the 
manufacturing  of  pins  which  turns  out  two 
barrels  per  day.     A  barrel  contains  4,000,- 
•  000  pins,  consequently  the  product  of  that 
;  little  manufactory  is  8,000,000  per  day,  or 
48,000,000    per   week,   and  2,496,000,000 
I  per  annum.     Well  may  it  be  asked  "  where 
i  all  the  pins  go  to  ?"    The  machine  is  perfect 
and  simple   in  its  operation.     The  wire  is 
run  into  it  from  a  reel,  cut  off  the  proper 
length,  pointed,  headed,  and  made  a  finish- 
'  ed  pin  before  it  comes  out  again.     From  this 
1  machine  they  fall  into   the  hopper  of  the 
!  sticking   machine,    in  which   they   are   ar- 
rang'ed,  stuck  upon  papers,  and   come   out 
perfect,  ready  for  packing  for  market.     This 
last  machine,  tended  by  one  girl,  does  the 
work   of  30   persons  by   the    old   process. 
That  is  better   than   pauper  labor.     There 
are   four   other   machines    in    the    United 
States.     These  operating  at  the  same  rate, 
will  make  312    pins   per  annum  for  every 
soul    in    the    Union.      There    should   be   a 
large    surplus    for    export    to    other   coun- 
tries, and  at  a  profitable  rate,  after  paying 
freight    and    charges,    since    no    European 
machines  can  compete  with  this  little  con- 
trivance. 


REFINED    SUGAR. 


391 


REFINED    SUGAR, 

THE  people  of  the  United  States  are  fa- 
mous for  having  a  "  sweet  tooth,"  and  if  the 
story  about  "  pork  and  molasses"  is  not  quite 
accurate,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  a  "  little 
sweetening  don't  go  far"  in  a  family,  or,  to 
use  a  New  York  phrase,  into  a  family.  The 
figures  show  that  consumption  in  the  United 
States  is  far  ahead  of  any  European  countries, 
but  is  less  than  that  of  Cuba,  where  it  is 
enormous,  being  to  a  great  extent  used  in 
preserves  that  are  largely  eaten  as  well  as 
exported.  In  the  year  1859,  the  quantity 
of  foreign  sugar  taken  for  consumption  in 
the  United  States  was  239,034  tons.  The 
crop  of  Texas,  Louisiana,  and  Florida  was 
192,150  tons,  making  together  431,184  tons 
of  cane  sugar.  The  quantity  of  sugar  made 
from  molasses  was  12,053  tons.  The  crop 
of  maple  sugar  was  27,000  tons,  exclusive  of 
California  and  Oregon.  The  result  is  a  total  of 
470,237  tons,  or  1,058,033,000  Ibs.  Allow- 
ing the  population  of  that  year  to  have  been 
30,000,000,  the  result  is  351  Ibs.  per  head 
per  annum.  In  Great  Britain  the  consump- 
tion is  281  Ibs.  per  head,  in  France  9  Ibs. 
per  head,  and  in  Germany  still  less.  In 
those  countries,  however,  the  sugar  is  used 
almost  exclusively  in  its  refined  shape,  but 
very  sparingly.  During  the  long  wars  of 
Napoleon  it  was  difficult  to  come  by,  and  the 
manufacture  of  beet-root  sugar,  now  so  im- 
portant, grew  out  of  the  necessities  of  that 
period.  A  generation  grew  up  in  the  eco- 
nomical use  of  sugar,  and  even  to  this  day  in 
the  rural  districts,  and  among  some  of  the 
old  fogies  of  the  cities,  no  other  sugar  is  used 
than  a  piece  of  the  sugar-baker's  candy  held 
iu  the  mouth  while  the  unsweetened  liquid 
is  drank.  The  story  is  told  that  this  piece 
was  formerly,  in  the  times  of  privation  dur- 
ing the  war,  suspended  by  a  string  from  the 
ceiling  over  the  table,  and  being  taken  in  the 
mouth  by  one  convive  when  drinking,  was 
allowed  to  swing  to  that  of  her  whose  turn 
succeeded.  The  German-  idiomatic  phrase 
of  "  pass  auf  or  "  look  out"  for  the  next  was 
said  to  have  thus  originated.  In  our  own 
colonies  the  refiner  was  not  by  any  means 
considered  a  necessary  go-between  of  the 
cane  and  the  consumer,  who  went  directly  to 
the  fountain-head  and  used  the  molasses,  or 
"  long  sugar,"  not  only  for  his  coffee,  but  to 
compound  his  new  rum  or  "  white-face"  into 
"  black-strap,"  with  which  he  washed  down 
his  pumpkin  pie,  also  sweetened  with  mo- 


lasses; and  few  edibles  escaped  that  sweeten- 
ing, from  a  spoonful  of  brimstone  in  the 
spring  to  a  mince  pie  at  Christmas.  Refined 
crept  in,  and  with  the  use  of  this  article  va- 
rious grades  of  pure  sugars  made  their  ap- 
pearance. When  the  plants  or  canes  are 
crushed  in  a  mill,  the  juice  flows  abundantly 
through  a  strainer  into  the  clarifier ;  where, 
mixed  with  alkali,  which  assists  the  opera- 
tion, it  is  raised  to  a  certain  heat.  It  then 
passes  through  evaporating  coppers,  and 
the  scum  that  arises  in  the  process  is  re- 
moved. In  the  last  copper  it  is  boiled  until 
it  will  granulate  in  the  boiler.  Here  it  soon 
ceases  to  be  a  liquid,  and  being  placed  in 
hogsheads  with  holes  in  their  bottoms,  the 
molasses  drains  out  into  a  cistern  below. 
When  quite  cured  in  this  manner  it  is  ship- 
ped as  "brown"  or  "muscovado"  sugar. 

The  next  grade  of  sugar  is  "  clayed ;"  when 
the  sugar  is  properly  boiled,  it  is  poured  into 
conical  pots,  apex  down,  with  a  hole  in  .each. 
When  the  molasses  has  drained  off,  a  stratum 
of  moistened  clay  is  spread  over  the  surface, 
the  moisture  of  which  percolating  through 
the  mass  contributes  powerfully  to  its  puri- 
fication. 

"  Refined"  sugar  may  be  prepare.d  by  tak- 
ing either  the  clayed  or  muscovado,  redis- 
solving  it  in  water,  and  after  boiling  it  with 
some  purifying  substance,  as  blood,  or  other 
articles,  pour  it  into  the  conical  pots  again - 
with  the  clay  application. 

The  solutions  of  brown  or  clayed  sugar, 
boiled  until  they  become  thick,  and  then  re- 
moved into  a  hot  room,  form  into  crystals 
upon  strings  placed  across  the  vessels,  and 
become  sugar-candy. 

The  use  of  molasses  and  brown  sugar,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  by  far  the  most  important 
in  the  United  States.  In  the  year  1857, 
when  the  Louisiana  sugar  crop  failed,  the 
importation  of  these  articles  reached  nearly 
$57,000,000,  and  the  import  contributed 
principally  to  the  panic  of  that  year.  Grad- 
ually the  use  of  refined  sugar  has  extended, 
and  in  1850  the  federal  census  reported  23 
refineries,  having  a  capital  of  $2,669,000,  and 
using  $7,662,685  worth  of  raw  sugar,  per- 
haps 70,000,000  Ibs.,  and  producing  a  value 
of  $9,898,800.  Since  that  period  the  busi- 
ness has  greatly  extended  itself.  In  that  year 
there  were  two  in  New  York  city,  Woolsey's 
and  Stuart's.  These  rapidly  increased  to  fif- 
teen, which  together  refined  200,000,000  Ibs. 
of  sugar,  or  about  half  what  was  produced  in 
the  whole  United  States.  The  introduction 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


of  machinery  moved  by  steam  almost  revolu- 
tionized the  business  of  refining.  An  impor- 
tant improvement  that  was  made  in  substitu- 
ting aluminous  finings  for  bullock's  blood, 
which  was  always  productive  of  injurious 
consequences,  greatly  increased  the  produc- 
tion and  raised  the  quality  of  sugar.  The 
raw  sugar  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies  and 
Brazil  comes  mostly  in  cases  and  boxes;  that 
of  New  Orleans  and  the  English  islands  in 
hogsheads;  South  America  generally,  Ma- 
nilla, and  the  Mauritius  send  it  in  bags. 
When  the  refiner  gets  possession  of  any  of 
these,  he  empties  into  a  pan  with  a  perforated 
bottom ;  through  these  perforations  comes  a 
current  of  steam  which  dissolves  the  sugar. 
Chemical  application  then  bleaches  the  sugar 
or  takes  all  its  color  from  it.  It  then  passes 
into  the  vacuum  pans  to  be  boiled  by  steam. 
The  sugar  in  this  process  becomes  so  con- 
centrated that  it  is  held  in  solution  only  by 
the  high  temperature.  The  moment  it  be- 
gins to  cool,  a  rapid  crystallization  takes 
place,  producing  the  fine  grain  seen  in  loaf 
sugar.  When  the  syrup  has  boiled  suffi- 
ciently, it  is  poured  into  moulds  which  are 
prepared  in  the  loaf  form,  for  the  purpose  of 
facilitating  the  separation  of  the  sugar.  The 
liquor  that  runs  from  these  moulds  is  sub- 
jected to  a  new  boiling,  when  it  yields  lower 
grades  of  sugar.  The  syrup  that  exudes 
from  this  second  process  is  sold  as  molasses, 
and  the  proportion  of  this  is  about  20  per 
cent,  of  the  original  quantity. 

The  art  of  refining  has  been  carried  to 
greater  perfection  in  this  country  than  in 
Europe,  and  so  manifestly  that  no  itnported 
article  can  equal  the  fine  granulated  sugars  of 
the  domestic  manufacturer.  The  business 
has  spread  with  the  demand  for  the  improved 
sugars.  The  increase  of  the  manufacture  has 
also  been  aided  by  the  federal  government, 
which  allows  a  drawback  upon  refined  sugar 
exported  equal  to  the  duty  on  the  equivalent 
raw  sugar  imported.  The  export  of  refined 
sugar  was  last  year  3,141,835  Ibs.,  worth 
$368,000.  The  manufacture  of  sugar  into 
candy  and  confectionery  is  carried  on  to  the 
value  of  $5,000,000  per  annum.  Some  years 
since,  the  bounty  or  drawback  upon  refined 
sugar  amounted  to  more  than  the  duty  on  the 
raw  article,  and  was  therefore  equivalent  to 
an  additional  bounty  on  the  manufacture.  It 
was  not  surprising  that  the  business  should 
spread  under  such  circumstances,  the  more 
so  that  modern  inventions  contributed  largely 
to  its  improvement.  The  capital  invested  in 


the  business  is  some  millions.  The  value  re- 
fined in  New  York  is  now  some  8 1  7,000,000 
per  annum,  and  the  refineiers  of  Philadelphia 
have  a  capacity  of  some  §10,000,000.  There 
are  a  number  of  refineries  in  the  eastern 
states,  and  some  in  Baltimore,  St.  Louis, 
Cincinnati,  and  New  Orleans.  These  are 
sufficient  to  meet  the  demand  for  consump- 
tion, and  the  importation  has  become  unim- 
portant. One  of  the  largest  refineries  is 
Stuart's,  the  annual  sales  of  which  are  over 
$3,500,000.  The  concern  works  up  over 
45,000,000  Ibs.  of  sugar  per  annum,  employ- 
ing some  321  men.  The  quantity  of  coal 
used  is  from  7,000  to  8,000  tons  per  annum, 
and  the  value  of  the  bone  charcoal  used  in 
the  finery  process  is  $30,000.  A  week's  oper- 
ation requires  a  supply  of  763  hogsheads  of 
sugar,  or  at  1 , 1 1 0  Ibs.  each,  840,000  Ibs.  This, 
for  the  working  time  of  six  days,  gives  one 
hogshead  for  every  Ilk  minutes.  The  sugar 
is  by  steam  power  hoisted  to  the  top  of  the 
building,  where  it  is  emptied  into  an  im- 
mense copper,  when  the  steam  soon  converts 
it  into  the  fluid  state.  In  its  descent  through 
the  building  by  pipes  and  tanks  it  undergoes 
the  various  purifications  to  which  it  is  sub- 
jected. The  flow  of  the  vast  quantity  is 
like  an  abundant  supply  of  Avater,  and  the 
rich  product  finds  its  way  on  the  ground 
floor  into  barrels  ready  to  meet  the  exten- 
sive demand  that  the  high  quality  occasions. 
One  large  refinery  was  erected  and  furnished 
at  an  expense  of  $875,000.  The  growing 
luxury  and  refinement  of  the  country  is  mak- 
ing refined  sugar  more  of  a  necessity  than 
formerly,  and  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the 
use  of  refined  sugar  increases  the  demand  for 
the  raw  material  nearly  50  per  cent.,  since 
Id  Ibs.  of  cane  sugar  are  required  to  make 
1  Ib.  of  white.  The  concentrated  sugar  un- 
doubtedly contains  greater  strength,  but  the 
quantity  used  is  not  curtailed  on  that  ac- 
count ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  in- 
crease, since  the  custom  of  "putting  down" 
preserves  in  families  extends,  and  the  purest 
sugar  is  required  to  attain  that  clear  appear- 
ance of  the  preserved  fruit  on  which  house- 
wives so  much  pride  themselves.  The  use 
of  sugar  for  this  purpose  fluctuates  with  the 
season  for  fruits.  In  those  years  in  which 
peaches,  for  instance,  are  abundant,  a  large 
number  are  preserved.  A  basket  of  peaches 
in  New  York  will  weigh  50  Ibs.,  and  the 
fruit  with  the  stones  taken  out,  25  Ibs.,  re- 
quiring as  much  sugar.  Some  years  the 
peaches  are  worth  $5,  of  the  preserving  qual- 


SILK. 


393 


ity,  which  is  a  clear  white,  and  in  other 
years,  50  cents.  In  the  latter  case,  the  sugar 
is  worth  four  times  as  much  as  the  fruit ;  in 
the  former,  one  half  as  much ;  hence  a  great 
fluctuation  in  the  use  of  sugar,  which  must 
be  of  the  best  refined.  This  demand  takes 
place  for  all  kinds  of  small  fruits  as  well  as 
peaches,  and  it  grows  in  the  double  ratio  of 
numbers  and  wealth.  Strawberries  may  be 
preserved  with  granulated,  but  would  hardly 
be  palatable  done  up  in  "  long"  sugar. 


SILK, 

THE  culture  and  manufacture  of  silk  are 
among  the  oldest  industries  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  many  efforts  on  the  part  of  Con- 
gress and  of  enterprising  men  have  been 
made  to  promote  them,  but  the  industry  has 
not  thriven  in  any  degree  to  be  compared 
with  some  of  those  that  have  grown  steadily 
under  the  intelligent  perseverance  of  unob- 
trusive individuals.  No  branch  of  industry 
is  ever  planted,  promoted,  or  perfected  by 
means  of  government  operations  alone.  It 
must  grow,  if  at  all,  out  of  the  spontaneous 
promptings  of  individual  genius,  and  live 
upon  the  necessities  that  give  rise  to  it  or 
the  wants  it  of  itself  creates,  to  be  healthily 
prosperous.  Hence  all  the  efforts  that  have 
been  made  to  encourage  the  silk  culture 
and  manufacture  have  proved  abortive,  while 
individuals  not  encouraged  have  prosecuted 
branches  of  the  trade  not  contemplated, 
with  success.  The  southern  colonies  were 
early  silk  producers.  So  important  had  it 
become  in  1753,  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  im- 
perial Board  of  Trade,  Oct.  26,  of  that  year, 
"the  state  of  the  colony  of  Georgia  was 
taken  into  consideration,  at  a  Board  of  Trade 
and  Plantations,  and  it  appeared  that  the 
colony  produced  upward  of  £17,000  [75,- 
000  dollars]  worth  of  raw  silk,  since  January 
1752,  besides  what  is  not  yet  come  to  the 
notice  of  the  board."  The  other  colonies 
of  the  South  were  also  well  engaged  in  it. 
Virginia  in  particular  was  largely  interested 
in  that  industry.  The  culture  of  cotton  and 
tobacco,  however,  in  the  early  years  of  the 
Union,  were  so  profitable  as  to  absorb  all 
other  culture  ;  and  silk  nearly  disappeared, 
although  numbers  of  farmers  preserved  their 
mulberry  groves,  and  continue  to  make 
small  quantities  of  raw  silk.  The  state  of 
Connecticut  seems  to  have  made  the  most 


decided  efforts  in  that  direction.  The  New 
London  Gazette  of  1768  informs  us  that 
William  Hanks  of  Mansfield,  had  "raised 
silk  enough  for  three  women's  gowns." 
The  gowns  of  "three  women"  at  the  present 
day  would  involve  a  formidable  amount  of 
silk,  but  we  are  to  presume  he  meant  three 
"  dresses"  simply.  The  term  gown,  like 
"  vandyke,"  seems  to  have  become  some- 
what obsolete.  Mr.  William  Hanks  also  ad- 
vertised in  the  Gazette,  3,000  mulberry 
trees,  three  years  old,  and  of  one  inch  diam- 
eter. The  best  time  to  set  them  out,  he 
says,  is  at  the  new  moon  of  April.  They 
were  to  be  sold  cheap,  in  order  to  promote 
the  culture  of  silk.  Sundry  gentlemen  in 
Windham  had  large  mulberry  orchards,  in- 
tended to  supply  a  silk  factory  erected  at 
Lebanon.  While  all  manufactures  Avere  in 
so  depressed  a  state  and  struggling  for  life 
under  the  disability  of  deficient  capital,  it 
was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  so  hazardous 
an  undertaking  as  silk  manufacture  could 
make  much  progress.  When,  however,  the 
high  tariff  policy  after  the  war  gave  the 
spur  to  manufacturing  of  all  kinds,  that  of 
silk  was  revived,  mostly  in  Connecticut 
and  Pennsylvania.  This  had  so  progressed 
that  in  five  small  towns  of  the  first-men- 
tioned state,  there  were  raised  in  1829,  2£ 
tons  of  raw  silk,  valued  at  $21,188.  In 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  sewing  silk  was 
successfully  produced,  and  some  garments 
were  made  by  individuals  who  performed 
the  whole  work,  from  the  management  of 
the  worms  to  the  weaving  of  the  fabric. 
The  town  of  Mansfield,  Connecticut,  was  in 
that  year  the  great  seat  of  that  industry. 
The  population  was  2,500,  and  produced  as 
many  pounds  of  silk.  This  silk  was  con- 
verted into  the  most  beautiful  sewing  silk 
and  some  other  manufactures  by  the  skill 
and  industry  of  that  ingenious  people. 
Thus  prepared,  the  silk  was  at  that  time 
worth  $8  per  Ib.  This  industry  was  carried 
on  without  interrupting  the  ordinary  occu- 
pations of  the  people,  and  also  employed 
the  young  and  old  not  suited  to  the  labors 
of  the  field.  The  mulberry  trees  are  orna- 
mental as  shade  trees,  and  do  not  impover- 
ish the  soil  as  much  as  fruit;  and  they 
will  flourish  in  almost  all  latitudes,  or 
wherever  the  apple  will  grow ;  and  where- 
ever  they  are  present  the  silk-worm  may  be 
reared. 

The   feeding   of  the   worms   commences 
with  the  first  opening  of  the  mulberry  leaf, 


394 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


and  continues  for  the  period  of  32  days, 
when  the  worm  commences  its  spinning 
and  ceases  to  eat.  The  leaves  are  gathered 
for  the  worms,  and  this  gathering  is  the  ap- 
propriate work  of  young  children.  Having 
wound  itself  in  its  cocoon,  it  requires  nurs- 
ing and  watching,  that  the  young  may  not 
eat  its  way  out  and  by  so  doing  destroy  the 
silk.  The  cocoons  being  placed  in  warm 
water  to  soften  the  natural  gum  upon  the 
silk,  the  winding  is  begun  by  women,  one 
of  whom  can  make  16  Ibs.  of  raw  silk  in 
the  season  of  six  weeks. 

The  excellence  of  the  silk  depends  upon 
the  properties  of  the  mulberry  leaf,  and 
these  are  considerably  diversified.  The 
white  mulberry  is  decidedly  the  best,  and 
of  this  there  are  several  varieties,  each  of 
which  depends  in  some  degree  upon  local- 
ity. The  kind  to  be  cultivated  and  the 
mode  of  proceeding  are  to  be  learned  from 
experience,  which  was  very  limited  in  the 
United  States  in  1829,  when  the  attention 
of  Congress  was  called  to  the  silk  culture 
by  the  petition  of  Gr.  B.  Clark,  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  for  a  grant  of  262  acres  of 
land  owned  by  the  United  States,  at  Green- 
bush,  New  York,  and  used  for  military  pur- 
poses, to  aid  him  in  rearing  mulberry  trees. 
The  grant  was  made  in  the  shape  of  a  lease, 
on  the  condition  that  100,000  mulberry 
trees  should  be  planted,  and  that  he  should 
procure  a  sufficient  number  of  worms  to 
consume  all  the  foliage  that  could  be  gath- 
ered from  the  trees.  The  public  objects  to  be 
gained  were  to  ascertain  the  best  kinds  to 
be  cultivated,  and  to  obtain  a  quantity  of 
that  description  for  distribution.  No  very 
great  results  flowed  from  this  movement. 
The  culture  never  amounted  to  much,  but 
the  tax,  15  p«r  cent.,  imposed  upon  im- 
ported raw  silk  in  order  to  encourage  the 
culture,  was  a  great  drawback  upon  the 
manufacture.  Nevertheless,  the  excitement 
in  relation  to  the  mulberry  trees  progressed, 
and  in  the  year  1831,  the  project  of  rearing 
silk-worms  was  renewed  in  various  parts  of 
the  Union,  with  great  vigor ;  and  the  sub- 
ject was  deemed  to  be  of  so  much  impor- 
tance that  it  not  only  attracted  the  attention 
of  Congress,  but  afterward  received  encour- 
agement from  the  legislatures  of  several 
states,  by  bounties  oft'ered  for  all  the  raw 
silk  produced  within  their  limits  for  certain 
periods  of  time.  The  business  soon  began 
to  be  prosecuted  with  extreme  ardor,  and 
continued  several  years,  resulting  in  the  es- 


tablishment of  extensive  nurseries  of  mul- 
berry trees,  but  it  ended  with  the  downfall  of 
the  famous  "  Morus  Multicaulis  "  Specula- 
tion," in  1839.  The  rates  of  the  mulberry 
cuttings  were  at  2  cents  each  in  1838.  In 
that  year,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  many  thousand  trees  were  sold 
at  20  to  50  cents  each.  The  trees  were 
sent  all  over  the  country,  and  it  was  stated 
that  the  growth  per  acre  gave  from  three 
to  five  thousand  dollars.  The  demand  for 
trees  was  from  those  who  undertook,  in  all 
sections  of  the  country,  to  plant  mulberry 
groves  for  the  supply  of  silk  factories  that 
were  to  be  started.  The  sales  of  trees  were 
often  made  on  the  ground,  standing,  at  the 
rate  of  12i  cents  per  foot,  those  "  trees"  not 
12  inches  high  being  rejected.  That  spec- 
ulation is  yet  alive  in  the  public  mind  as  a 
monument  of  the  folly  which  at  time's  over- 
takes a  community,  even  to  its  own  destruc- 
tion. It  was  second  only  to  the  famous 
tulip  mania  of  Holland,  or  the  South  Sea 
bubble  of  England,  or  the  Mississippi  scheme 
of  France.  The  mulberry  buds  sold  at 
fabulous  prices,  and  passed  rapidly  from 
hand  to  hand  of  the  speculators,  multiply- 
ing from  the  nurseries  to  meet  the  specula- 
tive demand,  which  suddenly  ceased  when 
the  test  of  practicability  was  applied.  The 
real  evil,  however,  which  the  mania  inflicted, 
was  that  the  means  taken  to  stimulate  a 
doubtful  culture  retarded  the  manufacture 
of  sewing  silk  and  goods,  because  the  high 
price  of  the  raw  material  so  occasioned  made 
competition  with  the  foreign  article  impos- 
sible. In  1836,  the  state  of  Massachusetts 
paid  $71  bounty  on  silk  made  in  that  year. 
This  bounty  rose  to  $2,111  in  1841.  All 
the  means  used  had  raised  the  quantity  of 
silk  made  in  the  United  States  in  1840,  to 
61,552  Ibs.,  worth  about  $250,000.  In 
1844,  the  quantity  was  stated  in  the  report 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States 
census  at  396,700  pounds,  worth  §1,400,- 
000.  In  1850,  however,  the  quantity  had 
fallen  to  14,763  Ibs.,  showing  an  immense 
decline,  which  has  been  ascribed  to  inherent 
difficulties  of  the  climate.  Nature  seems  to 
have  put  a  veto  on  it  at  the  North,  ani  at 
the  South  other  cultures  have  proved  more 
profitable.  The  effort  to  produce  the  silk 
failed,  and  caused  the  failure  of,  or  at  least 
retarded,  the  silk  manufacture,  which  has 
grown  in  England  in  some  degree  to  rival 
France,  where  the  silk  is  raised,  by  means 
of  entire  freedom  from  tax  on  the  raw  ar- 


FIRE-PROOF    SAFES    AND    SAFE-LOCKS. 


395 


tide.     Of  late,  some  further  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  manufacture. 

In  the  year  1769,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Dr.  Franklin  through  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  a  filature  of  raw  silk 
was  established  in  Philadelphia,  by  private 
subscription,  and  placed  under  the  direction 
of  an  intelligent  and  skilful  Frenchman, 
who,  it  is  said,  produced  samples  of  reeled 
Bilk  not  inferior  in  quality  to  the  best  from 
France  and  Italy.  In  1771,  the  managers 
purchased  2,300  pounds  of  cocoons,  all  the 

S'oduct  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
elaware.  The  enterprise  was  interrupted 
by  the  Revolution.  A  similar  enterprise 
was  again  attempted  in  1830,  under  the  su- 
pervision of  M.  J.  D.  Hornerque,  and  co- 
coons were  brought  in  abundance  to  the 
establishment  from  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and  so  continued  for  some  time 
afterward  ;  but  for  want  of  capital,  the  un- 
dertaking failed.  About  the  same  time, 
however,  other  undertakings  were  begun  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  and  some  of 
these  have  attained  a  high  degree  of  suc- 
cess. In  1841,  the  convicts  in  Auburn 
prison,  New  York,  were  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  silk  for  a  time,  with  much 
success.  In  the  first  year  a  value  of  $12,762 
was  produced  of  sewing  silk,  pronounced 
superior  to  the  imported  article.  The 
domestic  supply  of  the  raw  article  running 
short,  through  defects  of  climate,  that  manu- 
facture began  more  severely  to  feel  the 
weight  of  the  duty  of  15  per  cent,  ad  va- 
lorem on  raw  silk,  and  of  10  to  30  per  cent. 
on  dyestuffs.  These  duties  were  a  direct  dis- 
crimination in  favor  of  the  English  manu- 
facturers, who  obtained  those  materials  free 
of  charge.  Nevertheless  these  manufactures 
here  and  there  had  taken  root,  in  spite  of 
this  attempt  to  force  the  culture  of  the  silk 
by  means  that  tended  to  destroy  the  market 
for  it.  Many  manufactories  of  ribbons  grew 
in  favor,  and  produced  goods  with  a  texture, 
finish,  brilliancy  of  color,  and  general  adapt- 
ability for  an  extended  consumption  that 
gave  them  advantage  over  the  imported 
goods.  In  sewing  silk,  particularly,  the 
American  manufacturer  has  excelled.  The 
American  article  is  in  every  respect  equal  in 
color  and  finish  to  the  imported,  and  supe- 
rior in  the  spinning  and  "  fixing  the  cord" 
(the  great  desideratum  in  this  branch  of 
manufacture)  to  the  Neapolitan  article. 

The  following  figures  show  the  rap'd  prog- 
ress of  the  manufacture  now  that  the  raw  silk 


is  free  of  duty.  From  1 830  to  1 850,  the  im- 
port of  the  raw  silk  increased  300  per  cent. 
The  manufacture  had,  meantime,  gathered 
strength,  and  in  the  last  ten  years  it  has 
risen  to  over  $1,540,000  per  annum,  while 
the  import  of  sewing  silk  is  nearly  extin- 
guished. The  largest  portion  of  the  silk  is 
derived  directly  from  China. 


IMPORT    OF    HAW    SILK. 


Raw. 

1880. 
Hanse  Towns. 

Holland 

TMitch  E.  I.  . . 
Engl'd  &  Scot.  17,98 
B.  N.  A.  Cols. 
B.  East  Indies 

Fnince 3,240 

Italy 8,158 

Sicily 

Turkey 

China 89,696 


Raw.  Sewing. 

1850. 

$7,635      $1,878 
16 

2,073  297 

164,695    112,258 
48 


18,226 
10,606 


2,628 
198,619 


101,867 
187,065 
76,782 


Raw. 

1860 
$6,716 

600,901 


15,470 
4,604 


9,288       915,504 


$4,733 

72,057 

£7,699 

238 

7,185 


$119,074     $404.477  $489,487  $1,543,195  $111,912 


FIRE-PROOF  SAFES  AND  SAFE-LOCKS. 

BUT  a  very  few  years  have  passed,  since  it 
was  a  matter  of  necessity  for  individuals  to 
keep  their  valuables  in  their  own  houses,  and 
to  defend  them  from  the  attacks  of  burglars 
and  the  risks  of  fire,  as  they  best  could.  For 
these  purposes  strong  boxes  were  in  requisi- 
tion. In  modern  times,  paper  promises  have 
been  substituted  for  the  hard  currency  of 
former  times,  and  banks  become  the  deposi- 
tories for  that  money,  thus  relieving  individ- 
uals of  the  risk  of  keeping  coin  in  their 
houses,  to  attract  thieves.  The  banks  are 
also  depositories  for  plate  and  jewelry,  and 
insurance  companies  guarantee  from  loss  by 
fire.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  was 
hardly  to  be  anticipated  that  a  demand  for 
strong  boxes  should  arise,  when  the  use  of 
them  was  apparently  on  the  decline.  Singu- 
larly enough,  however,  the  art  of  making 
strong  boxes  has  only  been  developed  in  the 
present  century.  It  is  to  be  considered, 
however,  that  with  the  progress  of  the  cred- 
it system  in  the  last  150  years,  and  the  ex- 
tension of  commerce,  paper  securities  and 
account-books  of  all  kinds  have  multiplied, 
causing  a  greater  demand  than  ever  for  iron 
chests.  The  manufacture  of  these,  and  of 
the  locks  to  secure  them,  has  taken  great 
dimensions. 

It  is  obvious  that,  in  the  construction 
of  a  chest,  designed  to  be  not  only  bur- 
glar but  fire-proof,  iron,  as  a  material, 
would  naturally  suggest  itself.  Neverthe- 


396 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


less,  oak  seems  formerly  to  have  been  a 
favorite  material,  probably  from  the  facility 
of  working  and  ornamenting.  An  example 
of  this  kind  of  coffer  is  afforded  in  the  chest 
in  which  the  crown  jewels  of  Scotland  were 
deposited  in  1707.  The  chest,  beautifully 
ornamented,  was  secured  with  iron  bands, 
hasps,  and  staples.  There  were  three  locks, 
which  then,  no  doubt,  afforded  security,  but 
each  of  them  could  be  opened  in  five  minutes 
with  a  bit  of  crooked  wire  in  our  day.  At 
the  close  of  the  last  century  there  began  to 
be  made  the  iron  chests,  known  as  "  foreign 
coffers."  These  were  constructed  of  sheet 
iron,  strongly  riveted  to  hoop  iron,  crossed  at 
right  angles  on  the  outside.  A  lock  throw- 
ing eight  bolts  inside,  and  two  bars  and 
staples  for  padlocks  outside,  were  employed 
to  secure  the  lid.  Over  the  door  lock  was  a 
cap  beautifully  pierced  and  chased,  and  a 
secretly  operated  escutcheon  concealed  the 
key-hole.  These  were  formidable  to  look  at, 
and  no  doubt  answered  their  purpose  all  the 
better,  that  the  science  of  lock-picking  was 
then  not  so  advanced  as  in  the  present  day. 
About  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
'  tury,  cast-iron  chests  began  to  be  made 
for  common  purposes,  and  the  manufacture 
flourished  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  idea 
of  introducing  non-conducting  substances  as 
a  protection  against  fire,  occurred  but  some 
years  later.  The  favorite  substance  for  this 
purpose  is  gypsum  or  plaster  of  Paris.  This 
material  was  first  used  in  Paris  for  the  con- 
struction of  fire-proof  houses.  The  practice 
for  more  than  fifty  years  had  there  been  to 
erect  hollow  walls  with  spaces  between  them 
varying  from  five  to  nine  inches  in  width. 
Plaster  of  Paris,  mixed  with  water  to  a 
proper  consistency,  was  poured  into  these 
spaces,  where  it  set  and  became  hard.  After 
the  beams  and  rafters  were  fixed  in  their 
places,  boards  were  nailed  to  them,  and  the 
same  material  was  spread  thereon.  The  lower 
floors  of  the  building  were  of  plaster,  over 
which  tiles  were  laid.  The  same  material 
was  applied  to  fire-safes  in  Paris,  and  these 
were,  to  some  extent,  imported  into  New 
York  about  the  year  1820.  The  first  port- 
able fire-proof  chests  introduced  for  sale  in 
New  York,  were  imported  from  France,  by 
the  late  Joseph  Boucheaud,  Esq.,  about  1820, 
and  no  doubt  many  of  our  old  merchants  and 
bankers  remember  them,  as  many  were  sold 
for  use  in  counting-houses  and  bank  vaults. 
They  were  constructed  of  wood  and  iron ; 
the  foundation  was  a  box  of  hard,  close- 


grained  wood,  covered  on  the  outside  with 
plate  iron,  over  which  were  hoops  or  bands 
of  iron,  about  two  inches  wide,  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles,  so  forming  squares 
on  all  sides  of  the  chest.  Holes  were  made  in 
the  bands  and  plates,  through  which  well- 
made  wrought-iron  nails  or  spikes,  havingj 
"hollow,"  half-spherical  heads,  Avere  driven' 
into  and  through  the  wooden  box,  and  then 
"  clinched."  The  inside  of  the  chest  was 
then  lined  with  a  covering  of  sheet  iron. 
These  chests  had  a  well-finished  but  very 
large  lock,  having  from  six  to  eight  bolts, 
operated  by  one  turn  of  the  key. 

The  first  actual  application  of  plaster  of 
Paris  to  safes  in  this  country  seems  to  have 
been  by  James  Conner,  the  type-founder,  of 
New  York.  His  business  made  him  ac- 
quainted with  the  non-conducting  qualities 
of  plaster  of  Paris,  and  he  applied  it  to  an 
iron  chest  in  his  office,  which  chest  has  been 
in  use  ever  since.  Soon  after,  Jesse  Delano, 
of  New  York,  began  making  chests  of  the 
Paris  pattern,  substituting  solid  cast-iron 
heads,  to  secure  the  bands.  In  1826,  he 
patented  an  improvement,  which  consisted 
in  coating  the  wooden  foundation  with  a 
composition  of  equal  parts,  clay  and  lime, 
plumbago  and  mica,  or  saturating  the  wood 
in  a  solution  of  potash  lye  and  alum,  to  ren- 
der it  incombustible.  These  were  generally 
used  in  the  country,  and  as  a  curious  in- 
stance of  the  fire-proof  qualities  of  these  safes, 
we  may  state  that  one  stood  many  years  near 
the  stove,  in  the  counting-house  of  Lyman 
Stockbridge,  of  Hartford,  until  its  fire-proof 
qualities  seem  to  have  been  exhausted,  since 
it  spontaneously  took  fire  and  burnt  up  about 
three  years  since,  without  doing  other  injury 
on  the  premises.  In  this  case,  it  would  seem 
the  fire-proof  quality  was  inverted — viz.,  that 
the  fire  could  not  get  out,  instead  of  failing 
to  get  in.  After  Mr.  Delano,  C.  J.  Gayler 
began  the  safe  manufacture,  and  in  1833  he 
patented  his  "  double"  fire-proof  chest.  This 
consisted  of  two  chests,  one  so  formed  within 
the  other  as  to  have  one  or  more  spaces  be- 
tween them,  to  inclose  air  or  any  known  non- 
conductors of  heat.  In  the  same  year,  one 
of  these  double  chests  was  severely  tested 
by  being  exposed  in  a  large  building  in  Thom- 
aston,  Maine,  that  was  entirely  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  chest  preserved  its  contents  in 
good  order.  This  excited  the  public  admira- 
tion, and  one  enthusiastic  writer  described  it 
as  a  "Salamander,"  which  name  has  ever 
since  been  popularly  applied  to  safes. 


FIRE-PROOF    SAFES    AND    SAFE-LOCKS. 


397 


The  majority  of  the  so-called  "  safes"  in 
use  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  New  York, 
in  1835,  were  simply  iron  closets,  and  were 
of  little  protection  against  the  devouring  ele- 
ment. There  were  then  about  sixty  of  Gay- 
ler's  double  chests  in  use,  and  a  few  of  these 
preserved  their  contents.  Soon  after,  John 
Scott  obtained  a  patent  for  the  use  of  asbes- 
tos for  fire-proof  chests.  In  1837,  Benjamin 
Sherwood  obtained  a  patent  for  a  revolving 
interior  safe,  filling  the  spaces  with  plaster 
of  Paris  and  charcoal. 

In  1843  Enos  Wilder  obtained  a  patent 
for  the  construction  of  a  safe  of  heavy  iron 
plates,  filled  with  hydrated  plaster  of  Paris, 
and  soon  after,  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  whose  disco- 
very was  made  previously,  was  associated 
with  him.  About  1841,  Mr.  Silas  C.  Herring 
became  interested  in  Wilder's  safes,  first  as 
agent  and  afterwards  as  a  manufacturer. 
The  Wilder  safes  proved  a  protection 
against  fires  which  destroyed  the  Gayler  and 
other  patents.  In  1844,  Enos  Wilder's 
patent  was  transferred  to  his  brother,  B.  G. 
Wilder,  but  the  safes  under  this  patent  were 
made  by  Mr.  Herring;  and  not  long  after, 
Messrs.  Roberts  &  Rich  commenced  the 
manufacture  on  the  same  principles,  but 
paid  no  royalty.  After  a  protracted  lawsuit, 
a  compromise  was  effected  by  which  both 
parties  continued  to  manufacture.  Other 
parties  tried  hydraulic  cement,  soapstone, 
alum  and  glue,  alum  alone,  mica,  asbestos, 
ancj  other  articles  for  filling,  but  none  proved 
as  effectual  as  the  hydrated  plaster  of  Paris, 
which,  under  the  influence  of  intense  heat, 
gave  up  its  water  of  combination,  and  form- 
ing an  atmosphere  of  steam  in  the  inner 
portion  of  the  safe,  protected  the  books  or 
papers  from  destruction.  It  was  found,  how- 
ever, that  the  plaster  after  a  time  gave  up  a 
part  of  its  water  of  combination,  and  not  only 
made  the  interior  of  the  safes  mouldy  and 
damp,  but  rusted  the  plates  of  iron  till  they 
were  eaten  through.  Messrs.  Herring  &  Co. 
had  offered  a  reward  of  $1,000  for  any  filling 
which  should  stand  the  test  better  than  the 
plaster  which  they  were  using.  In  1852,  Mr, 
Spear,  a  chemist  of  Philadelphia,  discovered 
that  the  residuum  of  the  soda  fountains, 
after  the  liberation  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  for 
the  so-called  soda-water,  possessed  remarka- 
ble non-conducting  powers.  This  residuum, 
which  had  been  previously  thrown  away, 
was,  by  Spear's  process,  preserved,  washed 
to  free  it  from  the  sulphuric  acid,  which 
had  acted  upon  the  chalk,  dried  in  a 
24 


kiln,  and,  when  in  a  dry  and  almost  impalpa- 
ble powder,  rammed  into  the  safes.  The 
safes  thus  prepared  were  found  to  have  no 
tendency  to  rust,  and  to  be  better  protected 
against  fire  than  by  the  use  of  the  plaster, 
this  powder  giving  up  its  water  of  combina- 
tion in  less  quantity,  and  more  slowly  than 
the  plaster,  but  sufficiently  to  preserve  the 
contents  of  the  safe.  Messrs.  Herring  &  Co. 
purchased  Mr.  Spear's  discovery,  and,  since 
1854,  have  made  their  safes  mainly  on  this 
principle,  though  the  Wilder  patent  had  not 
expired.  Mr.  B.  G.  Wilder  had  meantime 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  safes  under 
his  patent,  himself;  and  the  successors  of 
Messrs.  Roberts  &  Rich,  under  several  firm 
names,  as  Rich  &  Roff,  Roff  &  Stearns,  and 
Stearns  &  Marvin,  also  manufactured  the 
Wilder  safe.  In  1854,  the  safes  which  had 
been  rusted  through  by  the  moisture  from  the 
plaster  of  Paris  began  to  be  returned  upon 
the  manufacturers,  and  the  cost  of  repairs 
and  refilling  was  very  heavy.  There  began  a 
little  before  this  time  to  be  a  demand  for  bur- 
glar-proof safes.  Lillie's  safes  were  highly 
commended  for  this  purpose,  he  using  thick 
slabs  of  chilled  cast  iron,  and  flowing  cast 
iron  over  wrought  iron  ribs  in  their  con- 
struction. It  was  found  after  a  time, 
however,  that  the  burglars  succeeded  in 
drilling  these  sufficiently  to  blow  them  up 
in  a  few  minutes,  and  that  the  dependence 
placed  on  them  was  not  justified.  Messrs. 
Herring  &  Co.  a  few  years  since  adopted 
the  plan  of  making  their  burglar-proof  safes 
externally  of  boiler-plate  wrought  iron, 
with  an  inner  safe  of  hardened  steel,  and 
then  filled  the  space  between  with  a  casting 
of  Franklinite,  the  hardest  of  all  known 
metallic  ores,  which  in  casting  was  incor- 
porated with  rods  of  soft  steel,  those  on  one 
side  running  vertically,  and  those  on  the 
other  horizontally.  These  castings  resist 
the  best  drills  for  many  hours.  This  has, 
in  connexion  with  the  burglar-proof  locks, 
proved  the  most  complete  protection  against 
burglars  yet  invented.  Among  the  burglar- 
proof  locks,  the  Bramah,  invented  in  Eng- 
land in  1784,  was  in  high  repute  for  many 
years,  but  was  picked  by  Hobbs,  a  Boston 
locksmith,  in  1851.  A  " permutation  lock" 
was  invented  by  Dr.  Andrews,  in  1841,  and 
another  by  Newell,  about  1843.  Both 
were  finally  picked,  and  Newell  then  in- 
vented one  with  a  detached  tumbler,  which 
was,  after  a  time,  picked  by  William  Hall,  of 
Boston,  by  the  "  smoke  process,"  by  which 


398 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


a  smoky  flame  is  introduced  by  the  key-hole, 
and  this  leaves  a  fine  deposit  of  lamp-black 
upon  the  "  bellies"  of  the  tumblers.  When 
the  key  is  next  introduced,  it  removes  the 
lamp-black  from  the  parts  it  touches.  By 
means  of  a  small  reflector,  a  strong  light  is  then 
thrown  in,  bringing  the  key  marks  to  view. 
The  exact  sizes  for  a  false  key  are  thus  ob- 
tained. To  prevent  this  operation,  it  was 
supposed  that  concealing  the  tumblers  would 
be  all  that  was  requisite.  H.  C.  Jones,  of 
Newark,  accomplished  this  by  concentric 
rings  and  curtain ;  and  Pyes  did  it  more  ef- 
fectually with  eccentric  rings  and  curtain. 
The  lock  was  now  thought  perfect.  It  was 
called  the  parautoptic  (concealed  from  view) 
lock.  A.  C.  Hobbs,  with  one  of  these  at  the 
English  exhibition  of  1851,  defied  the  best 
English  operators.  One  of  these  locks  was 
used  at  the  Bank  of  England,  and  they  came 
into  general  use  in  the  United  States.  In 
1855,  Linus  Yale,  jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  by 
means  of  the  impression  process,  picked  this 
great  lock.  In  1 843,  Linus  Yale,  senior,  pat- 
ented a  "  pin"  lock  and  then  the  duplex  lock, 
for  which  two  keys  are  required.  One  being 
introduced,  it  w^s  necessary  to  unscrew  and 
remove  its  handle,  then  close  the  key-hole 
entirely  with  a  hardened  plate,  before  the 
other  key-hole  could  open.  The  ingenuity 
of  his  son  dispelled  the  idea  that  this  was 
absolutely  secure,  by  picking  it.  Yale,  jr., 
being  convinced  that  no  lock  is  secure  so 
long  as  the  shape  of  the  key  prevents  the  en- 
tire closing  of  the  hole,  he  set  to  work  upon 
that  principle,  and  in  1851  he  invented  the 
magic  lock.  In  this  lock,  the  key  and  its 
bits  appear  as  of  one  piece ;  on  being  intro- 
duced into  the  lock,  the  bits  are  taken  up  by 
a  pin,  which  enters  through  them  into  the 
centre  of  the  key-shaft.  The  key  then  being 
turned  in  the  usual  manner,  puts  in  motion 
a  set  of  gear  wheels.  These  first  separate 
the  bits  from  the  key,  and  then  carry  them 
into  the  interior  of  the  lock,  away  from  the 
key -hole.  They  there  operate  upon  the  tum- 
blers out  of  sight  and  beyond  the  reach  of 
any  picking  tools.  The  same  motion  which 
carries  away  the  bits  effectually  closes  the 
key-hole.  When  the  bolt  is  passed,  the  key- 
hole re-opens,  the  bits  come  back  and  join 
the  handle  to  be  taken  out,  as  they  were  put 
in.  The  bits  may  be  taken  away  in  the 
pocket,  if  desired,  leaving  the  handle  with 
the  lock.  This  mechanism  seems  to  effect 
perfectly  the  conditions  sought  for  security 
against  picking.  E.  B.  Denison,  the  famous 


clockmaker,  of  London,  remarks  in  relation 
to  this,  as  well  as  to  Newell's,  "  that  the  castr 
ing  of  both  these  American  locks  (which  have 
all  their  heavy  parts  of  cast  iron)  is  vastly 
superior  to  any  iron  castings  we  have  ever 
seen  made  in  England ;  and,  on  the  whole, 
the  United  States  are  evidently  far  ahead  of 
us  in  the  manufacture  of  both  good  and 
cheap  locks."  This  is  certainly  very  grati- 
fying praise  to  the  national  pride,  when  we 
reflect  how  few  years  since  we  depended  en- 
tirely upon  England  for  bank  locks. 

In  some  cases,  burglars  introduce  strong 
tools  to  force  locks  apart,  and  others  intro- 
duce gunpowder  to  explode  them.  A  device 
against  this  is  to  form  a  strong  slider  of  cast 
steel  to  close  the  key-hole,  and  also  to  cut 
out  a  piece  of  the  back  plate  and  screw  it 
on  again,  with  small  screws.  This  giving  way 
on  the  application  of  force,  saves  the  rest. 

These  brilliant  inventions  have  been  made 
to  close  the  doors  of  safes  against  burglars, 
while  the  improvements  in  the  boxes  guard 
against  fire. 


GLASS  MANUFACTURE. 

WHEN  we  contemplate  by  turns  each  of 
the  great  materials  most  conducive  to  man's 
advancement  in  civilization,  we  are  at  times 
lost  in  the  attempt  to  give  precedence  to 
any  one,  since  so  many  have  held  so  high  a 
rank  in  the  scale  of  usefulness.  Iron  has, 
perhaps,  been  the  most  important  in  respect 
of  industrial  purposes,  and  paper  has  been 
the  means  of  recording  and  promoting  that 
general  intelligence  without  which  progress 
could  not  be  very  extensive,  but  glass  has 
entered  more  into  the  necessities  of  science, 
as  well  as  those  of  social  life  and  every-day 
comforts,  than  most  materials.  The  great 
properties  of  glass  are  its  transparency,  its 
hardness,  its  power  of  assuming  any  possible 
form  when  hot,  and  its  non-conductibility. 
Employed  as  windows,  it  transmits  light  into 
our  dwellings  while  protecting  us  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  seasons  and  permitting  a 
view  of  exterior  objects ;  wrought  into  the 
form  of  vessels,  it  preserves  all  liquids  with- 
out alteration,  while  we  can  inspect  the  con- 
tents. This  quality,  added  to  its  indestruc- 
tibility by  any  of  the  acids  (except  fluoric), 
has  much  facilitated  the  investigations  of 
chemists.  The  physical  sciences  are  not  less 
indebted  to  it.  It  is  the  principal  auxiliary 


GLASS    MANUFACTURE. 


399 


of  optics.  With  his  glass  prism,  Newton  de- 
composed light ;  it  is  by  its  means  that  as- 
tronomy makes  its  observations  and  discov- 
eries in  the  infinity  of  space  ;  combined  in 
the  microscope,  it  carries  the  vision  of  the 
naturalist  into  the  most  minute  formations  of 
nature ;  with  it,  those  of  short  sight  have 
the  perception  extended,  and  by  it,  the  flat- 
tened vision  of  age  is  restored  to  its  natu- 
ral powers.  To  the  science  of  fluids  it  is 
indispensable,  and  most  of  the  experiments 
in  caloric  and  electricity  are  due  to  its 
agency.  If  all  the  sciences  are  more  or  less 
dependent  upon  it,  the  ordinary  usages  of 
life  are  no  less  promoted  by  it.  It  gives 
mirrors  for  the  toilet  and  for  ornament  to 
houses  ;  it  serves  the  table  with  liquids  ;  it 
preserves  works  of  art  from  the  dust,  orna- 
ments lustres,  and  with  it  the  precious  stones 
can  be  imitated  in  all  respects  but  in  their 
hardness.  In  the  arts  its  wonderfully  varied 
powers  may  be  put  in  requisition  for  almost 
all  purposes,  from  the  delicate  spring  of  a 
chronometer  watch  to  the  heavy  pipes  for  sup- 
plying water  to  cities.  For  the  former  pur- 
pose, its  insensibility  to  climate  and  temper- 
ature gives  it  advantages  over  the  metals  used 
for  that  purpose. 

The  use  of  glass  is  of  a  very  remote  an- 
tiquity— how  remote  is  left  to  conjecture.  It 
had  been  supposed  that  the  ancients  were  not 
acquainted  with  its  use.  Glass  beads  have, 
however,  been  found  on  mummies  more  than 
3000  years  old,  and  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh 
bottles  and  vases  have  been  found  of  glass ; 
and  the  exhumations  of  Pompeii  and  Hercu- 
laneum  disclosed  the  fact  that  it  was  in  those 
cities  used  for  windows,  as  well  as  for  very 
numerous  utensils,  all  of  which  gave  evidence 
of  great  skill  in  glass  work.  The  manufac- 
ture of  glass  spread  from  Italy  to  other  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  at  first  into  Gaul.  Bohemia 
was,  however,  possessed  of  the  best  materi- 
als in  the  greatest  abundance,  and  the  manu- 
facture settled  and  acquired  for  Bohemian 
glass  a  reputation  which  has  come  down  to 
our  times  for  vessels.  The  use  of  glass  for 
mirrors  seems  to  have  originated  in  Venice. 

The  manufacture  of  glass  was  carried  on 
in  England  as  early  as  1439,  according  to 
Horace  Walpole.  Flint  glass  was  made  in 
London  in  the  middle  of  the  16th  century, 
and  the  manufacture  of  plate  glass  was  com- 
menced by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who 
imported  Venetian  workmen.  Since  then 
great  progress  has  been  made,  and  English 
flint  glass  has  won  a  great  reputation.  The 


manufacture  was  one  of  the  earliest  intro- 
duced into  the  colonies.  At  Jamestown,  Va., 
a  glass-house  was  broken  up  by  an  irruption 
of  Indians  in  1632.  There  appears,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  no  accurate  account  of 
any  until  that  of  Mr.  Hewes,  of  Boston,  in 
Temple,  N.  H.,  1780.  Those  works  were  op- 
erated by  Hessians  and  Waldeckers,  desert- 
ers from  the  British  army;  and  one  of  the 
first  articles  there  produced  is  now  the  prop- 
erty of  Harvard  University.  Washington, 
in  his  diary,  1789,  alludes  to  a  glass-house 
in  New  Haven.  In  1803  a  German,  of  the 
name  of  Lint,  undertook  glassworks  in  Bos- 
ton, and  the  state  made  him  a  bounty  on 
every  table  of  window  glass  made.  From 
that  time  the  works  prospered,  or  at  least 
were  sustained. 

The  manufacture  of  crown  glass  was  early 
commenced  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  by  Colonel 
O'Hara,  who,  in  1798,  started  glassworks  in 
that  city,  to  which  the  materials  were  brought 
from  30  to  100  miles'  distance.  The  con- 
cern had  a  considerable  success,  and  was 
followed  by  others  until,  in  1814,  there  were 
five  glassworks  at  that  place.  In  1812, 
Messrs.  Bakewell  <fe  Co.  established  at  Pitts- 
burg  the  first  flint-glassworks  in  the  Union. 
They  brought  the  manufacture  to  great  per- 
fection, bringing  out  workmen  from  Europe 
at  high  wages.  The  style  of  cutting  and  en- 
graving was  thought  equal  to  the  foreign, 
and  the  operations  of  the  house  extended 
until  the  works  became  the  largest  for  glass 
manufacture  in  the  country.  There  were 
there  made  sets  of  glass  for  two  Presidents 
of  the  United  States ;  and  a  set  of  splendid 
vases  there  produced  40  years  since,  still 
adorns  the  saloon  at  La  Grange,  the  seat  of 
Lafayette.  The  house  have  also  received 
the  silver  medal  of  the  Franklin  Institute. 
In  other  parts  of  the  country  the  manufac- 
ture progressed  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
and  in  1832  a  committee  of  the  New  York 
convention  made  a  report  on  the  glass  man- 
ufacture, from  which  it  appears  there  were 
then  in  operation  2 1  glass  furnaces,  having 
140  pots  for  the  manufacture  of  crown 
glass;  of  these,  6  were  at  Boston.  There 
were  also  in  operation  23  for  the  manufacture 
of  cylinder  glass;  of  these,  10  were  in  Penn- 
sylvania, 2  at  Wheeling,  2  in  Maryland,  2 
in  New  York,  2  in  Ohio,  1  in  Massachusetts, 
1  in  New  Hampshire,  1  in  Vermont,  1  in 
Connecticut,  and  1  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. The  whole  value  of  flint  glass  then 
produced  was  given  at  $1,350,000.  The 


400 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


most  extensive  green  bottle  factory  was  at 
that  time  Mr.  Dyott's,  near  Philadelphia. 
There  were  there  melted  4  tons  per  day,  or 
1200  tons  per  annum.  At  that  period  the 
glass  manufacture  received  an  impulse,  and 
in  1834  there  were  6  works  at  Pittsburg, 
making  crown  and  cylinder  glass,  green  bot- 
tles, and  apothecaries'  phials.  One  bottle 
factory  produced  1600  dozen  weekly,  and  a 
phial  factory  2200  gross  weekly.  There 
were  also  produced  in  one  concern  5000 
boxes  window  glass  annually,  of  a  quality 
nearly  equal  to  the  best  crown  glass.  There 
were  also  at  Wheeling  2  crown  and  flint- 
glassworks,  and  1  for  phials  and  bottles. 
At  Wellsburg,  16  miles  distant,  there  were 
1  flint  glass  and  1  green  bottle  factory. 

The  census  of  1840  showed  that  there 
were  then  in  the  United  States  81  glass- 
houses, employing  3,236  men.  The  aggre- 
gate capital  was  given  at  $2,014,100.  Of 
these,  2  were  in  Virginia,  28  in  Pennsylvania, 
25  in  New  Jersey,  13  in  New  York,  2  in 
Vermont,  3  in  Connecticut,  4  in  Massachu- 
setts, 3  in  New  Hampshire,  and  1  in  Michi- 
gan. The  census  did  not  distinguish  the 
different  branches  of  the  glass  manufacture, 
nor  the  modes  of  making  window  glass. 
The  increase  up  to  1850,  by  the  census  of 
that  year,  appears  to  have  been  not  very 
considerable.  The  number  of  works  had 
risen  to  94,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
$3,402,350,  employing  -5571  men,  and  pro- 
ducing a  value  of  $4,641,676  per  annum. 
Of  these  94  establishments,  2  8  were  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  20  more  in  New  Jersey,  mostly 
owned  in  Philadelphia;  18  were  in  New 
York,  6  in  Massachusetts,  2  in  Maryland,  1 
in  Connecticut,  4  in  New  Hampshire,  2  in 
Missouri,  6  in  Ohio,  6  in  Virginia,  and  1  in 
Tennessee.  The  glass  manufacture  thus 
concentrates  apparently  in  Pennsylvania. 
There  has  been  in  the  last  ten  years  some 
progress.  In  1853  the  first  plate  glass  man- 
ufactory in  the  United  States  was  established 
at  Cheshire,  Berkshire  county,  Mass.  The 
same  company  now  are  at  Lenox  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Lenox  Rough  Plate  Glass 
Co."  The  rough  or  hammered  plate  glass 
manufacture  has  also  been  recently  estab- 
lished in  Philadelphia  ;  also  a  new  descrip- 
tion, called  "German  flint,"  of  less  beauty 
than  the  old  flint,  but  better  adapted  for  the 
use  of  apothecaries,  chemists,  perfumers,  etc., 
since  it  is  little  affected  by  acids  and  alka- 
lies. 

The  materials  for  glass  are  several;  the 


chief,  silica,  obtained  from  the  sea  beaches  in 
the  form  of  quartz  sand,  and  from  the  quartz 
rocks  of  the  interior.  The  name  of  "flint 
glass,"  which  originated  with  the  English 
manufacturers,  and  long  held  the  highest 
rank  in  Europe,  came  from  the  use  of  flints, 
calcined  and  ground  to  powder.  This  proc- 
ess is  now  supplanted  by  the  use  of  sand,  of 
which  a  highly  prized  article  is  imported 
into  England  from  Austria.  The  purest  ar- 
ticle used  in  the  United  States  is  obtained 
from  Lanesborough,  Mass.,  being  a  disinte- 
grated quartz  rock.  It  is  easily  broken  by 
the  pick,  and  the  lumps  may  be  crushed  in 
the  hand.  The  grains  are  remarkable  for 
their  purity.  They  appear  white  in  the 
mass,  but  under  the  microscope  each  appears 
as  limpid  as  crystal.  This  is  used  for  the 
best  flint  and  plate  glass.  Lime  is  used  in 
the  shape  of  limestone  of  the  purest  quali- 
ties, or  as  quicklime.  Potash  is  derived 
from  common  wood  ashes,  and  the  ashes  of 
sea-plants  supply  soda.  Pearlash  is  some- 
times used  ;  also  the  refined  alkalies.  Com- 
mon salt  is  used  whence  to  extract  carbonate 
of  soda.  In  addition  to  these,  saltpetre, 
alumina,  and  waste  glass,  enter  into  the  in- 
gredients of  glass,  the  proportions  of  many 
kinds  of  which  are  as  follows : — 

English  bottle  glass — sand,  100  Ibs. ;  lixiv- 
iated ashes,  100 ;  wood  ashes  40  ;  kelp,  40  ; 
clay,  80 ;  cullet,  or  waste  glass,  100.  For  Bo- 
hemian crystal,  are  used — 100  Ibs.  sand  ;  pu- 
rified potash,  60  ;  chalk,  8 ;  cullet  and  man- 
ganese, 40.  In  window  glass,  are  used — 
1 00  Ibs.  sand ;  chalk,  40  ;  carbonate  of  soda, 
35;  of  broken  glass,  from  60  to  180;  and 
some  manganese  and  arsenic.  For  plate 
glass — Lynn  sand,  washed  and  dried,  720 
Ibs. ;  alkaline  salt,  of  which  40  per  cent,  soda, 
450  Ibs.;  lime,  80  ;  nitre,  25  ;  broken  plate 
glass,  425.  These  will  give  1200  Ibs.  of  glass. 
For  Faraday's  heavy  optical  glass — protox- 
ide of  lead,  140  Ibs. ;  silicate  of  lead,  24  ; 
dry  boracic  acid,  25;  and  100  Ibs.  of  sand. 
Artificial  gems  are  composed  of  100  Ibs. 
of  quartz  crystal,  or  sand ;  pure  minium,  or 
red  lead,  154  Ibs.;  caustic  potash,  54  Ibs. ; 
boracic  acid,  7 ;  and  some  arsenious  acid. 
These  are  a  few  of  the  proportions  used, 
but  most  manufacturers  modify  them  in  vari- 
ous ways,  since  the  same  compound  will,  in 
the  same  furnace,  under  different  conditions 
of  fuel,  draft,  and  weather,  give  different  re- 
sults. Bituminous  coal,  or  coke,  or  seasoned 
wood,  may  be  used  for  fuel,  and  firewood 
is  preferred.  In  some  glassworks  of  the 


GLASS    MANUFACTURE. 


401 


United  States,  rosin  is  preferred  to  all  other 
fuel,  since  when  pulverized  it  may  be  added 
in  small  quantities  at  a  time.  It  burns  with- 
out giving  off  impurities  that  may  mix  with 
or  injure  the  glass,  and  it  leaves  no  residuum. 

In  proceeding  to  manufacture,  when  the 
combination  of  materials  is  formed,  they 
are  thoroughly  ground,  mixed  together,  and 
sifted.  The  glass  furnace  is  a  large  circu- 
lar dome,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  the  fire. 
This  is  surrounded  by  8  to  12  melting  pots, 
which  being  raised  to  a  white  heat,  receive 
the  mixed  glass  in  quantities  about  one 
eighth  at  a  time.  As  each  instalment  melts 
down,  the  others  are  added.  The  entire 
quantity  being  melted,  the  fires  are  urged  to 
the  utmost,  while  the  workmen  watch  the 
operation,  with  long  iron  rods,  by  means  of 
which  they  extract  from  the  boiling  mass 
portions,  from  time  to  time,  until  transpar- 
ency, on  cooling,  indicates  that  perfect  fu- 
sion of  all  the  materials  has  taken  place.  A 
scum  rises  during  the  boiling  which  is  re- 
moved as  it  appears.  The  heat  is  then 
raised  to  the  highest  degree,  to  perfect  the 
fusion.  The  glsfcs  is  now  made,  but  it  con- 
tains many  impurities,  being  substances  that 
would  not  melt ;  and  there  is  also  still  a  quan- 
tity of  gas,  which,  if  not  got  rid  of,  will  form 
those  bubbles  that  are  sometimes  seen  in 
common  window  glass.  The  mass  is  therefore 
kept  fluid  during  some  48  hours,  by  which 
means  the  "metal"  is  fined,  that  is,  all  the  bub- 
bles of  gas  will  have  disappeared,  and  insolu- 
ble matters  will  have  settled  to  the  bottom. 
The  heat  is  then  allowed  to  subside  until  the 
metal  becomes  thick  enough  to  work,  at 
which  point  the  temperature  is  maintained 
in  order  to  keep  the  glass  in  this  condition. 
The  pots  that  surround  the  furnace  will  gen- 
erally thus  hold  enough  to  employ  the  force 
day  and  night  for  the  first  four  days  of  the 
week,  the  hands  being  divided  into  gangs 
that  relieve  each  other  every  six  hours. 

The  glass  materials,  being  thus  brought  into 
suitable  combination,  are  ready  for  some  of 
the  numerous  branches  of  manipulation  in 
which  that  article  is  employed — the  manu- 
facture of  window  glass,  plate  glass,  bottles, 
phials,  flint  glass,  vessels  of  all  descriptions, 
gems,  optical  instruments,  etc.  The  manu- 
facture of  window  glass  is  perhaps  the  most 
extensive,  and  this  is  conducted  in  two  modes. 
By  one  the  glass  is  blown  into  "tables,"  like 
cart  wheels,  and  by  the  other  it  is  formed  into 
cylinders,  that  are  cut  open  lengthwise  and 
flattened  out.  The  former  is  the  more  gener- 


ally practised.  That  description  is  generally 
known  as  English  crown  glass.  In  the 
manufacture,  the  melting  pots,  of  which 
there  are  usually  eight,  hold  about  half  a 
ton  of  metal  each,  and  this  will  suffice  for 
100  tables  of  crown  glass.  When  the  glass 
is  in  its  proper  state,  the  workman  is  armed 
with  a  pipe,  or  blowing  tube,  4  or  5  feet 
long,  with  a  bore  1  to  1  inch  in  diameter, 
and  a  little  larger  at  the  mouth  end  than  at 
the  other.  It  is,  as  it  were,  a  long  hand, 
with  which,  the  end  being  heated  red  hot, 
the  workman  reaches  into  the  pot  of  melted 
matter,  and  gathers  up  the  quantity  he  re- 
quires. By  long  experience  he  is  enabled 
to  do  this  with  great  exactness,  and  this, 
for  crown  glass,  will  not  vary  much  from  9 
Ibs.  The  pipe  being  cooled  to  admit  of 
handling,  the  lump  is  rolled  upon  the  mar- 
ver  (which  is  a  polished  cast-iron  slab),  to 
give  it  a  conical  form.  Blowing  through 
the  tube,  at  the  same  time,  causes  the  lump 
to  swell.  It  is  then  heated  in  the  furnace, 
and  again  rolled  and  enlarged  by  blowing. 
In  this  operation,  the  portion  next  the  tube 
becomes  hollow,  and  the  greater  portion 
of  the  glass  works  toward  the  point  of  the 
cone  it  forms  in  rolling.  The  solid  point  is 
called  the  bullion.  This  being  softened  in' 
the  furnace,  the  tube  is  laid  across  a  rest, 
and  made  to  revolve,  while  the  glass  Is  blown 
to  a  globe.  During  this  operation,  a  boy 
supports  the  soft  end,  or  bullion,  with  an 
iron  rod.  The  globe,  by  continually  revolv- 
ing, increases  in  size,  and  flattens  out,  the 
bullion  point  still  forming  a  thick  centre,  to 
which  an  iron  rod,  called  a  pontil,  which  has 
a  little  molten  glass  on  its  end,  is  applied; 
at  the  same  moment  the  globe  being  sepa- 
rated from  the  blow  pipe  by  the  application 
of  a  piece  of  cold  iron  to  its  "nose,"  re- 
mains upon  the  pontil.  As  the  tube  breaks 
away,  it  leaves  a  circular  opening,  which  the 
workman,  holding  by  the  pontil,  presents  to 
the  furnace.  By  this  means  it  is  softened  al- 
most to  melting,  and  being  made  to  revolve 
rapidly,  the  opening  grows  rapidly  larger  by 
centrifugal  force.  The  heated  air  in  the  globe 
prevents  the  two  opposite  faces  from  coming 
together.  The  portion  next  the  fire  appears 
to  roll  inside  out,  and  it  suddenly,  with  a 
noise  like  opening  a  wet  umbrella,  flattens 
out  into  a  circular  disk,  which  is  then  re- 
moved from  the  fire,  and  kept  revolving  un- 
til it  is  cold.  The  pontil  is  then  cracked 
off,  and  the  disk  removed  to  the  annealing 
oven,  and  set  up  on  edge  with  the  rest,  ar- 


402 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ranged  in  rows,  and  supported  by  iron  rods, 
so  as  not  to  press  against  each  other.  The 
annealing  is  completed  in  24  to  48  hours. 
These  "tables"  are  generally  52  inches  in 
diameter;  sometimes,  however,  as  much  as 
70  inches. 

Plate  glass  imperfectly  annealed  will,  when 
once  cracked,  soon  fall  all  to  pieces.  The  an- 
nealing process  is  simply  to  place  the  hot 
glass  in  a  hot  oven,  and  allow  the  whole 
to  cool  gradually.  By  this  operation  it  is 
found  that  glass  is  deprived  of  much  of  its 
brittleness.  The  explanation  is,  that  the  glass 
is  a  non-conductor,  and  when  made,  the  exte- 
rior cools  first,  forming  a  crystalline  crust 
which  shelters  the  interior  particles,  so  that 
these  continue  longer  in  the  fluid  state,  and 
are  prevented  from  expanding  as  glass 
usually  does  when  it  cools.  The  interior 
.has  thus  a  constant  tendency  to  expand  or 
burst  out.  When  the  whole  is  allowed  to 
cool  slowly  in  an  oven,  all  the  fibres  of  the 
glass  assume  their  proper  and  natural  places, 
and  the  mass  becomes  tough  and  elastic. 
The  eiFect  of  sudden  cooling  is  manifest  in 
the  toys  called  "  Prince  Rupert's  drops." 
These  are  simply  hot  glass  dropped  into 
water.  In  so  doing,  most  of  the  drops  burst 
to  pieces,  but  some  retain  a  pear  shape. 
These,  when  taken  out,  will  bear  a  smart 
blow  without  breaking ;  but  the  smallest 
break  at  the  stem  will  cause  the  whole  to 
fly  to  pieces  with  a  loud  explosion.  Bo- 
logna phials  are  formed  of  unannealed  glass 
4  or  5  inches  long,  and  J  inch  thick.  These 
will  bear  a  hard  blow,  or  a  bullet  may  be 
safely  dropped  in.  If,  however,  a  sharp 
fragment  of  sand  is  introduced,  the  phial 
will  fly  to  pieces.  Annealing  deprives  them 
of  these  qualities. 

From  the  annealing  kiln  the  tables  go  to 
the  warehouse,  and  are  there  assorted  ac- 
cording to  defects  and  qualities.  Each  one 
is  then  laid  in  turn  upon  a  "nest"  or  cush- 
ion, and  is  divided  by  a  diamond  into  two 
pieces,  one  of  which,  the  larger,  contains  the 
bull's  eye.  These  are  then  cut  into  square 
panes.  The  circular  shape  and  the  bull's 
eye  involve  much  waste  in  cutting.  The 
glass  thus  manufactured,  however,  has  a  re- 
markable brilliancy,  and  for  that  reason  it  is 
preferred  to  the  cylinder  process,  by  which, 
however,  larger  panes  are  made. 

The  cylinder  process  has  been  pursued  to 
a  great  extent  in  the  United  States.  It  is 
practised  by  a  number  of  workmen.  Some- 
times 10  are  arranged  side  by  side,  with  a 


raised  platform  extended  in  front  of  the  fur- 
naces 10  feet  above  the  bottom.  Standing 
upon  this,  each  man  gathers  a  proper  quantity 
of  metal  from  the  pot  before  him.  By  ap- 
plying the  lump  to  a  wooden  mould  and 
blowing,  it  takes  a  globe  form.  This  he 
heats,  and  then  holds  upon  the  pipe  verti- 
cally over  his  head,  at  the  same  time  blow- 
ing into  it.  This  causes  the  globe  to  flatten. 
It  is  then  held  down  so  as  to  swing  below 
the  platform  on  which  the  worker  stands. 
This,  with  continued  blowing,  causes  the 
glass  to  elongate  in  the  form  of  a  cylinder. 
The  workman  watches  with  care  lest  the 
elongation  should  proceed  too  rapidly,  in 
which  case  he  raises  it  again  over  his  head. 
This  operation  is  dexterously  continued  until 
the  cylinder  attains  47  inches  in  length,  and 
10  inches  in  diameter.  The  end  is  then 
softened  in  the  fire,  while  the  pipe  is  closed 
with  the  thumb.  The  air  within  the  cylin- 
der then  expands  so  as  to  burst  out  the  end. 
The  edges  of  the  opening  thus  caused  are 
then  spread  and  trimmed.  The  tube  end  is 
cut  off  when  the  glass  is  cool  by  the  applica- 
tion of  a  hot  iron,  and  letting  fall  a  drop  of 
water  on  the  heated  line.  The  cylinder  is 
now  to  be  cut  open  lengthwise  in  order  that 
it  may  be  flattened  out  into  a  pane.  For 
this  purpose  two  methods  may  be  employed 
— one  with  the  hot  iron  and  cold  water,  and 
the  other  by  a  diamond  applied  inside  the 
cylinder  along  a  rule.  The  cylinders  are 
now  carried  to  the  flattening  furnace,  where 
they  are  laid,  slit  uppermost,  on  the  flatten- 
ing stone.  Here,  as  they  soften,  they  open 
out,  and  a  workman  with  an  iron  rod  aids 
the  operation.  Another  at  the  same  time, 
with  a  rod  having  a  block  of  wood  at  the 
end  for  polishing  the  sheets,  works  down  the 
irregularities  of  the  surface.  The  sheet  is 
then  passed  into  the  annealing  oven.  In 
every  stage  of  this  process,  the  sheets  are 
exposed  to  imperfections,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, few  are  perfect.  Most  answer  for 
inferior  uses.  None  have  the  brilliancy  of 
crown  glass.  The  main  difficulty  is  in  the 
wrinkling.  The  glass  being  made  in  the 
cylinder  form,  the  inner  and  outer  surfaces 
are  of  unequal  lengths.  In  the  flattening 
out,  this  inequality  produces  undulations, 
called  cockles,  which  distort  objects  seen 
through  the  glass.  The  unevenness  also 
made  it  very  troublesome  to  polish  the  sur- 
face until  the  difficulty  was  overcome  by  the 
device  of  pressing  upon  each  sheet  soft 
leather,  which,  acting  like,  a  boy's  "  sucker," 


GLASS    MANUFACTURE. 


403 


adheres  to  the  glass  by  atmospheric  pressure. 
Two  plates  thus  held  are  laid  face  to  face, 
and,  by  the  action  of  machinery,  rapidly 
rubbed  together  with  the  intervention  of  pol- 
ishing sand  and  water.  By  this  means  a 
beautiful  polish  is  bestowed.. 

By  these  two  methods  of  manufacture 
most  of  the  glass  used  in  the  United  States 
is  produced.  For  the  city  dwellings  of  the 
more  wealthy,  as  well  as  for  the  large  stores 
and  shops,  plate  glass  is  used ;  but  the  de- 
mand is  small  compared  with  the  quantities 
used  in  the  United  States  for  the  rapidly 
multiplying  dwellings.  Thus  the  average 
number  of  square  feet  of  glass  for  a  dwelling 
may  be  placed  at  100.  The  number  of 
houses  in  the  United  States  in  1850  was 
3,363,427,  which  would  require,  in  round 
numbers,  336,000,000  feet.  In  1860  the 
number  of  dwellings  was  about  4,700,000, 
requiring  470,000,000  feet  of  glass,  or  an 
increase  of  134,000,000  feet  for  new  dwell- 
ings alone,  without  taking  into  account 
breakage,  rebuilding,  churches,  hot-houses, 
public  buildings,  etc.  The  value  of  the  new 
glass  required  would  be  about  $4,500,000. 
On  account  of  this  large  demand,  the  imports 
continue  considerable,  and  were  in  1858, 
19,734,439  square  feet,  at  a  value  of  $626,- 
747.  In  the  same  year  the  export  of  do- 
mestic glass  was  $214,608. 

Various  causes  affect  the  combination  and 
the  qualities  of  the  compounds.  The  alkali 
in  window  glass,  powdered  and  moistened,  is 
detected  by  its  action  upon  turmeric  paper, 
and  may  be  dissolved  out  by  boiling  water. 
Atmospheric  agents  sometimes  remove  it  in 
part  from  window  panes,  leaving  a  film  of 
silicate  of  lime.  The  glass  of  stable  windows 
is  liable  to  change  its  appearance  and  assume 
prismatic  colors  from  the  action  of  the  am- 
moniacal  vapors  upon  the  silica.  When 
moderately  heated,  glass  is  readily  broken  in 
any  direction  by  the  sudden  contraction  pro- 
duced by  the  prompt  application  of  a  cold 
body  to  its  surface.  It  is  divided,  when 
cold,  by  breaking  it  along  lines  cut  to  a 
slight  depth  by  a  diamond  or  some  other 
extremely  hard-pointed  body.  It  may  be 
bored  with  a  steel  drill  kept  slightly  mois- 
tened with  water,  which  forms  a  paste  with 
the  powder  produced.  Copper  tubes,  fed 
with  emery,  also  serve  to  bore  holes  in 
glass. 

As  very  large  panes  of  glass  could  be  made 
by  neither  of  the  above  methods,  the  large 
plate  glass  used  for  mirrors  and  for  shop 


windows  is  cast.  The  mixtures  employed 
do  not  vary  much  from  those  used  in  sheet 
glass.  A  larger  proportion  of  soda  is  used  ; 
but  this  pushed  to  excess  gives  a  greenish 
tinge.  The  greatest  care  is  taken  in  the  se- 
lection of  the  materials.  When  the  glass  is 
melted  in  the  pots,  it  is  ladled  into  cisterns 
or  cuvettes  placed  in  the  fire  by  the  side  of 
the  pots.  Some  manufacturers  allow  the 
metal  to  remain  fluid  in  the  pots  16  hours, 
and  an  equal  time  in  the  cuvettes  /  and 
in  some  cases,  in  order  to  allow  the  so- 
da to  volatilize  and  the  air  bubbles  to  es- 
cape, the  time  is  prolonged  to  48  hours. 
When  nearly  ready,  the  temperature  of  the 
glass  is  allowed  to  fall  in  order  that  the 
material  may  assume  a  pasty  consistency. 
Meantime,  the  casting  plate  is  prepared. 
This  is  usually  a  cast-iron  plate,  perhaps  7 
inches  thick,  11  feet  broad,  and  20  feet  long. 
It  has  raised  edges  to  prevent  the  glass  from 
flowing  off,  of  a  depth  proportioned  to  the 
proposed  thickness  of  the  glass  plate.  On  a 
level  with  this  table,  and  arranged  along  its 
side,  are  the  annealing  ovens.  Each  of  these 
is  16  feet  wide  and  40  feet  deep.  Hot  coals 
are  heaped  upon  the  plate  to  bring  it  to  a 
proper  temperature.  The  cistern  swung  on 
a  crane  is  then  approached  to  the  table, 
which  is  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  the  melted 
glass  carefully  skimmed  with  a  copper  blade. 
By  canting  the  cistern,  the  glass  is  then 
poured  upon  the  table.  A  copper  cylinder 
3  feet  in  diameter  extends  across  the  table, 
resting  on  the  raised  edges.  This,  being 
rolled  forward,  sweeps  before  it  the  excess 
of  glass,  spreading  the  whole  uniformly  of  a 
thickness  governed  by  the  raised  edges  of 
the  table.  The  effect  of  the  passage  of  the 
copper  roller  upon  the  brilliant  surface  of 
the  glass,  is  very  beautiful,  leaving,  as  it  does, 
a  splendid  play  of  colors.  The  superfluous 
glass  being  then  trimmed  from  the  edges, 
the  plate  is  thrust  forward  into  the  annealing 
oven  previously  raised  to  a  red  heat.  Suc- 
cessive plates  are  thus  cast  until  the  anneal- 
ing oven  is  full,  when  it  is  closed  up  and  left 
5  days  to  cool.  When  taken  from  the  oven 
the  plates  are  examined  for 'defects,  and  the 
mode  of  cutting  decided  upon  is  then  done 
with  a  diamond. 

There  are  many  modes  of  grinding  and 
polishing,  but  in  this,  as  in  most  other  arts, 
the  latest  improvement  is  an  American  in- 
vention, which,  highly  successful  here,  was 
introduced  into  England  in  1856.  A  circu- 
lar plate  of  cast  iron,  10  feet  in  diameter  and 


404 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRIES. 


2  inches  thick,  is  secured  upon  the  upper 
end  of  a  vertieal  shaft,  so  as  to  revolve  with 
it.  Above  the  table,  frames  are  arranged  to 
hold  the  plates  of  glass,  which  are  laid  in  a 
bed  of  plaster  of  Paris,  with  the  face  to  be 
polished  resting  upon  the  revolving  table. 
The  frames  are  so  arranged  that  the  friction 
of  the  table  upon  the  glass  causes  them  to 
revolve  so  as  to  present  every  portion  of  the 
glass  surface  to  an  equal  amount  of  rubbing. 
When  sand  is  required  to  grind  down  the 
glass,  it  is  fed  in  from  a  box  above  the 
frame.  This  is  found  to  be  the  best  mode  ; 
but  sometimes  the  surfaces  of  the  plates  are 
ground  together.  After  grinding,  they  are 
smoothed  with  emery  powders  of  successive 
fineness  until  they  are  ready  for  polishing. 
This,  in  the  American  machinery,  is  per- 
formed by  rings  coated  with  felt  and  screwed 
to  the  surface  of  the  iron  table.  Oxide  of 
iron  or  rouge  is  applied  to  the  felt  as  a  pol- 
ishing agency.  When  this  is  completed 
they  are  ready  for  silvering. 

In  the  process  of  silvering,  a  large  stone 
table  is  prepared  so  as  to  be  canted,  by  means 
of  a  screw  beneath  it,  on  one  side.  Around 
the  edges  of  the  table  is  a  groove,  in  which 
quicksilver  may  flow,  and  drop  from  one 
corner  into  bowls  placed  to  receive  it.  The 
table,  being  made  perfectly  horizontal,  is 
covered  with  tin  foil  carefully  laid  over  it. 
A  strip  of  glass  is  placed  along  each  of  three 
sides  of  the  foil  to  prevent  the  mercury  from 
flowing  off.  The  metal  is  then  with  ladles 
poured  upon  the  foil  until  it  is  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  deep,  and  its  tendency  to  flow  is 
checked  by  its  affinity  for  the  tin  foil.  The 
plate  of  glass,  well  cleaned,  is  dexterously 
slidden  on  from  the  open  side.  Its  advan- 
cing edge  is  carefully  kept  in  the  quicksilver, 
so  that  no  air  or  any  impurities  can  get  be- 
tween the  metal  and  the  glass.  When  ex- 
actly in  its  place  it  is  held  until  one  edge  of 
the  table  is  raised  10  or  15  degrees,  and  the 
superfluous  metal  has  run  off.  Heavy  weights 
are  then  placed  on  the  glass,  and  it  is  so  left 
several  hours.  It  is  then  turned  over,  and 
placed  upon  a  frame,  the  metal  uppermost, 
which  becomes  hard  in  the  course  of  sev- 
eral weeks.  Patents  have  been  taken  out 
for  precipitating  silver  upon  the  glass,  but 
lliis  process  is  not  so  successful  as  the  old. 

When  these  plates  are  used  for  shop  win- 
es <MV.S,  some  of  them  require  to  be  bent  in 
vUii  >us  manners.  This  is  a  separate  branch 
of  business,  and  is  carried  on  at  Newark,  N. 
J.,  extensively.  The  bed  is  made  of  suitable 


material,  on  the  floor  of  the  furnace,  and 
made  in  the  required  form.  The  sheet  of 
glass  is  laid  upon  this,  and  as  it  softens  in 
the  heat,  it  assumes  the  form  of  the  bed 
on  which  it  is  laid. 

The  manufacture  of  flint  glass  for  domes- 
tic purposes  requires  great  care  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  materials.  It  possesses  the 
properties  of  great  transparency  and  high 
refractive  power.  Its  brilliancy  and  density 
are  in  some  degree  due  to  the  introduction 
of  oxide  of  lead.  Oxide  of  zinc  has  also 
been  found  effective  for  the  same  purpose. 
In  order  to  protect  the  glass  from  effects  of 
smoke  or  other  elements  which  might  dis- 
color it,  it  is  melted  in  a  covered  pot,  with 
an  opening  in  a  short  neck  on  one  side. 
The  heat  is  made  very  intense  that  the  fusion 
may  be  rapid.  The  moment  fusion  and 
fiaing  have  thoroughly  taken  place,  the  heat 
is  reduced,  to  prevent  the  deleterious  action 
of  the  materials  of  the  vessel  upon  the  glass. 
In  the  United  States,  when  the  metal  is 
taken  out  by  the  workmen,  it  is  shaped  in 
the  required  form  by  pressing  into  a  die. 
For  this  purpose,  when  the  article  is  large, 
considerable  pressure  is  required.  The  ex- 
perience and  skill  of  the  workman  are  put 
to  the  test  in  taking  up  just  the  quantity  of 
metal  required  to  fill  the  mould,  which  is 
kept  at  a  red  heat.  The  objects,  being 
formed,  go  through  the  cutting  process,  as 
it  is  called,  but  really  the  grinding  proc- 
ess. Circular  stones  or  metallic  disks  are 
made  to  revolve,  being  fed  with  sand  and 
water  for  coarse  grinding,  and  emery  for 
finer  work.  The  marks  left  in  the  coarse 
grinding  are  removed  by  application  to 
wooden  revolving  wheels,  fed  with  pumice 
or  rotten-stone,  and  finally  with  putty  pow- 
der, a  preparation  of  tin  and  lead.  The 
fine  polishing  of  chandelier  drops,  and  sim- 
ilar ornaments,  is  effected  by  a  lead  wheel, 
supplied  with  rotten-stone  and  water.  Globes 
and  lamp  shades  are  polished  on  the  inside 
by  filling  them  with  sand,  and  placing  them 
in  a  drum,  which  revolves  rapidly  for  a 
length  of  time. 

The  glass  most  important  in  the  arts  is 
certainly  that  used  for  optical  instruments. 
Flint  and  crown  glass  are  both  used  for  that 
purpose,  but  both  have  their  defects.  Those 
of  the  former  arise  from  the  difficulty  of  ef- 
fecting uniform  fusion,  and  crown  glass  is 
seldom  possessed  of  the  requisite  uniformity 
of  texture.  These  difficulties^  were  so  great 
that,  until  the  early  part  of  the  present  cen- 


GLASS    MANUJ|ACTURE. 


405 


tury  lenses  larger  than  three  and  a  half  inches 
could  not  be  made.  At  that  time  a  Swiss 
clockmaker,  Guinand,  produced  them  as 
large  as  nine  inches,  of  the  greatest  perfec- 
tion. The  secret  remained  with  him  for  a 
long  time,  but  was  finally,  by  one  of  his  sons, 
imparted  to  M.  Bontemps,  who  in  1828  pro- 
duced lenses  of  twelve  to  fourteen  inches. 
The  secret  was  in  keeping  the  mixture  ac- 
tively stirred  when  liquid,  and  then  suffering 
it  to  cool  and  anneal  in  the  pot.  Lenses  are 
now  made  of  flint  glass  twenty-nine  inches 
in  diameter,  and  weighing  two  cwt. 

The  production  of  vessels  of  colored  glass 
is  conducted  in  a  very  ingenious  manner. 
The  coloring  matters  are  various.  Blue 
transparent  glass  is  made  with  2  Ibs.  oxide 
of  cobalt;  azure  blue,  4  Ibs.  oxide  of  cop- 
per; ruby  red,  4  ozs.  oxide  of  gold;  other 
colors  by  various  combinations.  Sometimes 
the  color  is  incorporated  merely  with  the 
outer  portion  of  the  glass.  This  is  effected 
in  the  blowing  by  dipping  the  lump  of  clear 
glass,  when  shaped  upon  the  marver,  into 
the  pot  of  melted  colored  glass,  and  then 
blowing  it  to  the  shape  required,  and  flash- 
ing out,  if  desired  to  convert  it  into  panes. 
The  color  may  afterward  be  reduced  in 
depth  by  grinding,  and  clear  spots  reached 
by  grinding  through  the  color.  In  the  proc- 
ess of  "  casing,"  a  portion  of  partially  blown 
flint  glass  is  inserted  into  a  thin  shell  of 
colored  glass,  and  then  blown  until  it  fills 
the  shell,  with  which  it  becomes  incorpo- 
rated by  heating  and  further  blowing ;  cas- 
ings of  different  colors  may  be  thus  applied. 
In  painting,  the  color,  mixed  with  a  flux 
that  will  fuse  at  a  lower  temperature  than 
the  glass,  and  with  boiled  oil,  is  laid  on  with 
a  brush  as  in  ordinary  painting,  or  by  blocks 
as  in  calico  printing.  The  glass  is  then 
heated,  when  the  flux  melts,  and  sinks  into 
the  body.  The  painting  of  glass  for  church 
windows  was  formerly  carried  to  a  high  de- 
gree of  excellence,  that  moderns  have  not 
been  "able  to  equal.  Although  the  receipts 
have  been  preserved  in  ancient  treatises,  the 
process  has  been  lost. 

Enamelled  glass  has  of  late  been  much 
used.  The  glass  of  the  New  York  Crys- 
tal Palace  is  an  illustration.  In  this  proc- 
ess the  enamel  substance  is  ground  to  an 
impalpable  powder,  and  then  laid  with  a 
brush,  in  a  pasty  state,  upon  the  glass.  Af- 
ter the  paste  is  dried,  the  ornament  is  etched 
out  either  by  hand  or  by  machinery.  The 
glass  being  then  softened  in  the  intense  heat 


of  the  furnace,  the  enamel  becomes  vitrified 
and  incorporated  with  it.  It  then  passes  to 
the  annealing  furnace.  This  process  was  in- 
vented by  Mr.  William  Cooper,  of  the  firm 
of  Cooper  &  Belcher,  New  York,  whose  ex- 
tensive works  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  supplied 
60,000  feet  for  the  New  York  Crystal  Palace. 
Another  variety,  the  flocked,  has  now  come 
more  into  use.  The  process  is  nearly  the 
same,  except  that  a  smooth  opaque  surface 
is  given  to  the  glass  before  the  enamel  is  ap- 
plied. 

Soluble  glass  has  been  made  of  later  years 
of  equal  parts  silica  and  caustic  potash.  This 
is  soluble  in  boiling  water,  and  is  used  ex- 
tensively for  making  buildings  and  all  com- 
bustible bodies  fire-proof. 

In  the  manufacture  of  bottles,  the  metal, 
on  being  withdrawn  from  the  melting  pot 
on  the  end  of  the  blowing  tube,  is,  if  for 
common  black  bottles,  shaped  in  concavities 
that  are  made  in  the  edge  of  the  marver. 
Fine  bottles  of  flint  glass  are  shaped  in 
moulds  of  brass  or  iron,  which  are  made  in 
two  parts  hinged  together,  so  that  they  may 
be  opened  and  shut  with  the  foot.  Bottles 
for  champagne,  soda  water,  etc.,  are  made 
of  extraordinary  strength,  and  tested  before 
using  by  hydraulic  pressure.  They  ought  to 
support,  for  this  purpose,  a  pressure  of  40 
atmospheres,  or  600  Ibs.  on  the  square  inch. 
Notwithstanding  the  great  strength  with 
which  they  are  usually  made,  the  breakage 
in  the  manufacture  of  champagne  is  rated  at 
30  per  cent. 

The  glass  is  drawn  out  into  tubes  in  a 
manner  that  illustrates  the  curious  manipu- 
lations of  the  metal.  The  workman,  with 
his  blowing  tube,  accumulates  a  certain 
quantity  by  successive  dips  into  the  melt- 
ing pot.  This  is  then  blown  into  a  globe. 
Another  workman  then  takes  hold  with  a 
pontil,  at  a  point  exactly  opposite  the  blow- 
ing tube.  The  two  men  then  separate,  and 
the  globe  contracts  in  the  middle,  which  be- 
ing drawn  out  to  the  size  of  the  tube  desired, 
cools,  and  the  hotter  portions  successively 
yield  to  the  drawing,  until  a  tube  of  100 
feet  or  more  hangs  between  the  workmen. 
The  diameter  of  the  bore  retains  its  propor- 
tion to  the  thickness  of  the  glass ;  hence 
thin  tubes  must  be  drawn  from  globes  blown 
to  a  large  size.  These  tubes  of  colored  glass 
may  be  converted  into  beads.  Beads  have 
always  been  a  great  element  in  the  trade 
with  the  North  American  Indians,  being 
highly  prized  by  them. 


406 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


INDIA-RUBBER  AND  ITS  MANUFACTURE. 

ONE  of  the  most  remarkable  American 
discoveries  of  the  present  century  is,  un- 
doubtedly, the  mode  of  manufacturing  and 
applying  the  article  known  to  commerce  as 
"India-rubber,"  but  which,  among  the  peo- 
ple of  South  America,  is  called  "caout- 
chouc." The  article  in  question  is  a  gum 
procured  from  a  peculiar  tree  in  the  hottest 
regions  of  the  equator.  The  tree  which 
yields  this  gum  in  the  East  Indies  is  some- 
what different  from  that  which  produces  it 
in  the  equatorial  regions  of  South  America. 
The  former  ("  ficus  elastica")  is  represented 
in  an  engraving  on  another  page.  Although 
the  gum  was  used  in  a  rude  fashion  since 
many  ages  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  countries 
which  produce  it  (and  it  had  been  known 
to  commerce  for  a  long  time,  having  been 
discovered  by  a  French  philosopher  in 
1736),  it  is  only  within  20  years  that  its 
value  has  been  appreciated.  In  that  time, 
under  the  genius  of  American  manufacturers, 
it  has  risen  to  a  rank  equal,  perhaps,  to  that  of 
iron  and  glass  among  the  materials  that  admin- 
ister to  the  necessities  and  comforts  of  man. 

In  the  forests  of  equatorial  South  America 
the  "  siphonia  elastica"  grows  to  a  height  of 
60  or  70  feet,  and  is  covered  with  a  scaly 
bark.  It  bears  a  fruit,  which  encloses  a 
white  almond  highly  esteemed  by  the  na- 
tives. A  slight  wound  on  this  tree  causes 
the  sap  to  flow  freely,  thick,  white,  and  unc- 
tuous, like  the  sap  of  the  milk-weed.  On 
being  exposed  to  the  air,  this  soon  becomes 
solid.  This  sap  is  collected  by  the  natives, 
who  make  a  longitudinal  cut  in  the  centre 
of  the  tree,  and  lateral  cuts  leading  diago- 
nally into  it.  At  the  bottom  of  the  perpen- 
dicular cut  a  banana  leaf  is  placed  to  con- 
duct the  sap,  as  it  flows,  into  a  vessel  placed 
to  receive  it.  .  The  sap  is  used  for  the  for- 
mation of  bottles,  boots,  shoes,  and  various 
articles.  The  process  is  to  form  the  figure 
of  the  thing  desired  in  CI.HV,  and  cover  it  on 
the  outside  with  inuny  coats  of  the  gum,  ex- 
posing it  to  fire  to  dry.  When  the  desired 
thickness  is  obtained,  the  mould  is  soaked 
out  in  water,  and  the  article  is  ready  for  use. 
Clumsy  shoes,  rudely  fashioned  in  this  man- 
ner, were  long  an  article  of  importation  from 
Para  into  the  United  States,  and  extensively 
sold  down  to  within  20  years.  There  was 
little  other  use  made  of  the  article  except  to 
erase  pencil  marks,  and  for  which  purpose 
was  charged  50  cents  for  £  a  cubic  inch.  The 


nature  of  the  gum  did  not,  however,  long 
fail  to  become  an  object  of  research.  The 
learned  decided  that  it  was  neither  gum  nor 
resin,  but  of  a  peculiar  nature  analogous  to 
resin,  from  which  it  differed  in  not  being 
soluble  in  alcohol.  Many  attempts  to  make 
it  useful  in  the  arts  were  made,  and  finally  it 
was  found  that  by  dissolving  it  in  volatile 
oil  there  was  obtained  a  sort  of  varnish  very 
useful  in  making  certain  tissues  and  fabrics 
water-proof.  A  thin  coat,  placed  between 
two  sheets  of  stuff,  caused  them  to  adhere 
closely  and  made  them  impervious  as  well 
to  water  as  to  air.  This  application  of  it 
was  made  in  the  manufacture  of  mattresses, 
cushions,  pillows,  boots,  bottles,  etc.  A  so- 
lution in  linseed  oil  is  called  an  excellent  var- 
nish for  making  leather  water-tight.  The 
best  solvents  are  said,  however,  to  be  oil  of 
turpentine,  coal,  naphtha,  and  benzole.  Al- 
cohol will  not  dissolve  it,  but  will  precipitate 
it  from  ether.  Another  solvent  is  of  rubber 
itself,  called  caoutchoucin.  It  is  produced 
by  exposing  rubber  to  a  heat  of  60U°,  when 
it  goes  off  in  a  vapor,  which,  being  con- 
densed, produces  the  solvent.  All  these 
applications,  however,  utilized  only  one 
of  the  distinguishing  properties  of  rub- 
ber, viz.,  its  imperviousness  to  water.  An 
inventor,  however,  by  the  aid  of  a  new 
solvent,  found  means  to  spin  threads  of  the 
rubber  of  various  degrees  of  fineness  and 
strength.  These  threads,  covered  with  tex- 
tile fabrics — silk,  wool,  cotton,  or  linen — be- 
came light  and  supple  tissues  of  extraor- 
dinary elasticity.  This  opened  the  way  to 
an  immense  number  of  employments. 

In  some  machines  the  rubber  is  kneaded, 
and  compressed  in  various  ways,  and  finally 
a  number  of  the  balls  thus  treated  are  brought 
together  and  powerfully  squeezed  by  a  screw 
press  in  cast-iron  moulds,  in  which,  being 
firmly  secured,  the  mass  is  left  several  days. 
This  process  is  somewhat  modified  in  differ- 
ent establishments.  In  some,  the  cleaned 
shreds  are  rolled  into  sheets,  from  which 
threads  and  thin  rubber  are  sliced  by  the 
application  of  suitable  knives,  worked  by 
machines,  and  kept  wet.  The  sheets  are  at 
once  ready  for  the  purpose  to  which  this 
form  is  applied,  or,  by  machinery  of  great 
ingenuity,  they  are  cut  into  long  threads  of 
any  desired  degree  of  fineness.  If  then  re- 
quired to  be  joined,  a  clean  oblique  cut  is 
made,  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  and  the  parts 
being  brought  together,  readily  and  perfectly 
unite  by  the  pressure  of  the  fingers.  As 


MACHINE    FOR   WASHIXO    IXDIA-RUBBER. 


INDIA- If  U  BEER   GRINDING   MILL. 


,  f'E   GREAT   CALENI-'EB    MACHINE. 


rices  KLAsric:A,  Fito:.i  THE 

EAST   INDIES. 


CUTTING   RUBBER   I*;TO   SLABS   FOE   THE 
WASHING    MACHINES. 


INDIA-RUBBER    AND    ITS    MANUFACTURE. 


409 


the  threads  are  reeled  off,  they  are  elongated 
about  eight  times  their  original  length  by 
passing  through  the  hands  of  a  boy,  and  by 
the  same  operation  they  are  deprived  of 
their  elasticity.  After  remaining  on  the  reel 
some  days,  they  are  wound  upon  bobbins, 
and  are  then  ready  for  weaving  and  braiding. 
The  threads  are  of  different  fineness.  A 
pound  of  caoutchouc  can,  by  one  machine, 
be  made  into  8000  yards  of  thread.  This 
may,  by  another,  be  divided  by  4,  making 
32,000  yards.  Elastic  braids  are  these 
threads  covered  with  silk  and  other  mate- 
rial. In  woven  fabrics,  caoutchouc  thread 
makes  the  warp,  alternately  with  threads  of 
stuff  to  receive  the  extreme  strain  that  would 
destroy  the  rubber,  and  the  other  materials 
form  the  weft,  or  cross-threads.  When  wo- 
ven, a  hot  iron  is  passed  over  the  stuff,  and 
this  causes  the  rubber  to  regain  its  elasticity. 
Another  mode  of  forming  the  threads  per- 
fectly round  and  smooth,  is  to  convert  the 
caoutchouc  into  a  soft  paste.  This  is  done 
by  macerating  it  for  some  hours  with  about 
twice  its  weight  of  sulphuret  of  carbon,  add- 
ing 5  per  cent,  of  alcohol.  The  paste  is  well 
kneaded  by  compressing  it  through  dia- 
phragms of  wire  gauze,  placed  in  cylinders, 
and  is  then  forced  through  a  line  of  small 
holes  at  the  bottom  of  another  cylinder. 
The  threads,  as  they  issue,  are  taken  on  a 
web  of  velvet,  from  which  they  pass  to 
another  of  common  cloth,  and  are  carried 
slowly  along  for  600  to  700  feet,  when  be- 
coming dry  and  hard  by  the  evaporation 
of  the  solvent,  they  are  received  in  a  little 
cup.  The  threads  produced  of  vulcanized 
rubber  retain  their  elasticity,  and  are,  when 
woven,  kept  stretched  by  weights.  On  re- 
leasing them,  the  material  woven  with  them 
is  drawn  back,  producing  shirred  or  corru- 
gated fabrics. 

Caoutchouc  supplanted  the  metal  elastics 
for  many  purposes,  since  it  would  not  cor- 
rode in  moisture.  It  was  at  once  in  demand 
for  suspenders,  garters,  corsets,  and  number- 
less appurtenances  of  apparel. 

It  came  to  be  used  foj  water-proofing 
cloths,  surgical  instruments  of  all  kinds, 
elastic  bands,  in  the  arts  and  trades.  Book- 
binders have  used  it  for  securing  the  leaves 
in  books,  imparting  flexibility  and  freedom 
to  the  opening  volumes.  In  thin  sheets,  it 
has  been  used  for  taking  impressions  of 
engravings.  In  this  form,  also,  it  is  an  ex- 
cellent material  for  covering  the  mouths  of 
bottles,  and  similar  applications  requiring 


the  exclusion  of  air  and  moisture.  Pre- 
pared with  other  ingredients,  it  forms  a  ma- 
rine glue  unsurpassed  in  adhesiveness  when 
applied  to  wood.  A  pound  of  fine  rubber 
is  dissolved  in  four  gallons  of  rectified  eoal- 
tar  naphtha  and  well  mixed.  In  ten  or  twelve 
days  this  will  attain  the  consistency  of  cream, 
when  an  equal  weight  of  shellac  is  added. 
It  is  then  heated  in  an  iron  vessel  having  a 
discharge  pipe  at  the  bottom.  As  it  melts, 
it  is  kept  well  stirred,  and  the  liquid  flowing 
out  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  thin  sheets. 
When  it  is  applied,  it  is  heated  to  248°  and 
applied  with  a  brush,  and  retained  soft  un- 
til the  jointing  is  made,  by  passing  heated 
rollers  over  the  surface.  This  has  been,  it  is 
said,  applied  to  masts  of  vessels,  which  have 
been  so  firmly  spliced  that  fractures  take 
place  in  the  new  wood  sooner  than  to  sepa- 
rate the  glued  portion ;  and  it  has  been  held 
that  parts  of  vessels  may  be,  by  these  means, 
so  firmly  put  together  that  iron  bolts  would 
be  unnecessary. 

Rubber  has  been  made  use  of  for  paving 
stables,  lobbies,  and  halls,  here,  as  well  as 
in  England,  where  Windsor  Castle  carriage- 
way is  so  paved.  There  are  a  multitude  of 
uses  for  the  material,  such  as  baths,  dishes 
for  photograph  and  chemical  purposes,  tele- 
graph wire  covers,  boots,  shoes,  toys,  life- 
preservers,  clothing,  furniture  covers,  travel- 
ling bags,  tents,  beds,  water  pails.  It  is 
being  constantly  applied  to  new  uses,  as  the 
chemical  modes  of  treating  the  article  de- 
velop new  properties. 

The  uses  of  the  article  were,  however, 
still  comparatively  limited.  The  water-proof 
qualities  were,  to  some  extent,  availed  of,  and 
its  elasticity  was  ingeniously  applied  in  many 
minor  directions.  The  native  article  itself 
was  still  an  impracticable  object  in  the  man- 
ufacture. It  had  baffled  the  philosopher, 
the  chemist,  and  the  artisan  in  investigating 
its  nature  and  in  controlling  its  properties. 
Repeated  attempts  were  made  to  transport 
the  pure  juice  or  gum  to  Europe,  there  to 
be  operated  upon,  but  without  success,  since 
it  was  found  that  it  rapidly  degenerated.  A 
method  of  doing  this  was  finally  devised  by 
Mr.  Lee  Norris,  of  New  York.  The  liquor 
is  first  filtered  and  mixed  with  I  its  own 
weight  of  ammonia.  On  being  poured  out 
on  any  smooth  surface,  and  exposed  to  a 
temperature  of  70°  or  100°  of  heat,  the  am- 
monia, which  had  preserved  it  from  the  ac- 
tion of  the  atmosphere,  is  evaporated,  and 
leaves  the  gum  in  the  form  of  the  object 


410 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


which  holds  it.  Its  intractable  nature  was 
finally,  however,  conquered  by  Charles  Good- 
year, who  controlled  it,  apparently,  as  Rarey 
does  horses,  viz.,  by  producing  the  result 
without  any  one  being  able  to  explain  the 
phenomenon.  Mr.  Goodyear  spent  20  years 
of  the  most  unremitting  toil  in  experiment- 
ing upon  India-rubber,  and  finally  discovered 
that  a  mixture  of  sulphur,  white  lead,^,nd 
caoutchouc,  exposed  to  regulated  tempera- 
ture from  8  to  12  hours,  becomes  "vulcan- 
ized," or  an  entire  new  substance  unlike  any 
other.  The  native  rubber,  being  exposed  to 
the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  is  destroyed  ; 
but  those  agencies  have  no  effect  on  the 
same  article  vulcanized.  The  liquids  which 
dissolve  the  pure  rubber  do  not  influence  the 
new  article,  which,  however,  acquires  a  far 
higher  degree  of  elasticity  —  becomes,  in 
fact,  an  "elastic  metal."  The  article,  when 
put  into  the  heaters,  is  a  tough,  sticky,  une- 
lastic  dough.  It  comes  out  endowed  with  a 
high  degree  of  elasticity,  insensible  to  heat, 
or  cold,  or  solvents,  and  applicable  to  almost 
every  want  of  life.  It  has  been  since  dis- 
covered that  the  white  lead  contributes  but 
little  to  the  change  undergone  in  the  heat- 
ers, the  cause  or  manner  of  which  has  baf- 
fled the  skill  of  the  most  scientific  chemists 
in  this  country  or  Europe.  In  mixing  the 
proportions  of  the  compounds,  reference  has 
always  been  made  to  the  nature  of  the  ob- 
jects to  be  manufactured.  The  form  and 
adaptation  of  the  articles  are  perfected  before 
the  "vulcanizing."  The  general  mode  of 
preparing  the  rubber  is  the  same.  The  rub- 
ber imported  from  the  East  Indies  is  said  to 
be  of  a  stronger  fibre  than  that  of  South 
America,  and  the  gum  is  selected  in  accord- 
ance with  the  manufacture  proposed.  It  is 
imported  in  rude  masses,  in  which  sticks, 
leaves,  and  dirt  are  thickly  mingled.  These 
are  about  2  feet  long  and  1  foot  thick.  The 
first  process  that  the  gum  undergoes  is  the 
expensive  and  laborious  one  of  cleaning,  by 
which  the  mass  loses  about  1  of  its  weight. 
A  large  vat  is  filled  with  hot  water,  and  in 
this  the  rubber  remains  until  the  exterior  is 
sufficiently  softened  to  allow  of  the  removal 
of  the  coarse  basket-work  that  covers  and 
adheres  closely  to  it.  When  this  is  done, 
the  lumps  are,  by  means  of  a  circular  knife 
of  a  diameter  of  4  feet,  revolving  with  great 
speed  under  the  influence  of  powerful  ma- 
chinery, cut  into  slabs  about  1  inch  thick. 
The  engraving  will  give  a  good  Mea  of  the 
operation.  These  slabs  a^-o  then  carried  to 


the  "  cracker,"  of  which  an  illustration  will 
be  found  on  another  page.  This  is  formed 
of  two  large  cylinders  grooved  longitudinally, 
and  revolving  slowly  but  irresistibly.  Between 
these  the  slabs,  as  they  are  passed,  are  elon- 
gated and  twisted,  by  which  operation  much 
of  the  dirt  and  bark  works  out.  The 
stretched  slabs  are  then  taken  to  the  wash- 
ing machine,  where  numerous  sharp  knives, 
revolving  under  the  water,  cut  it  into  small 
pieces,  as  seen  in  the  baskets  on  the  right  of 
the  illustration,  which,  at  the  same  time,  are 
kneaded  and  washed  until  they  are  thor- 
oughly cleansed.  They  are  then  ready  for 
the  grinding  machine.  This  consists  of 
large  hollow  cylinders,  made  of  cast  iron, 
and  revolving  in  opposite  directions.  The 
small  pieces  that  come  from  the  washing 
machine,  being  fed  in,  are  kneaded  by  the 
cylinders  again  into  thick  sheets  or  mats. 
With  this  process  the  preparation  is  sus- 
pended for  several  months  in  order  to  allow 
the  mats  to  be  thoroughly  dried  and  cured 
by  the  action  of  the  air.  This  involves  the 
necessity  of  keeping  on  hand  a  large  stock 
of  rubber. 

When  the  rubber  is  quite  cured,  it  is  taken 
to  the  mixing  machines,  where  it  is  to  be 
combined  with  the  various  metals  and  sub- 
stances to  which  the  metallic  rubber  owes  its 
peculiar  properties.  The  mixing  machines, 
like  most  of  those  used  in  the  manufacture, 
are  hollow  revolving  cylinders.  The  mixing 
cylinders  are  of  great  size  and  strength,  and 
acquire  the  necessary  heat  to  work  the  rub- 
ber from  the  steam  let  in  at  the  ends.  These, 
revolving  toward  each  other,  knead  the 
rubber  like  dough.  In  the  process,  a  con- 
stant series  of  explosions,  like  pistol-shots,  is 
caused  by  the  air  confined  in  the  folds  of 
the  substance  being  forced  out  by  the  action 
of  the  cylinders.  This,  on  a  grand  scale, 
repeats  the  boy's  amusement  of  chewing 
rubber  soft  in  order  to  explode  on  his  fist 
the  air- bubbles  created  in  it.  As  the  rub- 
ber softens  under  this  action,  the  workman 
slowly  mixes  in  the  various  substances  re- 
quired. These  consist  mostly  of  sulphur,  to 
which  are  added  the  oxides  of  various  metals, 
zinc,  lead,  iron,  etc.  Here  the  greatest  skill 
of  the  manufacturer  is  brought  into  requisi- 
tion. Every  quality  of  rubber  requires  a 
different  compound,  and  every  difference  in 
the  compound  requires  a  different  treatment 
in  the  subsequent  stages  of  the  manufacture. 
Thus  prepared,  the  substance  is  ready  to  be 
moulded  aud  shaped  into  the  various  forms 


INDIA-KUBBER    AND    ITS    MANUFACTURE. 


411 


in  which  it  is  to  be  finally  perfected  and 
used.  The  modes  of  preparation  are  various, 
according  to  the  ultimate  object — whether 
that  may  be  for  it  to  assume  the  form  of  the 
hard,  unelastic  comb,  a  door  spring,  a  steam 
valve,  a  carpet,  or  any  of  the  thousand  shapes 
it  is  made  to  take. 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  dis- 
covery, great  as  it  was,  was  but  the  first  step 
in  the  great  series  of  improvements  that  has 
resulted  from  it.  After  1 8  years  of  incessant 
labor,  Mr.  Goodyear  had  perfected  a  raw 
material — but  a  raw  material  for  what  ?  It 
was  necessary  to  know  to  what  articles  it 
could  be  applied  before  there  could  be  any 
demand  for  it;  until  then  it  was  of  no  market- 
able value.  It  was  necessary  to  invent  or  dis- 
cover all  the  uses  to  which  it  might  be  ap- 
plied. The  shoe  business  was  the  first  to 
make  it  available ;  but  since  then,  vast  as 
has  been  the  number  of  manufactures  based 
on  it,  discoveries  are  being  daily  made  to 
extend  it. 

The  manufacture  of  "belting"  and  "hose" 
is  a  very  large  business.  The  belts  are 
used  for  driving  machinery,  and  are  superior 
to  every  other  means.  They  are  stronger 
than  the  best  sole  leather,  and  adhere  to 
the  drum  or  pulley  with  a  tenacity  that 
prevents  slipping.  This  manufacture  is  a 
peculiar  process.  Cotton  duck,  similar  to 
that  of  which  sails  are  made,  is  woven  in  a 
mode  to  give  double  the  usual  strength  lon- 
gitudinally. This  duck  is  impregnated  with 
the  rubber,  under  the  influence  of  powerful 
machinery,  which  drives  the  substance 
through  and  through  its  meshes.  It  is  then 
taken  to  the  calender  machine,  seen  in  the 
engraving.  The  large  cylinders  of  which  it 
is  composed  have  a  perfectly  polished  sur- 
face. The  rubber  having  gone  through  the 
mixing  process,  is  in  the  shape  of  sticky, 
slate-colored  dough,  and  passing  through 
the  calenders,  is  rolled  out  into  a  perfectly 
even  sheet,  upon  the  prepared  duck.  When 
this  is  completed,  the  "  bolts"  are  taken  to 
the  belt-room,  spread  out  upon  tables  100 
feet  long,  and  cut  into  the  strips  desired  for 
the  various  kinds  of  belting.  For  one  of 
great  strength,  several  of  the  strips  are 
placed  one  upon  the  other,  and  then  pressed 
together  with  immense  power,  by  rolling- 
machines  ;  thus  giving  them  the  strength  of 
metal,  with  the  peculiar  friction  surface 
found  only  in  rubber.  The  belts  are  now 
ready  for  the  heaters.  These  are  long  steam 
boilers,  the  door  of  which  being  opened, 


there  is  drawn  out  a  long  railway  carriage. 
On  this  are  placed  the  goods,  which  are 
then  rolled  in,  the  boiler  closed,  and  steam 
admitted.  In  from  8  to  12  hours,  the  sin- 
gular transformation  known  as  vulcanizing, 
takes  place. 

The  manufacture  of  "  Croton  hose "  is 
similar.  A  long  iron  tube,  of  the  proper 
diameter  (and  hose  is  made  from  i  inch  to 
12  inches)  is  covered  with  a  sheet  of  care- 
fully-prepared rubber.  This,  however,  in- 
tended to  be  pliable,  would  not  of  itself  be 
of  sufficient  strength  to  sustain  a  strong 
head  of  water,  hence  it  is  covered  with 
webs  of  cloth  prepared  in  the  manner  of 
the  belting  duck.  When  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  folds  have  been  applied  to  give  the  re- 
quired strength,  an  outside  covering  of  pure 
rubber  is  applied.  A  heater  of  immense 
length  then  receives  the  pipes,  with  the 
hose  on  them,  to  be  cured  by  the  same 
process  as  the  belts.  The  hose  is  then 
drawn  off  the  pipe  to  be  subjected  to  proof. 
This  hose  will  withstand  a  pressure  that 
will  burst  the  most  powerful  leather  hose. 

One  of  the  most  useful  applications  of  vul- 
canized India-rubber,  is  steam  packing.  The 
vulcanized  rubber  is  the  only  material  that 
will  preserve  its  elasticity  and  counteract  the 
expansion  and  contraction  of  metals  exposed 
to  the  heat,  of  steam,  thus  making  a  joint 
perfectly  steam-tight.  It  is  used  to  pack 
round  piston  rods  in  steam  machines ;  to 
place  between  the  iron  plates  of  steam  pipes, 
wherever  a  joint  is  required;  for  gaskets, 
valves,  and  rings.  Some  ocean  steamers 
have  huge  rubber  valves,  five  feet  in  diam- 
eter, which  play  up  and  down  in  the  vast 
cylinder,  opening  and  shutting  like  the 
valves  of  a  colossal  artery.  The  use  of 
rubber  is  now  so  great  a  necessity,  wherever 
steam  is  used,  that  the  mind  wonders  how 
it  could  ever  have  been  dispensed  with.  It 
is  not  only  steam,  however,  but  every  branch 
of  mechanics  that  demands  its  presence,  in 
the  shape  of  sheets,  plates,  rings,  hollow  el- 
lipses, of  all  imaginable  forms  and  sizes,  of 
which  none  but  a  mechanic  can  conceive 
the  number  applicable  to  his  own  art. 

The  use  of  rubber  for  car-springs  has  be- 
come almost  universal.  The  high  degree  of 
elasticity  which  the  sulphur  imparts,  makes 
that  application  an  admirable  one,  and  the 
more  so  that  it  does  not  lose  the  elasticity 
by  prolonged  use. 

The  "  elastic  metal "  supplants  the  rigid 
one  in  numberless  uses.  House-sinks,  in- 


412 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


stead  of  cast  iron,  are  now  formed  of  rub- 
ber, without  joint  or  seam ;  and  these  are 
far  less  fatal  to  the  china  washed  in  them, 
than  were  the  metal  ones.    Springs  for  doors, 
from  this  material,  supplant  all  others.  These, 
for  churches,  are  so  arranged  that  the  door 
may  be  closed,  or  held  open  to  a  desired 
distance.      For  bed-springs,  it  has  become 
the  most    desirable,  durable,  and  luxurious 
material.     Carpets  and  mats  for  halls,  stair- 
ways, and  public  rooms,  are  formed  of  it,  of 
infinite  variety  and  usefulness.     The  mixture 
of  lead  in  the  compound  was  found  to  make 
it  more  compact  and  heavy,  but  the  pecul- 
iar properties  are  apparently  attained  as  well 
without  the  use  of  the  lead.     The  combina- 
tion with  sulphur  has  been  effected  by  ex- 
posing the  material  to  the  action  of  sulphur- 
ous fluids,  as  the  sulphuret  of  carbon  and 
the  chloride  of  sulphur.     An  immersion  of 
one  or  two  minutes,  in  a  mixture  composed 
of  40  parts  of  sulphuret  of  carbon  to  1   of 
chloride  of  sulphur,  kept  at  the  usual  high 
heat,  will  produce   the  vulcanization ;    and 
pressed  into  moulds  while  at  the  high  heat, 
the  form   becomes   permanent    when    cold. 
For  the  purpose  of  imparting  that  hardness 
which  is   manifest   in   combs,  fancy  boxes, 
canes,  buttons,  knife-handles,  and  all  those 
forms  in  which  it  has  supplanted  bone,  shell, 
and  ivory,  magnesia  is  introduced.      It  is 
stated  that  sulphur,  in  the  proportion  of  one 
to  three,  will   impart   the   hardness   if  the 
high   temperature  is  sustained   for   a   suffi- 
cient length  of  time.     The  magnesia  gives 
a  lighter  color  to  the  articles  in  which  it  is 
compounded.     In  the  manufacture,  articles 
to  be  heated  are  buried  in  pulverized  soap- 
stone,  by  the  introduction  of  highly  heated 
steam.     The  ingenuity  of  chemists  and  me- 
chanics is  still  actively  stimulated  to  pro- 
duce  new   compositions   and    new   results, 
not  only  in  the  properties  that  result  from 
new  compounds  and  varied  proportions,  but 
in  the  applications  of  which  they  are  sus- 
ceptible.    Vast   as   are   the  resources   that 
rubber  opens  to  the  arts  and  to  trade,  it  may 
be  said  yet  to  be  in  its  infancy.     The  effect 
upon  the  commerce  of  the  country  is  seen  in 
the  following  table.     The  largest  proportion 
of  caoutchouc  used  in  the  world  comes  from 
South  America. 

Rubber  Shoes  exported.           Other           Tota 

Tears.  Imported.  Pairs.          Value,  rubber  goods,    value 

1856    $1  143,372  625.220      $427,936     $665,602    $1,093.538 

1S57  .    1,012,643  537,238        831,125        312,387         643,512 

lSu8..       755,828  247,380        115,931         197,448        813,379 

There  have  been  great  vicissitudes  in  the 


manufacture  of  goods  under  Goodyear's  pat- 
nts.  Numbers  of  companies  have  been 
formed  in  Connecticut,  New  York,  Newark, 
New  Brunswick,  Millstone,  N.  J.,  and  else- 
where. Some  of  these  have  been  highly 
successful,  and  others  have  sunk  their  capi- 
tals. These  companies  now  have  a  common 
agency  for  the  sale  of  their  goods,  under 
;ertain  regulations  and  restrictions,  by  which 
the  ruinous  effects  of  competition  are  abol- 
ished. The  progress  of  the  manufacture  has 
been  very  rapid.  In  1850,  the  value  of  the 
rubber  goods  made  in  the  United  States 
was  $3,024,335.  In  1860,  it  amounted  to 

,642,700,  an  increase  of  86'6  per  cent. 
The  number  of  establishments  had  diminish- 
ed, but  they  employed  a  larger  capital,  used 
more  raw  material,  and  made  a  much  larger 
quantity  of  goods.  Since  1860  the  manu- 
facture has  nearly  or  quite  doubled.  The 
hard  rubber,  or  vulcanite,  is  used  for  jewelry, 
buttons,  dress  ornaments,  pencils,  canes,  &c. 

Gutta  percha  is  used  extensively  for  sim- 
ilar purposes  as  the  caoutchouc,  and  is  pre- 
pared in  the  same  manner  by  Goodyear's 
process.  It  is  a  gum  found  in  the  trees  of 
the  Malay  peninsula,  and  procured  in  the 
same  manner  as  caoutchouc.  European  at- 
tention was  first  called  to  it  in  1842,  and  it 
began  to  be  imported  in  1844.  Its  chemi- 
cal composition  is  identical  with  that  of 
India-rubber,  except  that  it  contains  oxygen, 
which  rubber  does  not.  It  has  a  number  of 
qualities  that  make  it  preferable  for  certain 
uses.  It  is  a  bad  conductor,  and  is  there- 
fore very  applicable  as  a  covering  for  tele- 
graph wires,  and  its  peculiar  acoustic  prop- 
erties make  it  valuable  for  speaking-tubes 
in  public  houses  and  large  establishments. 
The  application  of  gutta  percha  to  the  coat- 
ing of  telegraph  wires  is  claimed  by  Mr. 
Samuel  J.  Armstrong,  of  New  York,  who 
for  that  purpose  modified  the  machinery  for 
gutta  percha  tubing.  The  first  machinery 
built  for  that  purpose  was  in  1848,  and  the 
first  wire  so  coated  was  laid  across  the  Hud- 
son river,  at  Fort  Lee,  in  August,  1849,  for 
the  Morse  Telegraph  Company.  This  ma- 
chinery was  furtively  carried  to  England, 
and  there  used  for  the  Atlantic  Telegraph. 
The  articles  made  of  gutta  percha  alone,  or 
mixed  with  other  substances,  are  of  very 
great  variety — ornaments,  vessels,  articles  of 
clothing,  fancy  articles,  surgical  articles, 
dentists'  and  numerous  other  articles.  Ves- 
sels have  also  been  made  of  it,  and  its  uses 
are  being  daily  multiplied. 


SEWING-    MACHINES. 


413 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


THE  description  of  labor  which  is  the 
most  general  is,  probably,  that  of  sewing, 
since  all  women  take  part  in  it  more  or  less, 
and  they  are  aided  in  the  heavier  work  by 
men.  All  human  clothing,  bedding,  uphol- 
stery, <kc.,  require  more  or  less  sewing  in 
their  manufacture,  and  during  the  present 
century  the  amount  required  has,  from  vari- 
ous causes,  been  greatly  increased.  To  the 
flax,  wool,  &c.,  previously  used  as  materials 
in  the  manufacture  of  cloth,  cotton  has  been 
added;  and  by  the  aid  of  machinery,  cloth, 
from  all  these  materials,  has  been  produced 
in  greater  abundance  and  at  diminished  cost ; 
while  the  increase  of  individual  wealth  among 
the  people  has  given  them  the  means  of  using 
a  greater  variety  and  amount  of  clothing, 
all  of  which  was  required  to  be  made  up 
with  the  hand  needle.  The  condition  of 
sewing  women  became  a  matter  of  public 
sympathy ;  and  much  sentiment  was  exer- 
cised over  those  thus  compelled  to  waste 
their  lives  in 

"  Sewing  at  once,  with  a  double  thread, 
A  shroud  as  well  as  a  shirt." 

When  the  inventive  genius  of  the  age  was 
directed  to  the  means  of  facilitating  all  labors, 


it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  important 
field  could  be  neglected.  The  first  attempt, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn,  to  accomplish  sewing 
by  machinery,  was  made  by  John  Knowles, 
of  Monkton,  Vermont ;  who,  as  early  as  the 
year  1819,  invented  and  constructed  a  sew- 
ing machine,  which  is  said  to  have  made  a 
good  seam,  and  to  have  been,  so  far  as  the 
capacity  of  forming  the  stitch  is  concerned, 
a  decided  success.  It  used  but  one  thread, 
and  made  a  stitch  identical  with  the  ordinary 
"back-stitch"  made  in  hand  sewing,  and  by 
a  process  substantially  the  same.  The  needle, 
however,  was  differently  constructed,  hating 
a  point  at  each  end,  with  the  eye  in  the  mid- 
dle ;  and  it  was  passed  back  and  forth  through 
the  cloth  without  changing  its  ends.  His 
machine  was  furnished  with  a  device  for 
feeding  along  the  work,  automatically,  in 
concert  with  the  action  of  the  needle ;  a 
device  similar  in  principle  to  the  "  baster- 
plate  of  Howe,  noticed  hereafter;  it  was,  how- 
ever, defective,  as  it  would  move  the  work 
only  in  a  direction  straight  forward,  and 
hence  it  could  be  used  only  to  sew  upon 
straight  seams.  After  much  unsuccessful 
effort  to  correct  this  defect,  so  as  to  adapt 
his  machine  to  the  general  purposes  of  sew- 


414 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ing,  Mr.  Knowles  abandoned  his  invention. 
And  yet  it  appears  that  his  machine  em- 
braced nearly  all  the  essential  features  of  a 
practical  sewing  machine ;  approaching  more 
nearly  to  the  results  reached  in  the  first  ma- 
chine of  Mr.  Howe,  than  did  any  other  in- 
vention between  the  two.  Mr.  Knowles  did 
not  apply  for  a  patent,  and  never  made  but 
the  one  machine. 

During  the  next  twenty-five  years, 
attempts  in  the  same  direction  were  made, 
both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  In 
May,  1829,  a  patent  was  granted,  in  Eng- 
land, to  Henry  Bock,  for  a  "tambouring 
machine,"  the  needle  having  two  points  and 
an  eye ;  but  tambouring  is  not  sewing.  July 
17,  1830,  a  patent  was  granted  in  France, 'to 
M.  Thimonier,  for  a  crocheting  machine, 
adapted  to  sewing  purposes;  but  this  ma- 
chine had  no  feeding  apparatus  whatever, 
and  the  material  to  be  sewed  had  to  be 
moved  along  by  hand.  It  had  a  crochet  or 
hooked  needle,  and  a  device  called  an  "  ac- 
croucheur,"  to  lay  the  thread  on  the  hook, 
after  it  had  passed  through  the  cloth.  It 
used  but  one  thread,  and  made  the  single- 
tambour  stitch.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
introduce  it  in  the  manufacture  of  army 
clothing,  but  the  attempt  proved  a  failure, 
as  did  the  machine. 

The  first  patent  issued  in  this  country  for 
a  sewing  machine  was  granted  February  21, 
1842,  to  J.  J.  Greenough,  of  Washington 
City.  This  machine  used  a  needle  having 
two  points  and  one  eye,  and  made  the 
"  through-and-through,"  or  shoemaker's 
stitch.  Whatever  may  have  been  its  merits, 
it  proved  of  no  value  to  the  public,  as  no 
machine  except  the  model  was  ever  built. 
A  machine  for  making  the  "  running "  or 
"basting"  stitch  was  patented  March  4,  1843, 
by  B.  W.  Bean,  of  New  York  City ;  but  we 
believe  that  no  machines  were  ever  built 
for  sale.  A  patent  was  granted,  December 
27,  1843,  to  Geo.  R.  Corlies,  of  Greenwich, 
N.  Y.,  for  a  machine  similar  to  Greenough's ; 
but  no  machines  were  ever  made  for  use. 

The  first  really  practical  sewing  machine  in- 
vented was  that  of  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  invented  in  1845,  and  patented 
September  10,  1846.  His  patent  covered, 
broadly,  the  formation  of  a  seam  for  uniting 
pieces  of  cloth,  by  the  combined  action  of 
an  eye-pointed  needle  and  a  shuttle,  or  their 
equivalent,  interlocking  two  threads.  His 
machine,  as  originally  introduced,  combined 
a  grooved  and  curved,  eye-pointed  needle,  a 


peculiar  shuttle,  holding  and  feeding  de- 
vices, thread  carrier  and  guide,  &c.  In  its 
operation,  a  loop  of  thread  being  thrust 
through  the  fabric  by  the  needle,  the  shuttle, 
carrying  the  lower  thread  upon  a  small  bob- 
bin within  it,  passed  through  the  loop,  leav- 
ing in  it  a  line  of  thread,  which,  being 
thus  interlocked,  was  drawn  into  the  fabric. 
The  pieces  of  cloth  to  be  sewed  were  sus- 
many  "pended  upon  points  of  a  "  baster-plate,"  with 
proper  "  holding  surfaces,"  which  was  moved 
forward,  and  the  length  of  the  stitch  regu- 
lated by  a  "  ratchet  wheel."  When  a 
"reach"  of  the  seam  had  been  sewed  the 
length  of  the  baster-plate,  the  cloth  was 
detached,  the  plate  run  back,  the  cloth  re- 
attached  to  the  points,  and  another  reach  of 
seam  sewed.  This  constituted  the  feeding 
apparatus.  In  his  later  machines,  however, 
the  method  of  holding  and  feeding  the  cloth 
is  entirely  changed.  The  baster-plate  is  no 
longer  used,  the  fabric  to  be  sewed  being 
laid  upon  the  horizontal  plate  or  table  of  the 
machine,  and  passed  under  a  straight  needle 
which  acts  vertically,  instead  of  horizontally 
as  in  the  original  machine.  Few  mechanical 
inventions  are  introduced  in  a  state  of  abso- 
lute perfection ;  and  this,  as  we  have  seen, 
constitutes  no  exception  to  the  general  rule. 
The  first  patent  for  an  improvement  upon 
Howe's  machine  was  issued  to  John  Brad- 
shaw,  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  for  a  device  to  regu- 
late the  tension  of  the  thread,  and  was  dated, 
Nov.  23,  1848.  On  the  6th  of  February, 
1849,  J.  B.  Johnson  and  Charles  Morey, 
of  Boston,  Mass.,  obtained  a  patent  for  a 
machine,  having  a  circular  or  continuous 
baster-plate,  which  was  an  improvement 
upon  the  straight  baster-plate  of  Howe  ;  but 
other  and  more  valuable  improvements  for 
the  same  purpose  soon  succeeded  this.  May 
8,  1849,  John  Batchelder,  of  Boston,  Mass., 
obtained  a  patent  for  an  improvement  to 
regulate  the  feeding  of  the  cloth,  automati- 
cally, by  the  machine.  And  about  the  same 
time  a  patent  was  also  granted  to  J.  S. 
Conant,  of  Dracut,  Mass.,  for  an  improve- 
ment designed  to  accomplish  the  same  pur- 
pose, by  a  different  arrangement.  October 
2,  1849,  Blodgett  &  Lerow,  of  Boston, 
obtained  a  patent  for  a  machine  to  make 
the  shuttle-stitch,  by  a  method  different 
from  that  of  Howe,  the  shuttle  describing  a 
circle,  instead  of  moving  back  and  forth. 
The  introduction  of  this  machine,  though  it 
was  clearly  an  infringement  of  Howe's  patent, 
proved  a  decided  advantage  to  him;  as  a 


WHEELER    &   WILSON'S    SEWING    MACHINE. 
Fig.   1. — View  of  the  Machine  ready  for  work. 


Fig.  a— Front  view  of  Fig.  2. 


Fig.  2.— View  of  the  Machine  with  the  Cloth  Plate  removed. 


THE  SINGER  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY'S  SEWING  MACHINES. 


"New  Family"  with  Extra  Finished 
Folding  Cover. 


f  New  Family  "  with  Folding  Cover. 


"  New  Family  "  with  Folding  Cover 
open  for  nse. 


"  New  Family  "  in  Cabinet  Case. 


"  New  Family  "  in  Cabinet  Case  open  for  use. 


FINKLE   &  LYON   SEWING   MACHINE  CO. 


No  longer  is  wrought  the  gusset  and  band 
With  ceaseless  stitch  and  wearied  hand; 
For  sewirg  is  pleasure  by  magic  art, 
Since  curious  machines  well  play  their  part. 


No.  4.      LARGE  MANUFACTURING  MACHINE. 


NO.  2.      FAMILY   MACHINE. 


NO.  3.       MEDIUM    MACHINE. 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


419 


considerable  number  of  the  machines  were 
made  and  sold,  and  their  operation,  though 
far  from  perfect,  did  much  toward  con- 
vincing the  public  that  sewing  could  be 
done  by  machinery.  Several  other  improve- 
ments were  also  introduced,  but  those 
above  mentioned  were  the  most  important 
that  appeared  during  the  first  four  years 
succeeding  the  date  of  Howe's  patent ; 
and  none  of  these  can  be  said  to  have  ac- 
complished any  marked  results.  During 
the  fifth  year,  however,  improvements  were 
multiplied  more  rapidly ;  and  from  this 
period  may  be  dated  the  first  decided  suc- 
cess in  the  practical  application  of  Howe's 
invention. 

On  the  12th  of  November,  1850,  a  patent 
was  issued  to  Allen  B.  Wilson,  of  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  covering  two  improvements :  one,  a 
new  device  for  feeding  the  cloth,  termed  the 
"  two-motion  feed,"  afterwards  changed  by 
a  further  improvement  to  the  "  four-motion 
feed" — which  has  proved  the  best  feed  ar- 
rangement for  general  purposes  yet  invented ; 
the  other,  a  shuttle,  pointed  at  each  end, 
which  made  a  stitch  at  each  movement,  while 
in  Howe's  machine  the  shuttle  had  to  go  and 
return  at  every  stitch.  This  improvement 
was,  however,  superseded  by  another,  styled 
the  "rotating  hook,"  which  was  the  sub- 
ject of  a  patent  dated  August  12,  1851, 
and  which  served  as  a  complete  substitute 
for  the  shuttle  of  Howe.  This  improve- 
ment constitutes  the  leading  or  characteristic 
feature  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  ma- 
chine. 

On  the  llth  of  February,  1851,  a  patent 
was  granted  to  Grover  &  Baker,  of  Boston, 
for  a  machine  invented  by  William  O.  Grover, 
of  that  firm,  the  distinguishing  feature  of 
which  consisted  in  a  device  called  the  "  circu- 
lar needle,"  which  also  served  as  a  substitute 
for  the  shuttle.  In  the  summer  of  1851, 
Mr.  Grover,  without  knowledge  of  what 
Wilson  had  done,  invented  a  feed  device, 
substantially  similar  to  Wilson's,  for  which 
a  patent  was  issued  to  Grover  &  Baker, 
June  22,  1852.  This  double  invention  of 
the  same  device  gave  rise  to  some  difficulty 
between  the  two  companies ;  but  this  was 
compromised,  and  the  same  feeding  arrange- 
ment has  since  been  used  in  both  machines. 

In  September,  1850,  Isaac  M.  Singer,  of 
New  York  City,  completed  a  machine,  for 
which  a  patent  was  issued  to  I.  M.  Singer  & 
Co.,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1851.  This 
machine,  though  it  contained  several  im- 
25 


provements  on  that  of  Howe,  bore  a  closer 
resemblance  to  it,  in  its  general  construction, 
than  either  of  the  two  last  named.  Copying 
so  nearly  from  Howe,  Singer  &  Co.  had  less 
to  do  in  getting  out  their  machine,  and  were 
the  first  in  market,  but  the  others  followed 
soon  after ;  and  thus,  with  a  nearly  even 
start,  those  three  companies  commenced  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  their  respective 
machines ;  Singer  &  Co.  taking  the  lead  for 
the  first  two  years,  Grover  &  Baker  for  the 
two  next,  and  since  that  the  Wheeler  & 
Wilson.  With  such  energy  was  the  busi- 
ness prosecuted  by  each  of  those  companies, 
and  so  great  was  their  success,  that  before 
the  expiration  of  Howe's  original  patent,  in 
1860,  the  aggregate  number  of  machines 
made  and  sold  by  them  had  exceeded  1 30,000 ; 
of  which  about  55,000  were  turned  out 
by  Wheeler  &  Wilson,  40,000  by  Singer  & 
Co.,  and  35,000  by  Grover  &  Baker.  At 
that  date  less  than  2,000  machines  of  Howe's 
patent  had  been  manufactured,  and  these 
were  made  by  a  brother  of  the  inventor,  Mr. 
A.  B.  Howe,  of  New  York.  While,  there- 
fore, the  highest  honor  is  due  to  Mr.  Elias 
Howe,  Jr. — as  the  original  inventor  of  the 
sewing  machine — the  public  is  largely  in- 
debted, for  its  improvement  and  successful 
introduction,  to  the  inventive  genius  of  Wil- 
son, Grover,  and  Singer,  and  the  enterprise 
of  their  respective  companies.  And  here  it 
may  be  remarked,  that  the  infancy  of  the 
sewing  machine,  like  that  of  many  other  im- 
portant inventions,  was  beset  with  difficul- 
ties. By  the  time  that  Mr.  Howe  had  com- 
pleted his  experiments,  built  his  model,  and 
secured  his  patent,  he  had  exhausted  his 
means.  He  could  not  embark  in  the  manu- 
facture of  machines  without  capital ;  and  he 
could  not  obtain  the  capital  he  so  much 
needed  until  the  utility  of  his  invention  had 
been  demonstrated  by  practical  use.  Fail- 
ing in  his  effort  to  enlist  the  aid  of  capital- 
ists in  this  country,  he  went  to  Europe.  In 
England  a  patent  was  secured  for  his  inven- 
tion, but  he  allowed  it  to  be  taken  in  the 
name  of  another  party  residing  there,  who, 
losing  confidence  in  the  invention,  never  did 
much  with  it,  and  Howe  never  realized  any 
thing  from  it.  Failing  of  any  success 
abroad,  he  decided  to  return,  and  try  his 
luck  once  more  here.  But  to  such  poverty 
was  he  now  reduced,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  pawn  his  effects  to  pay  his  wife's  pas- 
sage, and  to  work,  as  an  ordinary  deck 
hand,  for  his  own.  Arriving  penniless,  but 


420 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


not  disheartened,  confident  that  some  day 
his  invention  would  be  appreciated,  he  re- 
sumed his  old  employment  as  a  journeyman 
mechanic,  for  a  livelihood.  At  length  the 
tide  of  circumstances  turned  in  his  favor. 
The  infringement  of  his  patent,  by  the  three 
companies  above  referred  to,  and  by  other 
parties  of  less  note,  in  a  short  time  accom- 
plished what  he  had  never  been  able  to  do 
himself;  as  great  numbers  of  machines,  of 
various  makers,  were  thus  distributed,  by 
means  of  which  the  utility  of  the  sewing 
machine  was  soon  demonstrated.  These 
infringements  furnished  also  the  occasion  for 
legal  proceedings,  in  the  course  of  which  the 
validity  of  his  patent  was  established  by 
judicial  decisions.  Of  the  suits  brought  by 
him  against  those  three  companies,  one  re- 
sulted in  a  judgment,  in  his  favor,  and  the 
other  two  were  settled,  before  decisions  had 
been  reached.  At  this  time,  or  soon  after, 
an  arrangement  was  entered  into  between 
Mr.  Howe,  Wheeler  &  Wilson,  I.  M.  Singer 
&,  Co.,  and  Grover  &  Baker,  by  which  each 
of  those  three  companies  was  licensed  to 
manufacture  its  own  machines,  under  the 
protection  of  Howe's  patent,  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  term  for  which  it  had  been 
granted,  at  a  patent  rent,  or  royalty,  of  ten 
dollars  on  each  machine  made  and  sold, 
until  a  certain  number  had  been  produced, 
and  at  a  less  rent  afterward.  The  contract 
by  which  that  arrangement  was  perfected 
was  dated  October  10,  1856,  and  is  known 
as  the  "  Albany  Agreement."  By  its  pro- 
visions, those  four  parties  were  constituted 
a  combination,  for  the  mutual  protection  of 
their  several  patents,  against  outside  infringe- 
ment— a  combination  which  has  exercised 
an  important  influence  upon  the  general 
sewing  machine  interests  of  the  country. 

While  these  inventions  were  being  in- 
troduced, there  were  other  difficulties  to 
be  overcome — difficulties  affecting  not  Mr. 
Howe  only,  but  also  the  combination — 
among  which  were,  the  incredulity  of  the 
public ;  the  trouble  of  teaching  operatives ; 
the  indisposition  of  manufacturers  to  adopt 
new  modes  of  doing  business ;  the  disincli- 
nation of  tailors  and  seamstresses  to  wel- 
come the  sewing  machine ;  and,  last  but  not 
least,  the  introduction  of  an  inferior  class  of 
machines,  which,  being  sold  at  lower  prices, 
met  for  a  time  a  ready  sale,  and  which,  by 
their  general  failure,  did  much  to  impair  the 
confidence  of  the  public  in  the  utility  of  the 
sewing  machine.  Yet  this  experiment  served 


one  good  purpose,  as  by  it  the  public  be- 
came satisfied  of  the  worthless  character  uf 
cheaply  made  machines ;  and  hence  the  re- 
sult was,  on  the  whole,  advantageous  rather 
than  otherwise,  to  those  interested  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  good  ones. 

From  1852  to  1857,  no  new  machine,  of 
any  marked  excellence,  was  introduced,  the 
efforts  of  all  inventors,  outside  of  the  afore- 
said combination,  being  directed  not  so  much 
to  the  improvement  of  the  sewing  machine, 
as  to  the  production  of  a  cheaper  class.  The 
next  invention,  which  possessed  any  claim 
to  special  merit  as  an  improvement  upon 
those  already  noticed,  was  a  machine  in- 
vented by  James  E.  A.  Gibbs,  of  Millpoint, 
Va.,  for  which  a  patent  was  issued  June  2, 
1857.  The  leading  idea  of  Mr.  Gibbs,  and 
the  object  claimed  to  have  been  accomplished 
in  his  machine,  was — the  attainment  of 
greater  simplicity,  in  order  more  perfectly 
to  adapt  the  sewing  machine  to  the  capa- 
cities of  all.  Mr.  Gibbs,  who  was  a  natural, 
but  uneducated  mechanic,  had  never  seen  a 
sewing  machine  of  any  kind  until  he  had 
completed  the  model  of  his  own.  His  ma- 
chine, therefore,  though  containing  princi- 
ples which  had  been  previously  invented 
and  patented,  was  with  him  entirely  an  ori- 
ginal invention.  He  had  seen  in  some  news- 
paper or  magazine  a  notice  of  a  "  sewing 
machine " — which  was  described  as  using 
"two  threads" — and  the  thought  imme- 
diately occurred  to  him,  that  if  a  reliable 
seam  could  be  made  with  one  thread,  in- 
stead of  two,  less  machinery  would  be  re- 
quired, and  thus  greater  simplicity  Avould  be 
secured;  a  result  which,  to  him,  appeared  to 
be  one  of  great  importance,  especially  in  an 
instrument  for  general  family  use.  He  at 
once  set  himself  to  work,  and  soon  invented 
anew  kind  of  stitch,  requiring  the  use  of  but 
one  thread,  yet  possessing,  as  claimed,  at 
least  equal  merit,  for  general  use,  to  any 
made  with  two  threads.  After  Mr.  Gibbs 
had  obtained  his  patent,  James  Willcox,  then 
of  Philadelphia,  secured  the  control  of  it; 
and  on  the  1 8th  of  February,  1859,  obtained 
a  license  from  the  aforesaid  combination, 
and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  the  ma- 
chines, under  the  name  of  the  Willcox  & 
Gibbs  Sewing  Machine.  The  peculiarities 
of  the  stitch,  and  the  construction  and  opera- 
tion of  this  machine  will  be  more  fully  de- 
scribed hereafter. 

On  the  expiration  of  Howe's  original  pat- 
ent, and  its  extension  for  the  further  term  of 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


421 


seven  years  from  the  10th  day  of  September, 
1 860,  a  more  liberal  policy  was  adopted. 
The  "  combination  "  was  continued ;  but  an 
agreement  was  made  between  Mr.  Howe  and 
the  other  parties  constituting  it,  which  pro- 
vided for  the  granting  of  licenses,  by  the 
combination,  to  other  parties  not  members 
of  it,  in  numbers  sufficient  to  secure  to  the 
public  a  "  full  supply  of  good  sewing  machines 
at  reasonable  prices." 

The  patent  rent  exacted  of  licensees,  un- 
der this  new  arrangement,  is  fixed  at  seven 
dollars  for  each  machine  using  two  threads, 
which  is  manufactured  and  sold  to  be  used 
in  the  United  States,  and  four  dollars  each 
for  all  exported,  to  be  used  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. Of  this  rent,  Mr.  Howe  receives  one 
dollar  on  each  machine  made  and  sold,  and 
the  balance  goes  to  the  other  three  parties; 
who  are  required  lo  defray  all  the  expenses 
of  protecting  his  patents,  jointly  with-their 
own ;  besides  paying  him  a  license  rent  of 
one  dollar  each  on  all  machines  made  by 
them.  Mr.  Howe  has  therefore  a  net  in- 
come of  one  dollar  for  every  sewing  machine 
made  and  sold  in  the  United  States — an  in- 
come which  amounts  to  a  fortune  every  year. 
The  amount  thus  received  by  Mr.  Howe  dur- 
ing the  year  1866,  as  appears  by  the  license 
returns,  was  upwards  of  $155,000.  During 
the  same  period,  the  three  companies  received 
from  the  same  source  about  $213,000 ;  mak- 
ing a  total  of  over  $368,000,  received  by  the 
combination. 

The  progress  of  invention  has  brought  into 
use  t/iree  classes  of  sewing  machines,  viz.  : 

1st.  Those  making  the  double-thread, 
"shuttle"  or  "lock-stitch."  Of  this  class 
are  the  Howe,  Wheeler  &  Wilson,  Singer, 
Weed,  Etna,  Elliptic,  Florence,  Empire,  Fin- 
kle  &  Lyon,  and  Leavitt  Machines. 

2d.  Those  making  the  "  double-loop,"  or 
"Grover  &  Baker  stitch."  The  only  ma- 
chine of  any  importance,  which  makes  this 
kind  of  stitch,  is  the  Grover  &  Baker. 

3d.  Those  making  the  single  -  thread, 
"twisted-loop"  or  " Willcox  &  Gibbs  stitch." 
The  only  machines  of  this  class  are  those 
manufactured  by  the  Willcox  &  Gibbs  Sew- 
ing Machine  Company. 

In  all  sewing  machines,  the  formation  o1 
a  stitch  requires  two  distinct  operations,  the 
first  of  which  is  performed  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, and  the  second  on  the  under  surface  of 
the  goods.  The  first  process  is  accom- 
plished in  every  machine  by  means  of  an 
eye-pointed,  reciprocating  needle,  with  a  ver- 


tical movement,  acting  in  concert  with  the 
feed ;  the  office  of  the  needle  being  to  take 
the  thread  from  the  spool,  and,  carrying  it 
downward,  perforate  the  fabric  and  pass  a 
loop  of  the   thread  down  through  it,  to  a 
point  where   the  stitch-forming  mechanism 
underneath  will  reach  it,  while  the  feed,  by 
an  alternate  movement,  carries   the    goods 
forward  for  another  stitch.     The  second  pro- 
ess   is  accomplished   by  means  of  special 
mechanism,  the  office  of  which  is  to  connect 
and  fasten,  with  a  separate  under  thread  or 
with  a  portion  of  the  upper  one  (according 
to  the  kind  of  stitch  made,  whether  a  double 
or  a  single  thread  one),  the  successive  loops 
of  the  upper  thread  as  they  are  passed  down 
through  the  fabric  by  the  needle.     Thus,  as 
the  sewing  proceeds,  two  continuous  rows 
or  lines  of  thread  are  produced,  one  on  the 
upper,  and  the  other  on  the  under  surface 
of  the  goods,  inclosing  between  them  the 
pieces  of  fabric  united  by  the  seam;   the 
upper  line   being   always   a  single    thread, 
while  the  under  one  is  either  single,  as  in 
the    "  lock-stitch,"    two-corded,    as    in    the 
"twisted-loop  stitch,"  or  three-corded,  as  in 
the  "  double-loop  stitch."     These  two  lines 
of  thread,  it  will  be  perceived,  are  united  or 
linked  together   by  the  loop  of  the  upper 
thread  passing  through  the  fabric  at  the  end 
of  every  stitch ;  and  this  coupling,  or  locking 
of  the  two  lines  of  thread,  when  properly 
drawn  up  by  the  tensions,  completes  the  for- 
mation of  the  stitch.     A  continuous  row  or 
chain  of  these  united  stitches,  thus  inclosing 
the  fabric  sewed,  constitutes  a  seam. 

The  first  of  these  operations  is  substan- 
tially the  same  in  all  machines;  but  the 
second  operation,  or  under  process,  is  dif- 
ferent in  the  different  machines,  and  the 
variations  are  as  numerous  as  the  different 
kinds  of  stitches  made.  It  is  in  this  feature 
only,  that  the  distinguishing  characteristics 
of  the  several  kinds  of  sewing  machine 
stitches  consist.  Thus  in  all  lock-stitch  ma- 
chines, whether  using  a  reciprocating  shuttle 
like  Howe's,  or  a  rotating  one  like  Wil- 
son's, a  separate  thread  is  used  underneath ; 
and  the  entire  length  of  this  thread  is  car- 
ried, by  the  shuttle,  through  each  successive 
loop  of  the  upper  thread ;  thus  leaving,  when 
the  seam  is  completed,  only  a  single  line  of 
thread  on  the  under  surface  of  the  fabric,  as 
well  as  on  the  upper  one. 

In  forming  the  double-loop  stitch,  a  sepa- 
rate thread  is  alao  used  underneath ;  but  this 
thread,  instead  of  being  re-wound,  and  car- 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ried  by  a  shuttle,  is  manipulated  by  an  eye- 
pointed,  non-perforating,  horizontal  needle, 
which  takes  the  thread  directly  from  the 
spool,  and  instead  of  passing  the  entire 
length  of  the  under  thread  through  the  loop 
of  the  upper  one,  as  in  the  lock-stitch,  it 
passes  only  a  loop  of  it  through ;  and  this 
loop  in  its  turn  is  fastened  by  the  next  loop 
of  the  upper  thread.  Hence,  when  a  seam 
of  this  class  is  completed,  instead  of  there 
being  a  single  line  of  thread  on  the  under 
side,  there  is  a  series  of  compound  loops, 
forming  a  ridge  or  chain,  of  the  "  double- 
tambour"  character,  which  is  always  more 
or  less  prominent,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  thread  used. 

In  the  formation  of  the  twisted-loop  stitch, 
the  connecting  and  fastening  of  the  stitches 
on  the  under  side  of  the  fabric  are  also  effect- 
ed by  means  of  loops  instead  of  a  single  line 
of  thread.  But  as  there  is  no  under  thread 
used,  this  fastening  is  done  with  a  portion 
of  the  upper  thread,  after  it  has  been  passed 
down  through  the  fabric.  In  other  words, 
the  lower,  or  fastening  loop  is  simply  the 
upper  loop  extended.  On  its  reaching  the 
under  side  of  the  fabric,  each  loop  is  first 
carried  through  the  last  preceding  one ;  and 
then  extended — twisted — and  held  open — 
ready  to  receive,  and  be  in  its  turn  fastened 
by  the  next  succeeding  loop  from  above. 
With  these  few  observations  on  the  elemen- 
tary principles  of  machine  sewing,  we  pro- 
ceed to  describe  these  several  stitches ;  in 
the  illustration  of  which  it  will  be  necessary 
to  describe  also  the  construction  and  opera- 
tion of  one  or  more  of  the  leading,  or  repre- 
sentative machines  in  each  class.  The 

FIRST  CLASS — includes  those  making  the 
lock-stitch ;  to  illustrate  the  character  and 
formation  of  this  stitch — which  is  pre- 
cisely the  same,  made  by  one  machine  as 
another — we  select  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
machine. 

Among  the  first  improvers  of  the  sewing 
machine,  as  we  have  already  stated,  was  Mr. 
A.  B.  Wilson,  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Sewing  Machine  Company.  In  his  hands 
the  sewing  machine  underwent  radical 
changes,  and  his  results  embody  mechanical 
conceptions  that  place  the  sewing  machine 
among  the  most  ingenious  and  effective 
pieces  of  modern  machinery. 

Mr.  Wilson,  like  Mr.  Howe,  approved  of 
the  lock-stitch  only,  but  his  method  of 
making  it,  the  holdint)  and  feeding  mech- 
anism, and  the  tension  of  the  threads,  are 


radically  different.  Instead  of  passing  a 
bobbin  with  the  lower  thread  through  a  loop 
of  the  upper,  he  puts  a  loop  of  the  upper 
around  a  stationary  bobbin  containing  the 
lower  thread,  and  feeds  the  fabric  to  sew  an 
endless  seam. 

For  carrying  the  loop  of  the  upper  thread 
around  the  bobbin  containing  the  lower 
thread,  Mr.  Wilson  employs  a  rotating  hook 
of  peculiar  construction,  marked  5  (fig.  4).  It 
is  formed  by  cutting  away  a  portion  of  the 
periphery  of  the  circular  concave  disk,  a 
(fig.  4)  is  the  point  of  the  hook.  From  a 
is  a  diagonal  groove  across  the  periphery  of 
the  hook  to  the  point  b,  where  the  edge  is 
beveled  off.  The  hook  thus  constitutes  a 
portion  of  the  thread  of  a  screw.  46  is  the 
cloth-plate,  35  the  needle,  with  the  eye  near 
the  point  threaded  with  e,  a  loop  of  which 
has  just  been  entered  by  the  point  of  the 
hook  a.  The  lower  thread  is  carried  in  a 
double  convex  metallic  bobbin  15,  to  lie  in 
the  cavity  of  the  hook,  and  held  in  its  posi- 
tion by  a  concave  ring  16  (fig.  2),  between 
which  and  the  concave  surface  of  the  disk  it 
lies.  No  axis  supports  it,  so  that  a  loop  of 
thread  can  pass  around  it  as  the  girl  passes 
the  skipping  rope  under  her  feet. 

Fig.  5  represents  the  hook  as  having 
made  about  two  thirds  of  a  revolution,  and 
the  lower  thread,  z,  extending  from  the 
lower  surface  of  the  fabric  to  the  bobbin 
in  the  concavity  of  the  hook.  The  upper 
thread,  e,  extends  through  the  fabric  from  a 
previous  stitch  into  the  concavity  of  the 
hook  behind  the  bobbin,  diagonally  around 
the  hook  at  the  point  b,  thence  diagonally 
along  the  groove  to  the  needle  35. 

As  the  hook  further  revolves  to  the  posi- 
tion indicated  in  fig.  6,  both  lines  of  the 
loop  e  are  upon  the  same  side  of  the  disk. 
The  line  of  thread  that  extended  in  fig.  5 
along  the  groove  of  the  hook  by  6,  has 
slipped  off  at  the  termination  of  this  groove, 
and  fallen  in  front  of  the  bobbin,  so  that 
the  loop  of  the  thread  e  extends  behind  the 
bobbin,  around  the  point  of  the  hook  a,  and 
across  the  front  of  the  bobbin  to  the  needle 
35,  thus  surrounding  the  bobbin,  and  in- 
closing the  lower  thread  z. 

As  the  hook  further  revolves,  the  loop  is 
held  by  the  check  36,  until  the  point  of  the 
hook  enters  the  succeeding  loop  as  seen  in 
fig.  4,  when  the  loope  is  freed  from  the  check, 
and  being  drawn  up  by  the  enlargement  of 
the  succeeding  loop,  interlocks  with  the  lower 
thread  z  in  the  fabric  and  forms  a  stitch. 


SEWING-    MACHINES. 


423 


In  this  connection  we  will  explain  the 
"  tension.'1'1  In  the  "  lock-stitch"  when  prop- 
erly formed,  the*  interlocking  of  the  two 
threads  is  in  the  centre  of  the  fabric  sewed, 
as  seen  in  the  following  diagram : 


The  lower  thread  is  re-wound  upon  the 
metal  spool  or  bobbin  1 5,  of  such  size  as  to 
hold  50  or  60  yards  of  No.  80  cotton.  This 
re-winding  is  effected  by  the  machine  itself. 
The  bobbin  with  the  lower  thread  is  placed 
in  the  concavity  of  the  hook,  and  held  in 
place  by  the  ring  16  (fig.  2),  with  the  thread 
flowing  from  the  top  toward  the  front  of  the 
machine,  in  which  direction  it  revolves 
slowly.  The  hook  5  revolves  rapidly  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  the  friction  between 
these  surfaces  renders  the  strain  or  tension 
upon  the  lower  thread  sufficiently  great  to 
keep  it  straight. 

The  upper  thread  is  fed  from  the  original 
spool  38  (fig.  1),  through  the  guide  39, 
passes  orice  around  the  tension  pulley  40, 
and  thence  through  the  eyelets  33,  33,  and 
the  needle  35  near  its  point.  Its  flow  is 
regulated  by  the  thumb-screw  and  volute- 
spring  41  pressing  against  the  side  of  this 
pulley.  Should  the  thread  be  drawn  too 
easily  from  spool  38,  the  hook  will  draw 
thread  from  that  instead  of  drawing  up  the 
preceding  loop  (fig.  4).  The  proper  pres- 
sure, however,  being  upon  the  pulley  40, 
the  hook  draws  up  the  previous  loop  to  the 
proper  position  of  interlocking  in  the  fabric, 
before  it  draws  any  from  spool  38. 

The  feeding  mechanism  of  Mr.  Wilson's 
invention  consists  of  a  feed-bar  10  (fig.  8), 
slotted  nearly  its  entire  length,  in  which  is 
pivoted  near  the  left  end  the  feed-tongue 
13,  armed  with  two  rows  of  feed-points,  14. 
This  feed-bar  works  in  grooves  in  the  stand- 
ards 2,  2  (fig.  3),  and  lies  just  beneath  the 
cloth-plate  46  (fig.  1),  so  that  the  points  14 
may  be  raised  through  the  slots  52  (fig.  7), 
with  its  left  end  against  the  feed-stop  54. 
The  feed  is  worked  by  a  cam  6  (fig.  3), 
which  rotates  with  the  arbor  4.  As  this 
cam  revolves,  the  swell  of  its  periphery 
strikes  the  under  surface  of  the  feed-tongue 
13,  and  raises  the  feed-points  14,  through 
the  slots  52,  while  the  swell  upon  the  right 
side  of  the  cam  6  presses  upon  the  right  ear 
11  of  the  feed-bar,  and  throws  it  forward. 
The  cam  further  revolving,  brings  a  point  of 
depression  both  in  its  top  and  its  side  next  to 


the  feed-bar  ear,  when  the  points  drop  be- 
low the  surface  of  the  cloth  plate  and  the 
feed-spring  12  (fig.  3),  working  between  the 
left  standard  2,  and  the  left  ear  11  of  the 
feed-bar,  throws  the  bar  back  to  the  left 
against  the  feed-stop  54  (fig.  7),  and  the 
next  revolution  of  the  cam  throws  it  for- 
ward. It  should  be  remarked  that  while 
the  needle  penetrates  the  cloth,  the  feed- 
points  are  below  the  surface  of  the  cloth- 
plate,  and  intermit  their  action  upon  the 
cloth;  hence  the  needle  constitutes  a  pivot 
upon  which  the  fabric  may  be  turned  to  sew 
a  curved  seam  of  any  radius. 

The  feed-points  rising  and  penetrating  the 
cloth  at  each  stitch,  their  movement  forward 
determines  the  length  of  the  stitch,  which 
is  graduated  by  regulating  the  play  of  the 
feed-bar.  The  play  of  this  bar  is  limited  to 
the  difference  between  the  widest  and  the 
narrowest  parts  of  the  feed-cam  6,  which  is 
about  one  fourth  of  an  inch,  and  may  be 
graduated  to  any  length  within  those  limits, 
by  the  feed-stop  54,  against  which  the  feed- 
bar  is  thrown  by  the  feed-spring  12.  As 
the  widest  or  the  narrowest  part  of  this  ec- 
centric stop  is  turned  toward  the  feed-bar, 
greater  or  less  play  is  permitted,  and  longer 
or  shorter  stitches  are  made. 

The  machine  is  mounted  upon  a  neat 
work-table,  as  seen  in  the  cut  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  and  driven  by  sandal  treadles 
and  band  7  (fig.  1).  Motion  is  thus  com- 
municated to  the  hook  5  (fig.  2),  and  by 
the  eccentric  8  through  the  connecting-rod 
28  to  the  rocker  24,  pivoted  at  25,  25,  and 
gives  motion  to  the  needle-arm  29,  which 
holds  the  needle  35.  The  needle  vibrates 
through  a  small  hole,  60,  in  the  cloth-plate. 
The  threads  being  adjusted,  the  machine  is 
touched  into  motion  by  a  gentle  pressure  of 
the  foot  upon  the  sandals.  The  cloth  moves 
forward  from  left  to  right,  and  the  sewing  is 
accomplished  in  the  manner  described. 

Various  appliances  are  furnished  for  regu- 
lating the  width  of  hems,  etc.,  until  the 
hand  and  eye  have  become  trained  to  dis- 
pense with  them.  Another  appliance  is  the 
hemmer  (fig.  9).  It  is  slipped  into  a  slot  of 
the  cloth-presser  20,  and  is  so  convoluted, 
that  as  the  edge  of  the  cloth  passes  through 
to  be  sewed,  it  is  turned  down  as  in  ordinary 
hems,  and  stitched.  In  addition  to  their 
regular  machines,  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Co.  also  manufacture  the  Elliptic  Machine, 
and  a  Button-hole  Machine. 

As  before  remarked,  the  lock-stitch  is  al- 


424 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


ways  the  same,  on  whatever  machine  it  is 
made.  In  forming  this  stitch  upon  either 
the  Howe,  or  the  Singer  machine,  the  de- 
tails of  operation  do  not  differ  essentially 
from  those  above  described,  with  the  excep- 
tion, that  the  shuttle  movement  in  both  these 
machines  is  reciprocal,  instead  of  being  ro- 
tary as  in  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  machine  ; 
and  the  feed  movement  is  rotary,  instead  of 
"four-motioned."  Each  of  these  several 
movements  has  its  advantages  for  certain 
purposes ;  the  reciprocating  shuttle  being  the 
best  adapted  for  heavy  work,  and  the  rotary 
one  for  light  work,  particularly  for  such  as 
requires  a  high  rate  of  speed ;  while  the  ro- 
tary or  wheel-feed  is  preferred  for  leather, 
and  for  some  kinds  of  heavy  cloth  work, — 
and  the  four-motion  feed  for  family  use,  and 
for  light  manufacturing  purposes  generally. 

The  Howe  and  Singer  machines  so  nearly 
resemble  each  other  in  construction  and  ac- 
tion, that  a  description  of  the  operation  of 
one  would  be  substantially  correct  for  the 
other.  It  should  here  be  stated  that  the 
"  wheel-feed,"  as  now  used  in  these  and 
several  other  shuttle  machines,  projecting 
upward  through  the  table,  was  first  applied 
in  the  Singer  machine;  and  also  the  "arm," 
for  supporting  the  working  apparatus  over 
the  table.  The  "New  Family  Machine"  of 
the  Singer  Co.,  a  style  brought  out  during 
the  past  year  (1866),  is  furnished,  however, 
with  the  "  four-motion  "  feed.  This  machine 
is  less  noisy,  simpler  in  construction,  and  in 
other  respects  superior  to  their  old  family 
machine,  now  superseded  by  this. 

Of  the  "  licensed "  machines  making  the 
lock-stitch,  there  are  several  which  possess 
greater  or  less  merit ;  but  none  of  these,  we 
believe,  contains  any  valuable  feature  which 
is  not  to  be  found  in  one  or  more  of  the  ma- 
chines already  noticed. 

We  come  now  to  the  SECOND  CLASS  ; — of 
which  the  Grover  &  Baker  machine  is  at 
once  the  original  type,  and  the  only  repre- 
sentative at  present  in  the  market.  In  this 
machine,  a  circular,  eye-pointed  needle  takes 
the  place  of  the  .shuttle.  This  needle  is  at- 
tached, in  a  horizontal  position,  upon  the 
upper  end  of  a  vertical  shaft,  which  is  ope- 
rated in  such  manner  as  to  give  to  the  needle 
an  oscillating  movement,  similar  to  that  of 
the  balance-wheel  in  a  watch ,  and  the  cir- 
cular needle  makes  two  movements,  one  for- 
ward and  the  other  back,  at  every  stitch. 
The  under  needle,  as  well  as  the  upper  one, 
takes  the  thread  directly  from  the  spool,  thus 


saving  the  trouble  of  re-winding  the  under 
thread.  In  sewing,  the  upper  thread  is  car- 
ried by  the  perforating  needle  down  through 
the  fabric,  where  a  loop  is  thrown  out  as  the 
needle  rises,  and  this  loop  is  entered  at  the 
right  moment  by  the  circular  needle  carrying 
the  under  thread,  which,  in  its  turn,  throws 
out  a  loop  also  as  the  needle  is  withdrawn  ; 
and  this  loop  is  entered  by  the  upper  needle 
as  it  comes  down  again  with  another  loop 
from  above.  Thus,  the  "  under  process  "  of 
sewing,  in  this  machine,  consists  in  putting, 
first,  a  loop  of  the  under  thread  through  a 
loop  of  the  upper  thread,  and  then  a  loop  of 
the  upper  thread  through  a  loop  of  the  un- 
der thread ;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
seam,  each  loop  being  drawn  up  by  the  ten- 
sions as  the  sewing  proceeds.  A  seam  of 
this  kind,  when  finished,  appears  as  in  the 
following  diagram : 


which  gives  a  side  view  of  the  seam,  with 
the  fabric  cut  away  so  as  to  exhibit  the 
course  of  the  threads  in  the  formation  of  the 
stitch.  This  stitch,  it  has  been  stated,  was 
introduced  as  an  improvement  of  the  lock- 
stitch ;  and  the  reader  will  naturally  inquire, 
what  has  been  the  result  of  experience  on 
this  point  ?  The  answer  is  fqund  in  the  fol- 
lowing facts  : — These  two  classes  of  ma- 
chines have  been  on  public  trial  about  the 
same  length  of  time,  or  about  sixteeg  years. 
Owing  to  various  causes,  Grover  &  Baker 
did  not  get  fairly  under  way  in  manufactur- 
ing their  machines  as  early  as  Wheeler  & 
Wilson,  or  the  Singer  Company.  But  so 
favorably  was  their  machine  at  first  received, 
that,  as  soon  as  they  were  prepared  to  meet 
the  demand,  they  took  the  lead,  and,  in  1854, 
Grover  &  Baker  sold  more  machines  than 
both  the  other  companies.  The  license 
returns  for  1866,  however,  show  that,  dur- 
ing the  past  year,  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Company  alone  sold  nearly  twice  as  many 
machines  as  the  Grover  &  Baker  Company  ; 
these  returns  also  show  that  more  than  four- 
fifths  of  all  the  double-thread  sewing  machines 
made  and  sold  during  the  past  year  were  of 
the  lock-stitch  class. 

Among  the  advantages  claimed,' for  the 
"  double-loop "  stitch  over  the  lock-stitch 
are, — greater  elasticity  of  seam, — the  fact 
that  there  is  no  necessity  for  re-winding  the 
under  thread, — the  non-liability  of  the  seam 
to  ravel  when  broken, — and  the  capacity  for 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


425 


making  a  certain  kind  of  embroidery,  which, 
cannot  be  made  on  machines  of  the  lock- 
stitch class.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the 
double-loop  stitch  is  free  from  certain  defects 
of  the  lock-stitch,  one  of  which  is,  that  in 
thin  goods,  where  the  diameter  of  the  thread 
must  necessarily  be  nearly  or  quite  equal  to 
the  thickness  of  the  fabric,  the  lock  cannot 
be  made  in  the  center,  although  it  may  be  so 
made  on  thicker  goods ;  but  that  it  will  be 
made  on  one  of  the  surfaces,  thus  leaving  the 
thread  on  that  side  straight,  and  the  seam 
without  any  elasticity.  It  is  also  claimed, 
that  in  thicker  goods,  in  consequence  of  varia- 
tions in  the  tension,  caused  by  the  unequal 
thickness  of  the  thread  in  its  different  parts, 
the  position  of  the  lock  is  constantly  vary- 
ing, from  the  center  of  the  fabric  to  one  side 
or  the  other,  as  exhibited  in  the  following 
diagram : 


and  it  is  claimed  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  sewing  done  in  families,  upon  lock-stitch 
machines,  is  of  this  description.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  objected  to  the  double-loop 
stitch,  that  it  requires  a  great  deal  more 
thread.  In  reply  it  is  claimed  that  in  using 
lock-stitch  machines,  there  is  much  waste  of 
thread,  at  the  ends  of  the  seams ;  and  that 
in  the  ordinary  sewing  of  a  family,  where 
the  majority  of  the  seams  are  short,  this 
waste  of  thread  is  fully  equal  to  the  extra 
amount  used  in  making  the  double-loop 
stitch  seam.  Widely  differing  estimates  of 
the  relative  amounts  of  thread,  thus  wasted, 
or  used,  by  these  two  classes  of  machines, 
have  been  published,  as  the  results  of  actual 
experiments.  These  apparent  contradictions 
have  doubtless  arisen  from  the  use  of  differ- 
ent materials,  and  different  lengths  of  stitches 
in  making  those  several  experiments ;  since  a 
thin  material,  with  a  long  stitch,  would 
show  a  far  greater  difference,  in  the  ratio  of 
thread  used,  than  a  thick  material  with  a  short 
stitch.  All  such  experiments  are  therefore 
unreliable;  nor  are  they  necessary,  for  the 
actual  difference  between  two  seams  of  equal 
length,  made  on  the  same  goods  with  the 
same  thread  and  length  of  stitch,  would 
plainly  be  just  equal  to  twice  the  length  of 
the  seam.  It  is  also  objected  to  the  double- 
loop  stitch,  that  it  leaves  an  unsightly  ridge 
on  the  under  side.  To  this  it  is  replied  that 
if  the  under  thread  is  of  the  proper  size  (half 
that  of  the  upper  one),  no  ridge  of  any  con- 


sequence will  be  formed.  Of  the  correctness 
or  incorrectness  of  this  explanation,  the  read- 
er can  judge  from  the  above  diagram  of  this 
stitch — which  is  an  enlarged  side  view  of  a 
seam  made  on  common  shirting  muslin,  with 
a  Grover  &  Baker  machine,  using  No.  70 
thread  above,  and  No.  140  underneath — 
these  being  the  proper  sizes  for  such  goods. 
By  many  persons  this  ridge  is  considered  an 
objection  to  the  stitch.  Yet  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  the  value  of  this  class  of  ma- 
chines for  certain  purposes ;  especially  for  all 
kinds  of  work  where  great  elasticity  of  seam 
is  required.  Thus  far  we  have  described 
only  machines  using  two  threads.  It  now 
remains  to  notice  those  of  the 

THIRD  CLASS  ; — which,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  use  only  a  single  thread,  and  make 
the  "twisted-loop  stitch."  The  fact  that 
this  stitch  requires  but  one  thread  has, 
doubtless,  led  some  to  suppose  it  identical 
with  the  old  "  chain-stitch,"  long  since  re- 
jected as  unsuitable  for  sewing  purposes. 
They  are,  however,  distinct — as  much  so  as 
any  two  stitches  made.  In  forming  the 
twisted-loop  stitch,  each  loop  is  twisted, 
and  its  opposite  sides  crossed,  as  illustrated 
in  the  following  diagram,  No.  1;  while  the 
chain-stitch  loop  is  never  twisted,  but  is 


always  in  the  position  shown  at  No.  2.  In 
the  formation  of  the  twisted-loop  stitch,  the 
"  upper  process,"  or  that  which  is  performed 
by  the  needle,  is  substantially  the  same  as  in 
the  machines  already  described.  The  feeding 
apparatus  is  the  "four-motion  feed,"  which 
is  operated  by  an  eccentric  on  the  end  of 
the  driving  shaft.  This  shaft  operates  also  the 
needle  and  the  "  hook."  The  "  under  process," 
or  connecting  and  fastening  of  the  stitches  on 
the  under  side  of  the  fabric,  is  wholly  unlike 
that  of  any  other  machine,  the  entire  pro- 
cess being  performed  by  a  novel  and  inge- 
nious stitch-forming  device,  called  the  "  ro- 
tating hook."  As  the  needle  begins  to  rise, 
after  having  carried  the  thread  down  through 
the  fabric,  a  loop  of  the  thread  is  thrown 
out,  just  in  time  for  the  point  of  the  hook, 
as  it  passes  the  needle,  to  enter  the  loop. 
As  the  hook  continues  to  revolve,  it  passes 
further  and  further  into  the  loop,  enlarging 
and  twisting  it  as  it  proceeds ;  until,  having 
made  an  entire  revolution,  the  point  of  the 


426 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


hook  arrives  again  at  the  needle,  which,  in 
the  mean  time,  has  brought  down  a  fresh 
loop;  this  new  loop  is  now  caught  by  the 
hook  and  carried  through  the  former  loop, 
which  still  remains  upon  the  hook,  spread 
open  in  the  right  position  to  receive  it.  As 
the  hook  proceeds  to  make  another  revolu- 
tion, it  soon  passes  out  of  the  old  loop,  and 
leaves  it  to  be  drawn  up,  by  the  tightening 
of  the  stitch,  into  the  seam.  This  tighten- 
ing is  effected,  partly  by  the  lifting  of  the 
needle-bar  as  it  rises  for  another  stitch  (the 
other  end  of  the  thread  being  held  by  the 
tension),  but  chiefly  by  the  peculiar  action 
of  the  hook,  as  it  enlarges  the  new  loop. 
But  it  is  the  twist  given  to  the  loop  during 
the  process  of  opening  it,  as  above  described, 
which  is  claimed  to  constitute  the  distin- 
guishing feature  of  this  stitch.  And  this  lock, 
or  twist,  being  drawn  in  below  the  surface  of 
the  fabric,  the  seam  is  left  as  smooth  on  its  un- 
der surface  as  its  upper  one ;  the  only  differ- 
ence being,  that  while  there  is  but  a  single 
line  of  thread  above,  there  is  a  double  one 
below,  the  two  being  so  closely  imbedded  in 
the  surface  of  the  goods,  as  to  present,  ex- 
cept on  a  close  inspection,  the  appearance 
of  a  single  line.  The  following  diagram  ex- 
hibits a  section  of  a  Willcox  &  Gibbs  seam, 


as  it  appears  when  completed ;  the  edge  of 
the  goods  being  cut  away  to  the  stitching,  to 
show  the  course  of  the  thread  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  seam.  It  has  been  objected  to 
the  twisted-loop-stitch,  that  it  is  not  so  reli- 
able as  one  made  with  two  threads.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  claimed  that  this  stitch  is, 
even  in  this  respect,  an  improvement  on  both 
the  lock-stitch,  and  the  double-loop  stitch ; 
that  the  effect  of  the  twist  in  the  loop  is  to 
produce  a  mutual  friction  or  bind  of  the  two 
opposite  sides  of  the  loop  on  each  other, 
which  actually  makes  the  seam  stronger  and 
more  difficult  to  rip,  when  cut  and  pulled 
open,  than  any  stitch  made  with  two  threads. 
At  the  great  trial  at  Island  Park,  in  1855, 
this  stitch  was  subjected  to  a  thorough 
practical  test,  with  the  lock-stitch,  before 
a  jury  of  sewing  machine  experts.  Their 
decision  was,  that  in  every  kind  of  work, 
they  found  "  the  twisted-loop  stitch  strong- 
er, and  less  liable  to  rip,  than  the  lock- 
stitch." It  can,  however,  be  readily  taken 
out  if  desired,  after  unlocking  it ;  a  capacity 
which  is  claimed  to  be  an  advantage  in  mak- 


ing over,    old   garments,    and    in    removing 
seams  that  have  been  placed  amiss.  ' 

Another  valuable  quality  claimed  for  the 
rotating  hook  is,  the  certainty  with  which  it 
performs  its  work.  This  is  said  to  be  such, 
that  unless  the  machine  is  out  of  order,  the 
missing  of  a  stitch  cannot  occur. 

The  rotating  hook  has  also  the  pecu- 
liar capacity  of  fastening  off  the  seam,  auto- 
matically, whenever  the  work  is  removed 
from  the  machine,  or  the  thread  is  cut  or 
broken.  But,  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
feature  of  the  hook  is,  its  own  simplicity. 
While  it  performs  all  the  various  offices 
accomplished  in  two-threaded  machines,  by 
the  "bobbin" — the  "shuttle" — the  "con- 
cave ring" — the  "  shuttle-race  " — the  "spool- 
er"— the  "circular-needle" — the  "spiral" 
— the  "driver" — the  "  under-spool " — the 
"  spool-holder  " — the  "  under-tension,"  &c. 
— it  is  itself  only  a  single  piece.  In  fact  it 
does  not  add  so  much  as  a  unit  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  working  parts  in  the  machine ; 
for  as  it  is  permanently  attached  to  the  end 
of  the  driving  shaft,  and  revolves  with  it,  it 
is,  practically,  a  part  of  the  shaft  itself. 

The  following  description,  and  the  corre- 
sponding cuts  in  the  plates,  at  pages  417  and 
418,  will  give  the  reader  a  general  idea  of 
the  construction  of  this  machine : 

The  perspective  view  (fig.  l)  exhibits  the 
machine  itself,  separated  from  its  table  or 
stand.  All  the  working  parts,  underneath 
the  cloth-plate,  are  but  two  in  number — the 
"  rota  ting-hook ,"  B,  and  the  "feed"  appara- 
tus, which  is  situated  just  behind  it ;  these 
parts  are  covered,  when  the  machine  is  in 
use,  by  the  hinged  cap,  A,  which,  in  the  cut, 
is  turned  down  to  expose  the  hook  and  feed, 
The  length  of  the  stitch  is  regulated  by  the 
lever,  G;  and  the  cloth-presser,  a,  is  raised 
from  the  plate  by  the  cam,  H.  The  ma- 
chine is  fastened  upon  the  table  (fig.  2)  by  a 
thumb-screw  from  the  under  side.  It  is 
driven  by  a  round,  leather  belt,  C.  The  ten- 
sion on  the  thread  is  produced  by  passing  it 
between  two  polished,  glass  washers,  F, 
which  are  fitted  on  a  screw  spindle,  and 
pressed  together  by  a  spring,  the  pressure  of 
which  is  regulated  by  turning  the  screw. 
The  balance-wheel  is  prevented  from  turning 
in  the  wrong  direction,  or  wearing  the  dress 
of  the  operator,  by  a  patented  improvement, 
shown  in  fig.  2  ;  in  which  A  is  the  wheel,  C 
the  dress  guard,  B  a  part  of  the  stand,  or 
table  frame  to  which  the  guard  is  fastened, 
and  D  a  rubber  ball,  which  tits  loosely  in  a 


WILLCOX  &  GIBBS  SEWING  MACHINE. 


&  Gibbs  Machine,  without  Table. 


No.  2  Machine. 


No.  4.— Half-Case  Machine,  closed. 


WILLCOX  &  GIBBS  SEWING  MACHINE. 


Nos.  5  &  6. 
Half-Case  Machine,  open. 


Xo.  7. — Cabinet  Machine,  open. 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


427 


recess  in  the  guard,  and  is  kept,  by  its  own 
gravity,  in  contact  with  the  rim  of  the  wheel, 
between  which  and  the  recess  it  wedges 
when  any  attempt  is  made  to  turn  the  wheel 
backward.  The  needle  (fig.  5),  which,  with 
the  manner  of  setting  it,  is  patented,  is  made 
self -ad Justine;,  by  means  of  a  groom  in  its 
shank,  which  matches  with  a  spline,  or  steel 
rib,  situated  within  the  tubular  cavity  or 
hole  in  the  lower  end  of  the  needle-bar,  D ; 
so  that  it  is  impossible  to  set  the  needle  in 
any  but  the  right  position  ;  and  as  the 
needles  are  all  of  precisely  the  same  length, 
when  it  is  pushed  to  the  upper  extremity  of 
the  hole  and  secured  by  the  nut,  E,  it  is  sure 
to  be  adjusted  properly. 

This  improvement,  in  the  manner  of  set- 
ting and  fastening  the  needle,  is  one  of  much 
practical  importance,  especially  in  a  sewing 
machine  for  general  family  use.  In  all  other 
machines  the  needle  is  fastened  by  means 
of  a  set-screio  (or  other  device  producing 
the  same  result),  which  presses  against 
the  shank  of  the  needle  only  at  a  single 
point,  while  the  bearing  against  the  back 
side  of  the  shank  is  equal  to  its  entire  length. 
In  this  mode  of  fastening,  which  is  repre- 
sented in  the  following  cut,  the  needle  is 
liable,  when  first  set,  to  stand 
aslant,  as  indicated  by  the  dotted 
lines,  b  and  c ;  in  which  case  it 
is  necessary  for  the  operator  to 
spring  or  bend  the  needle,  until 
it  stands  in  its  proper  position,  as 
seen  at  a.  This  is  a  difficult  pro- 
cess, and  often  occasions  much 
trouble,  especially  with  beginners. 
But  in  the  Willcox  &  Gibbs  ma- 
chine, this  trouble  is  avoided ; 
since,  in  fastening  its  needle,  the 
shank  is  compressed  by  means  of 
the  concentric  nut,  on  all  sides 
alike  •  and  consequently,  the 
point  of  the  needle,  when  fast- 
ened, is  certain  to  be  in  its 
proper  place — as  seen  at  a.  The 
Willcox  <fe  Gibbs  needle  is  also  unlike  any 
other,  in  having  a  much  shorter  blade — as 
seen  in  the  cut  above,  which  exhibits  a 
needle  of  each  of  the  five  leading  machines; 
each  needle  being  of  the  size  ordinarily  used 
for  common  muslin, — and  the  illustration 
being  in  each  case  exact,  in  size  and  form. 
Of  these,  No.  1  is  the  Singer  needle ;  No.  2, 
Wheeler  &  Wilson;  No.^3,  Howe;  No.  4, 
Grover  &  Baker;  and  No.  5,  Willcox  & 
Gibbs. 


The  hemmer  (fig.  3),  and  feller  (fig.  4), 
which  are  also  patented,  turn  the  hem  or  fell 
to  the  under  side,  so  that  the  stitch  is  on  the 
right  side  of  the  goods — which  is  not  the 
case  in  the  hemming  or  felling  done  on  other 
machines.  They  are  also  self-adjusting;  are 
easily  operated ;  make  the  hem  or  fell  of  any 
desired  width ;  and  do  their  work  in  a  very 
perfect  manner. 

The  groove  in  the  cloth-presser,  at  a,  is 
the  braider,  by  means  of  which  braiding  is 
done  of  any  desired  pattern  ;  and  the  braider, 
being  a  part  of  the  machine,  is  always  ad- 
justed, and  ready  for  use.  This  machine 
has  also  several  other  adjuncts  which  are  not 
represented  in  the  plate;  as  the  quilter, 
corder,  and  tucker, — all  of  which  are  patent- 
ed improvements,  of  recent  introduction. 

The  machine  runs  very  easily,  is  almost 
entirely  noiseless,  and  all  its  movements  be- 
ing rotary  and  positive,  it  runs  faster,  and  is 
said  to  wear  longer  and  cost  less  for  re- 
pairs, than  any  other  yet  introduced.  The 
Elm  City  Company  of  New  Haven  have  run 
a  large  number  of  these  machines  by  steam 
power,  in  the  manufacture  of  stitched  ruf- 
fling, working  double  time  (20  hours  a  day), 
at  a  speed  of  more  than  3,000  stitches  per 
minute. 

Although  the  Willcox  &  Gibbs  is  offered 
only  as  a  family  machine,  and  no  effort 
has  been  made  to  introduce  it  for  manufac- 
turing purposes, 'it  has  already  found  its  way 
into  manufacturing  establishments,  in  the 
various  departments  of  industry — especially 
in  the  manufacture  of  shirts  and  collars,  and 
other  descriptions  of  ladies'  and  gents'  fur- 
nishing goods ;  in  hat  and  cap  trimming, 
finishing  hosiery  work,  &c. 


428 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


The  success  of  this  machine,  commer- 
cially, affords  evidence  of  the  appreciation 
of  its  merits  by  the  public.  In  the  number 
of  machines  already  made  and  sold,  the 
Willcox  &  Gibbs  is  second  only  to  the 
Wheeler  &  Wilson,  Singer,  and  Grover  & 
Baker.  Although  it  is,  comparatively,  a  new 
machine,  having  been  in  the  market  scarcely 
eight  years — and  not  prominently  so  more 
than  four  or  five — upwards  of  55,000  of  the 
machines  have  already  been  made  and  sold  ; 
a  number  nearly  twice  as  large  as  any  other 
company  sold  in  the  same  number  of  its 
earliest  years.  Till  recently  this  machine  was 
manufactured  by  Jas.  Willcox,  then  sole  pro- 
prietor; but  the  business  has  now  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Willcox  &  Gibbs 
Sewing  Machine  Company — a  new  stock 
company  of  half  a  million  dollars  capital, 
organized  within  the  past  year — of  which 
Mr.  Willcox  is  President.  The  principal 
office  and  salesroom  of  this  company  is  at 
No.  508  Broadway,  New  York. 

The  warehouses  for  the  sale  of  sewing 
machines,  now  quite  numerous,  are  to  be 


bund  principally  on  Broadway.  Several  of 
these  are  constructed  in  the  newest  style  of 
warehouse  splendor,  and  combine,  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  ornament  with  convenience. 
That  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Co.,  at  No. 
625  Broadway,  is  the  largest  and  most  costly 
structure  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  The 
Singer  establishment,  on  the  corner  of  Broad- 
way and  Grand  Street,  and  that  of  the  Howe 
Co.,  at  No.  699  Broadway,  are  also  capa- 
cious and  elegant  structures.  The  preceding 
cut  represents  a  front  view  of  the  salesrooms 
of  the  Grover  &  Baker  Co.,  at  No.  495 
Broadway.  The  depth  of  the  lower  room 
is  nearly  100  feet,  and  the  front  is  almost 
entirely  of  glass.  On  this  long  floor,  richly 
carpeted,  the  machines  are  displayed,  and 
inspected  by  the  purchaser,  to  whom  in- 
struction is  given  in  the  inner  rooms. 

It  is  conceivable  that,  when  the  fact  came 
to  be  clearly  established  that  machines  would 
do  good  and  strong  sewing,  and  with  a  speed 
so  much  greater  than  hand  sewing,  every 
branch  of  industry  in  which  the  needle  is 
used  began  to  introduce  and  adapt  the 
machines  to  its  own  exigencies.  It  was 
soon  found  that  some  machines  were  better 
adapted  than  others  to  particular  labors. 
The  clothing  business,  which  has  become  so 
important  as  a  new  branch  of  industry  in 
the  last  25  years,  found  a  powerful  auxiliary 
in  the  sewing  machine,  and  great  numbers 
are  used  in  it,  mostly  Singer's.  For  shirt 
and  collar  making,  and  most  other  light 
manufacturing  purposes,  Wheeler  &  Wil- 
son's is  used  much  more  extensively  than 
any  other.  For  bag-making,  seaming  knit 
fabrics,  and  other  work  where  great  elas- 
ticity of  seam  is  necessary,  the  Grover  & 
Baker  is  chiefly  used;  although  the  Willcox 
&  Gibbs  is  also  much  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  Howe  machine,  as  now  made,  takes  the 
lead  for  light  leather  work,  and  competes 
strongly  with  Singer's  in  tailoring  and  lea- 
ther work  of  the  heavier  grades.  For 
family  use,  nearly  every  kind  has  been  re- 
commended, and,  to  greater  or  less  extent, 
sold ;  the  most  popular  for  this  purpose, 
until  recently,  being  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson, 
and  next,  the  Grover  &  Baker ;  but  of  late 
the  Willcox  &  Gibbs — on  account  of  its 
greater  simplicity,  ease  of  working  and  man- 
agement, and  non-liability  to  get  out  of 
order,  adapting  it  more  perfectly  to  all  kinds 
of  work  and  to  all  capacities — though  a  later 
invention,  is  taking  the  lead  for  domestic 
use. 


SEWING    MACHINES. 


429 


The  activity  which  has  been  imparted  t 
the  use  of  sewing  machines  may  be  inferrei 
from  the  fact  that  the  number  of  machine 
made  and  sold  under  Howe's  patent,  up  t 
and  inclusive  of  1866,  is  over  700,000,  th 
proportions  being,  in  round  numbers,  as  fol 
lows : — 

Wheeler  &  Wilson  Co 250,OOC 

Singer  Co 160,000 

Grover  &  Baker  Co 140,000 

Willcox  &  Gibbs  Co.  (since  May,  1859) 55,000 

Howe 40,000 

All  others 65,000 


710,000 

The  number  of  sewing  machines  made  anc 
sold  under  Howe's  patent,  during  the  year 
1866,  and  during  the  last  quarter  of  said  year, 
as  appears  from  the  license  returns,  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Last  quarter. 

Wheeler <&  Wilson  Co.* 13,579 

Singer  Co 14, 164 

Grover  &  Baker  Co 8,776 

Willcox  &  Gibbs  Co 5,180 

Howe 2,820 

All  others 7,680 


52,199 


Tear  1866. 
47,125 
36,235 
28,186 
15,028 
10,251 
27,673 


164,498 


Sales  have  also  been  made  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  infringing  machines,  of  inferior  char- 
acter and  imperfectly  made,  that  would  not 
do  the  work  promised.  The  number  of 
these  now  made  is,  however,  very  small;  and 
the  manner  in  which  all  sewing  machines 
are  now  got  up  is  much  more  perfect  than 
formerly.  Great  preparations  have  been 
made  by  the  leading  firms  to  meet  the 
growing  demand.  One  manufactory,  that 
of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Co.,  at  Bridgeport, 
Conn.,  is  said  to  contain  four  acres  of  floor- 
ing; and  another  company  boasts  of  its 
ability  to  supply  170,000  machines  annually. 
Since  the  extension  of  his  patent  in  1860, 
Mr.  Howe  has  erected  at  Bridgeport  a  very 
extensive  and  complete  establishment,  for 
the  manufacture  of  his  machines.  The 
Grover  &  Baker  Company  have  an  estab- 
lishment nearly  as  large,  at  Boston,  Mass.; 
and  the  Singer  Manufacturing  Company  have 
theirs  in  New  York.  The  manufactory  of 
the  Willcox  &  Gibbs  Company,  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  though  not  as  extensive  as  those 
above  named,  is  capable  of  turning  out  a 
very  large  number  of  machines.  This  estab- 
lishment is  distinguished  for  the  complete- 

*  Wheeler  &  Wilson's  returns  include  the  Elliptic 
machine. 


ness  and  perfection  of  its  machinery,  and  the 
superior  character  of  the  work  sent  out. 
These  several  establishments  so  nearly  resem- 
ble each  other  in  character  and  general  ar- 
rangements, and  in  the  process  of  building 
the  machines,  that  a  description  of  one  will 
serve  for  all.  The  following  is  a  sketch  of 
the  Singer  establishment : 

The  main  building  is  of  iron  and  brick, 
six  stories  high  above  ground,  with  a  cellar 
and  sub-cellar  underneath.  The  length  of 
the  front  is  100  feet,  with  an  extension  of 
about  60  feet  at  the  south  end.  The  depth 
of  the  main  building  is  60  feet,  but  an 
addition  to  the  rear  causes  the  premises 
used  as  a  foundry  to  reach  through  to  Eliza- 
beth Street.  The  main  edifice  is  now  ex- 
tended to  Broome  Street,  making  its  entire 
length  250  feet.  The  floors  are  of  wood ; 
but  the  pillars,  beams,  girders,  and  stairs  are 
of  iron ;  while  the  ceiling  to  each  floor  is 
arched  with  brick,  making  the  whole  con- 
cern fire-proof. 

Entering  by  the  front  door,  we  find  a  neat 
business  office  to  the  left,  beyond  which  is 
the  stock  room,  occuping  nearly  all  the 
first  floor. 

In  the   adjoining  wing  is  the  blacksrnith- 
shop,   with  its  forges,  drop-hammers,  trip- 
hammers,  &c.     This  apartment,  well  venti- 
ated  and  lighted,  has  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
ive   men   constantly   at   work.      Here  are 
'abricated   the  shuttles,   feed-hammers,  and 
other  light  parts  of  the  machine,  made  of 
the     best  bar  steel.      The   shuttle  is  a    lit- 
,le   canoe-shaped    vessel,  from  one  to   three 
nches  long,  as  bright  and  smooth  as  a  new 
)in.     A  die  of  the  proper  size  and  shape  is 
)laced  on  the  block  under  the   drop-press, 
which  is  made  to  fall  with  a  blow  of  250 
>ounds   upon    the   heated    steel,   when  the  % 
shuttle    is    substantially    formed,    requiring 
only  to  be  polished  with  the  file  to  be  ready 
for  use.     The  next  process  is  annealing  the 
irticles  turned  out  from  the  forges,  in  order 
o  soften  the  metal  sufficiently  to  bear  ham- 
mering  and  filing.     For  this  purpose  they 
ctre  packed  between  layers  of  charcoal  in  a 
trong  iron  box,  which  is  shut  up  in  the  an- 
ealing  furnace  for  about  two  days.     This 
lone,  they  are  passed  through  the  trimming- 
->ress,  an  instrument  which  cuts  off  all  flanges 
r  excrescences  that  may  have  been  made 
mder  the  drop-press.     Some  pieces  require 
o   be   dressed    on    the    planing-machine ; 
>thers  to  be  turned  in  the  lathes,  or  filed  in 
he  vices. 


430 


INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRIES. 


Passing  down  one  flight  of  stairs,  we 
enter  the  foundry,  which  not  only  extends 
all  the  way  under  the  main  building,  but  has 
offshoots  in  two  other  directions,  its  entire 
area  being  nearly  half  an  acre.  So  much 
crowded,  however,  was  this  department  that 
a  separate  foundry  had  to  be  established  up 
town,  where  a  portion  of  the  work  is  now 
turned  out.  The  engine,  having  a  capacity 
of  eighty-horse  power,  occupies  a  separate 
apartment  in.  the  basement. 

The  sub-cellar  is  devoted  to  cleaning  the 
castings,  which  is  done  by  the  ordinary 
mode  of  immersing  them  in  diluted  sulphuric 
acid,  and  afterward  scraping  off,  or  by 
placing  them  in  a  large  cylinder,  with  several 
hundred  weight  of  metal  stars.  The  cylin- 
der is  then  made  to  revolve  rapidly,  expos- 
ing every  part  of  the  surface  of  each  casting 
to  a  constant  attrition  from  the  stars,  by 
which  it  comes  out  in  time  smooth  and 
shining,  as  if  it  had  been  filed.  In  the 
foundry  about  eighty  employes  are  at  work. 
The  average  weekly  wages  of  journeymen, 
including  some  over-time,  is  between  $20 
and  $22. 

On  the  second  floor,  the  machine  properly 
takes  its  rise.  Here  its  heavy  parts  are 
planed,  bored,  grooved,  and  otherwise  pre- 
pared for  the  adjusting  room.  About  one 
hundred  machines,  planers,  lathes,  milling, 
slotting,  grooving,  screwing,  &c. — are  run- 
ning— while  the  hundred  workers  behind 
them  are  so  actively  engaged  that  they  have 
no  time  to  bestow  upon  the  stranger.  In 
every  sewing  machine  are  nearly  one  hun- 
dred pieces,  independent  of  the  wood-work, 
some  of  the  pieces  having  ten  or  a  dozen 
faces.  It  is  essential  that  part  shall  fit  part 
so  accurately  as  to  occasion  neither  jolt  nor 
jar  afterward,  or  delay  in  adjusting,  when 
the  whole  instrument  is  put  together.  Hun- 
dreds of  openings  of  all  sizes  have  to  be 
drilled  and  reamed  out ;  yet  so  nicely  that 
none  shall  vary  a  hair's-breadth  from  the 
true  line.  Grooves  have  to  be  excavated — 
often  one  below  another.  Bolts,  nuts,  turn- 
screws,  have  to  be  turned  and  milled,  in 
many  cases  undergoing  half  a  dozen  opera- 
tions at  the  hands  of  a  single  workman. 

The  third  floor  differs  little  in  appearance 
or  use  from  the  second,  except  that  it  is  ap- 
propriated to  the  smaller  parts  of  the  instru- 
ment, the  infinitesimal  screws  and  bolts,  the 
needle-bars,  <kc.  In  this  apartment  are  fifty 
milling  machines,  twenty  lathes,  and  eight 
gear  cutters ;  the  number  of  men  and  boys 


at  work  is  about  sixty.  The  scale  of  wages 
ranges  from  $4.50  for  boys,  to  $25  per  week 
for  the  best  mechanics. 

Room  number  four  is  the  adjusting  or 
finishing  room,  into  which  all  the  parts  are 
brought  to  be  put  together.  The  instru- 
ment, however,  is  recognized  as  a  machine, 
after  the  table  and  arm  have  been  bolted  to- 
gether, which  is  done  on  the  second  floor. 
The  quantity  of  machinery  there  is  incon- 
siderable, as  compared  with  the  lower  apart- 
ments, the  work  being  mostly  of  a  kind  that 
must  be  done  by  hand.  The  number  of  em- 
ployes is  about  85. 

Room  number  five  is  the  japanning  room, 
and  shows  the  effects  of  the  operations  car- 
ried on,  the  roof  being  in  places  a  rich  am- 
ber color,  which  deepens  into  a  dark  or 
brownish  green.  Japanning  is  an  art  of 
comparatively  recent  introduction  into  this 
country ;  but  it  has  already  attained  a  high 
degree  of  excellence.  A  coating  of  it  be- 
comes apparently  as  hard  as  the  metal  on 
which  it  is  laid.  We  can  describe  it  only 
in  brief.  The  liquid,  composed  of  oil,  tur- 
pentine, and  gum  asphaltum,  is  applied  by  a 
brush  to  the  metal,  and  the  article  is  then 
put  into  a  kiln  or  furnace,  a  fire-proof  build- 
ing, heated  to  a  temperature  350  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  After  baking  about  eight  hours, 
it  becomes  smooth  and  hard,  and  i;  taken 
out.  But  previous  to  this  operation,  if  the 
machine  is  to  be  a  fancy  one  for  family  use, 
is  that  of  pearling,  for  which  purpose  the 
delicate  green  snail  shells  are  sawn  into  thin 
layers,  and,  by  means  of  a  punch  and  dies, 
cut  into  any  desirable  sizes  or  figures.  These 
are  applied  by  hand  to  the  margin  and  cen- 
ter of  the  table,  making  a  border  and  center 
of  flowers,  which  are  laid  on  before  entering 
the  kiln. 

Plain  machines  receive  three  coatings  and 
bakings,  after  which  the  black  surface  is 
rubbed  smooth  and  light  with  pumice  or 
rotten  stone.  The  pearl  machines,  after  be- 
ing baked,  are  scraped  along  their  margins 
and  centers,  so  as  to  expose  the  face  of 
the  pearl,  which  is  then  even  with  the 
surrounding  surface.  The  operation  next 
in  order  is  to  apply  gold-leaf,  for  which 
purpose  a  line  of  asphaltum  is  traced  on  the 
table  with  a  pencil,  of  any  required  design. 
Gold-leaf  is  applied  to  the  entire  surface, 
and  afterward  rubbed  off  with  wet  cotton 
waste.  To  the  line  traced  as  above  de- 
scribed, the  gold  adheres.  The  cotton,  thus 
saturated  with  "  the  king  of  metals,"  is  care- 


SEWING    MACHJNES. 


431 


fully  preserved  and  made  to  yield  up  its 
treasure.  On  the  plainer  instruments,  gold 
is  not  applied,  but  a  substance  known  as 
"  German  metal."  In  this  department  are  32 
finishers  and  laborers.  First-class  ornament- 
ors  can  readily  command  $30  per  week. 

The  sixth  floor,  which  is  next  the  roof,  is  the 
department  for  making  and  fitting  a  variety 
of  small  work,  namely,  the  springs,  gauges, 
needle-bars,  &c.  The  number  of  employes 
there  is  eighty.  There  are  several  screwing 
machines,  with  revolving  heads,  at  work. 
The  close,  delicate-fitting  work  is  done  here; 
though  the  body  of  the  machine  is  put  to- 
gether on  the  fourth  floor.  In  an  adjoining 
room  the  emery  wheels  are  hard  at  work, 
emitting  their  streams  of  fire,  and  imparting 
an  exquisite  polish  to  various  parts  of  the 
machine.  The  number  of  steel  springs 
made  and  polished  every  week  is  about 
12,000.  The  number  of  employes  in  all 
departments  is  783.  The  amount  of  a 
week's  pay-roll  was  $9,700. 

Two  kinds  of  machines  are  made,  "  the 
Standard,"  or  "  Manufacturing,"  and  the 
"Family  Machine;"  also  a  Machine  for 
making  button-holes. 

The  Spring  Street  branch  comprises  two 
floors  in  a  large  building,  both  being  used  in 
making  needles.  Hence,  it  is  sometimes 
termed  "  the  needle  department."  The 
number  of  hands  employed  is  about  seventy, 
who  turn  out,  on  the  average,  50,000 
needles  every  week.  About  twenty-five  of 
the  employes  are  women  and  girls.  The 
needles  are  made  of  the  best  quality  of 
steel  wire,  some  of  it  costing  $4  or  $5  per 
pound.  The  first  operation  is  to  straighten 
it  by  removing  all  twists  or  kinks.  The  ap- 
paratus used  had  to  be  invented  for  the  pur- 
pose. After  cutting  the  wire  into  lengths, 
the  needles  are  grooved  on  both  sides  by 
means  of  a  revolving  circular  saw,  the  fine 
teeth  of  which  gnaw  into  the  side  of  the 
needle  as  it  moves  forward.  Of  course,  it 
is  a  delicate  piece  of  work ;  but  there  is 
hardly  ever  an  instance  of  failure.  One  man 
is  able  to  attend  half  a  dozen  of  the  saws, 
each  cutting  2,500  per  day. 

The  needle  is  next  taken  to  the  eyeing 
machine,  where  the  eye  is  punched  by  means 
of  a  lever  worked  by  hand.  The  attendant, 
if  excelling,  will  punch  8,000  in  a  single  day. 
After  punching,  the  eye  is  drilled  out  by 
another  delicate  device.  The  speed  here 
attained  is  less  than  at  punching,  a  good 
day's  work  being  2,500.  The  needles  are 


then  tempered  and  pointed  in  rows  of  six  at 
a  time,  the  grinding  being  done  on  a  wet 
stone.  From  this  they  pass  to  the  polish- 
ing-roll,  a  round  revolving  bar,  overlaid  with 
a  composition,  in  which  grooves  have  been 
sunk  corresponding  to  the  sizes  of  needles. 
This  done,  they  are  put  up  into  bundles  and 
sent  off  to  their  destination. 


MILLS, 

THE  universal  dependence  of  the  human 
family  upon  bread  as  food,  has  no  doubt 
caused  that  article  to  be  aptly  designated 
as  the  "  staff  of  life."  It  has  been  made  of 
many  substances,  but  in  the  American  colo- 
nies, from  the  earliest  times,  Indian  corn, 
wheat,  and  rye  have  been  the  leading  if  not 
the  only  materials.  The  laborers  of  Europe 
have  only  since  comparatively  recent  dates 
used  grain  commonly  for  bread.  The  pea- 
sants of  the  south  of  France  for  long  age.-* 
used  only  chestnuts  and  similar  fruits  for  the 
purpose.  In  Germany,  rye  forms  the  na- 
tive "  black  bread"  made  of  the  grain 
ground  but  unbolted.  The  Scotch  use  oat- 
meal and  barley  for  bread.  The  English 
use  wheat  commonly,  as  is  the  case  now 
mostly  in  America.  Here,  however,  the 
variety  and  abundance  of  animal  and  other 
food  is  so  great  that  wheaten  bread  enters 
less  into  the  daily  diet  of  the  masses  than 
would  otherwise  be  the  case.  Whatever 
the  grain  used,  however,  milling  is  the  first 
necessity,  and  the  number  and  capacity  of 
the  mills  must  always  be  proportioned  to 
the  numbers  of  the  people.  In  a  country 
like  this,  where  they  multiply  so  fast,  the 
investments  in  mill  property  must  keep  pace 
with  the  swelling  numbers  of  the  people* 
We  find,  therefore,  in  the  returns  of  the 
manufacturing  industry  of  the  Union  for 
1850,  published  by  order  of  Congress,  that  of 
the  whole  value  produced,  $1,019,106,616, 
by  far  the  largest  item  was  the  products  of 
flour  and  grist  mills.  This  amounted  to 
$136,056,736,  or  rather  more  than  13  per 
cent.  Next  to  this  industry,  the  highest 
production  was  of  cottons,  the  most  general 
material  for  clothing,  and  that  product 
reached  $65,501,687.  The  largest  mill  in- 
terest was  in  the  state  of  New  York,  where 
the  product  was  $33,037,021.  The  census 


INDIVIDUAL     INDUSTRIES. 


of  1840  gave  the  number  of  flour  mills  in 
the  Union  for  that  year,  and  if  we  compare 
the  population  and  crop  of  wheat  as  report- 
ed, with  the  number  of  flour  mills,  the  re- 
sults are  as  follows : — 


1840  . . 
1850.., 
1860  . . 


Population. 

17,069,453 
23,191,877 
31,443,322 


"Wheat  raised. 
Bush. 

84,833,272 
100,485,944 
170,176,027 


No.  of  Flour 
Mills. 

4,364 
11,891 
13,868 


In  order  to  get  the  quantity  of  wheat 
floured,  it  is  necessary  to  deduct  from  this 
production  the  quantity  reserved  for  seed, 
and  the  quantity  exported  as  grain. 

From  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try, flour  has  been  an  important  article  of 
export,  and  New  York  wheat  early  gained 
a  reputation  as  well  abroad  as  at  home. 
During  the  wars  of  Napoleon,  the  valley  of 
the  Hudson  furnished  large  supplies  of  flour, 
and  milling  was  a  very  profitable  business. 
Water-power  was  generally  used.  Mills  con- 
centrated where  this  was  to  be  had  advan- 
tageously in  the  neighborhood  of  good  sup- 
plies of  wheat.  The  mills  of  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  the  famous  Genesee  wheat  is 
floured,  are  a  grand  example  of  well-applied 
water  power.  The  Baltimore  and  Richmond 
city  mills  acquired  great  reputation,  and  of 
late  years  the  settlement  of  the  western 
country  has  caused  St.  Louis  to  become  the 
central  point  of  a  vast  region,  and  magnifi- 
cent mills  are  there  constructed.  The  mills 
at  Louisville  are  also  on  a  grand  scale.  One 
of  those  mills,  as  an  illustration,  erected  at 
a  cost  of  $85,000,  has  four  run  of  stones  of 
a  capacity  of  1500  bushels  of  wheat  daily. 
The  mill  is  situated  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio, 
just  where  they  dash  through  the  Indiana 
chute.  The  mill-race,  excavated  in  the  solid 
limestone,  involved  a  large  expenditure  of 
time  and  money.  The  wheels  are  con- 
structed on  a  new  principle,  being  similar 
to  the  submerged  propellers  used  in  war 
steamers,  and  working  an  immense  upright 
shaft,  the  base  of  which  is  sunk  fifteen  feet 
in  the  solid  rock.  This  shaft  drives  the 
entire  machinery  of  the  mill  with  irresistible 
power  and  the  regularity  of  clock-work. 
Almost  every  state  abounds  in  valuable  mill 
sites  that  furnish  the  power  for  flouring  the 
grain  of  the  several  districts  for  local  use. 
Steam  plays,  however,  an  important  part  as 
a  motor  for  supplying  flour  for  export.  The 
ordinary  operation  of  grinding  has  been  by 
two  millstones  of  some  4  to  6  inches  ia  dia- 


meter, average  weight  14  cwt.  The  surfaces 
are  dressed,  and  the  lower  one  fixed,  the 
upper  one  revolving  with  an  immense  velo- 
city, generally  120  revolutions  per  minute. 
The  wheat  being  fed  in  through  an  aperture, 
is  ground  between  the  revolving  and  fixed 
surfaces  of  the  stones.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  great  weight  of  the  revolving  stone,  the 
speed  at  which  it  moves,  and  the  friction 
caused  by  the  interposition  of  so  glutinous 
a  substance  as  wheat,  involves  the  expendi- 
ture of  vast  power  to  sustain  the  action.  A 
single  pair  of  stones  requires  a  four-horse 
power  to  keep  up  the  required  motion.  In 
this  mode  of  grinding  between  such  extended 
surfaces,  the  flour  does  not  escape  so  readily 
as  desirable,  and  becomes  somewhat  dete- 
riorated by  continuous  retrituration.  There 
have  been  many  improvements  introduced 
in  the  form  of  mills.  One  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful seems  to  have  been  to  give  the  stones 
a  conical  form.  In  this  improvement,  the 
weight  of  the  running  stone  is  reduced  from 
14  cwt.  to  l£  cwt.,  and  it  is  placed  beneath 
the  fixed  stone ;  the  size  of  both  is  reduced 
to  one-third,  and  they  have  the  form  of  a 
frustum  of  a  cone.  It  is  obvious  that  a  mass 
of  14  cwt.,  revolving  over  a  surface,  is  not 
susceptible  of  the  same  delicacy  of  adjust- 
ment as  one  of  l£  cwt.  revolving  under  the 
fixed  surface,  and  the  miller  has  a  much 
easier  and  more  effective  control  over  the 
most  important  portion  of  his  operations. 
The  conical  form  facilitates  the  discharge 
of  the  flour,  and  obviates  the  clogging  and 
overheating  of  the  flat  stones.  By  a  judicious 
combination  of  this  mill  with  the  dressing 
machine*  a  perfect  separation  of  the  flour 
from  the  bran  is  effected  at  the  moment  the 
grist  escapes  from  the  stones.  The  bran 
still  remains  in  the  mill,  and  falls  by  its  own 
gravity  to  a  second  pair  of  stones  in  all 
respects  like  the  first  pair.  Both  pairs,  being 
mounted  on  the  same  spindle,  are  impelled 
by  the  same  gearing.  The  lower  pair  com- 
plete the  process,  and  leave  nothing  uncon- 
verted into  flour  that  will  add  either  to  the 
weight  or  the  quality  of  the  loaf. 

The  capital  invested  in  flour  mills  in  the 
whole  country  was  in  1860  given  at  $84,- 
585,004,  and  the  production  $248,580,365. 
The  quantity  of  flour  exported  in  1860  was 
somewhat  over  three  millions  of  barrels. 
To  supply  this,  and  the  wants  of  a  popu- 
lation amounting  to  fully  32,000,000,  the 
quantity  floured  was  about  35,500,000  bar- 
rels. 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


PASSING  over  the  class  of  band  instru- 
ments, the  violin  and  its  congeners,  the  flute, 
guitar  and  harp,  all  of  which,  though  manu- 
factured here,  are  substantially  the  same  as 
European  instruments,  arid  none  of  them 
have  been  materially  improved,  we  have 
only  space  to  speak  of  the  piano  and  the 
class  of  reed  instruments.  The  church  or- 
gan might  indeed  challenge  our  attention, 
but  this  has  only  kept  pace  with  the  foreign 
instrument  in  its  improvements. 

The  PIANO  has  been  improved  in  compass, 
tone  and  ability  to  imitate  the  musical  sounds 
of  the  human  voice,  during  the  past  eighty 
years,  more  than  any  other  musical  instru- 
ment ;  and  most  of  these  improvements  have 
originated  in  the  United  States.  The  instru- 
ment in  its  earliest  form,  dates  back  only  to 
1757,  and  as  late  as  1823  was  still  a  very 
imperfect,  wiry-toned  affair,  tolerated  but 
not  admired.  Considerable  numbers  of  the 
English  and  French  pianos  were  imported 
in  the  early  part  of  this  century,  though  at- 
tempts were  made  at  manufacturing  pianos 
here,  by  Osborn,  by  J.  Thurston,  and  by 
Stodart,  from  the  London  house  of  that 
name.  In  1823,  Jonas  Chickering,  a  young 
mechanic  from  New  Hampshire,  commenced 
their  manufacture  in  Boston,  and  possess- 
ing mechanical  ingenuity  as  well  as  musical 
skill,  he  soon  began  to  improve  the  instru- 
ment. He  made  the  entire  frame  of  iron,  in 
order  to  enable  it  to  resist  the  better  the  im- 
mense strain  of  the  tense  strings,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  increase  the  resonance  and  purity 
of  its  tones.  He  also  devised  the  "  circular 
scale "  with  the  "  arch-wrest  planks "  or 
"  tuning  blocks ;"  both  these  improvements 
were  speedily  adopted  by  other  manufac- 
turers iu  Europe  and  America,  He  also  made 
numerous  improvements  in  minor  details, 
which  resulted  in  rendering  his  instruments 
equal  to  any  in  the  world.  Other  manufactu- 
rers have  also  made  important  improvements, 
within  the  last  20  or  25  years,  in  the  instru- 
ment. Among  these  have  been  the  ^-Eolian  at- 
tachment of  Obed  Coleman  ;  the  adoption  by 
several  manufacturers  of  the  over-strung  bass 
i  :i  square  pianos ;  the  bedding  or  insulation 
of  the  iron  frame  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Lighte ;  the 


use  of  soft  elastic  washers  to  soften  the  tone, 
by  the  same  manufacturer;  the  double 
sounding-board  of  Mr.  S.  B.  Driggs,  intend- 
ed to  increase  the  volume  and  sweetness  of 
the  tones  of  the  instrument;  the  patent 
combination  sounding-board  of  Messrs.  Raven 
&  Bacon,  and  the  cycloid  form  of  the  piano 
of  Messrs.  Lindemann  &  Sons,  having  the 
same  purpose.  Messrs.  Steinway  &  Sons 
have  applied  the  patent  Agraffe  arrangement 
directly  to  the  full  iron  frame,  and  have  also 
obviated  the  difficulties  which  had  been  ex- 
perienced in  the  construction  of  the  upright 
piano,  by  their  patent  resonator,  and  double 
iron  frame.  Their  instruments  took  the 
highest  premium  over  the  competing  pianos 
of  the  best  manufacturers  of  Europe,  at  the 
International  Exhibition  in  London,  in  1862. 
Both  their  instruments  and  Chickerings  have 
a  very  high  reputation  in  Europe,  and  are 
largely  exported  thither,  while  the  importa- 
tion of  pianos  has  ceased.  The  Chickerings 
have  made  over  30,000  pianos,  a  larger 
number  than  any  other  manufacturers.  The 
entire  production  of  these  instruments  is 
probably  not  far  from  25,000  per  annum. 

REED     INSTRUMENTS. 

THESE  are  all  the  inventions  of  the  present 
century.  The  first  use  of  metallic  reeds  (vi- 
brating tongues  of  metal),  for  musical  pur- 
poses, in  Europe  or  America,  was  the  Eolo- 
dicon  of  Eschenberg,  of  Bohemia,  invented 
about  60  years  ago.  This  was  followed,  in 
1821,  by  the  accordeon,  which,  whether  of 
small  or  large  size,  was  little  more  than  a  mu- 
sical toy.  The  rocking  melodeon,  as  at  first 
constructed,  was  only  an  amplification  of  this, 
and  as  in  the  English  and  French  melodeons, 
the  air  was  forced  outward  through  the 
reeds,  in  order  to  produce  musical  sounds. 
The  reeds,  moved  by  this  forced  current, 
frequently  caught,  or  did  not  vibrate  prompt- 
ly, especially  the  highest  and  lowest  notes. 
About  the  year  1840,  some  of  the  rocking  or 
lap  melodeons,  constructed  by  several  manu- 
facturers on  an  improved  plan,  gained  consid- 
erable reputation.  The  reeds  of  these  were 
fastened  to,  and  vibrated  in,  a  small  squaro 


434 


MUSICAL    INSTRUMENTS. 


metallic  pipe,  which  was  inserted  through  the 
top  of  the  wind-chest,  with  the  points  of  the 
reeds  downward,  the  rear  ends  of  the  keys 
resting  on  the  open  ends  of  the  metallic  pipes, 
and  thus  forming  the  valves.  About  1840, 
another  improvement  was  adopted  in  the  lap 
melodeons,  which  gave  them  a  better  charac- 
ter of  tone,  and  contributed  to  their  intro- 
duction as  accompaniments  to  church  music. 
The  reeds  were  riveted  upon  a  piece  of  brass 
swedged  or  bent  so  as  to  form  three  sides  of 
a  square,  the  edges  of  which  were  then  in- 
serted in  grooves  made  for  them  upon  the  up- 
per side  of  the  wind-chest,  directly  over  the 
valve  mortice ;  and,  in  order  to  bring  the  point 
of  the  reed  to  vibrate  on  the  inside,  the  reeds 
were  made  to  pass  through  their  sockets  to 
the  under  side,  and  thus  naturally  took 
the  form  of  a  double  curve,  somewhat  re- 
sembling the  letter  S.  This  curving  the 
reeds  improved  the  tone,  and  on  this  ac- 
count was  adopted  by  most  of  the  American 
manufacturers,  though  liable  to  the  objec- 
tion of  retarding  the  promptness  of  the  re- 
sponse of  the  reeds. 

In  1846,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Carhart  secured  a 
patent  for  a  certain  construction  of  bellows, 
with  other  combinations,  to  operate  the 
reeds  by  suction  or  drawing  in,  instead  of 
forcing  out  the  air,  since  known  as  "the 
exhaust  plan."  This  invention  gave  to 
these  instruments  an  improved  quality  of 
tone,  greater  durability,  more  simplicity  of 
construction,  increased  promptness  of  utter- 
ance, uniformity  of  tones,  and  an  equal 
distribution  of  power  through  the  entire 
scale.  The  melodeons  made  op  this  plan 
by  Carhart,  and  subsequently  by  Prince  & 
Co.,  were  at  first  small,  of  only  one  size, 
having  but  four  octaves  of  reeds,  and  ex- 
tremely plain  in  style.  After  two  or  three 
years,  they  were  increased  in  size,  extended 
to  4£  and  5  octaves,  and  had  two  sets  of 
reeds.  This  was  about  the  utmost  compass 
possible  for  the  melodeon.  Another  improve- 
ment, made  about  1849,  was  the  change  of 
form  of  the  bellows,  the  exhauster  being  placed 
on  the  upper  side,of  the  reed-board,  instead 
of  underneath  the  bellows  ;  this  enabled  the 
performer  to  operate  the  bellows  more  easily. 
The  tones  of  the  instrument  still  lacked  soft- 
ness and  sweetness.  This  difficulty  was  reme- 
died, in  1849,  by  a  discovery  made  by  Mr. 
Emmons  Hamlin,  now  of  Mason  <fe  Hamlin,  but 
then  with  Prince  <fe  Co.  He  found  that,  by 
slightly  twisting  each  of  the  already  curved 


reeds,  this  harshness  was  overcome,  and  the 
tones  rendered  soft  and  musical. 

In  1855,  the  firm  of  Mason  &  Hamlin, 
formed  the  previous  year,  offered  to  the  pub- 
lic their  "  Organ  Harmonium ,"  an  instrument 
having  4  sets  of  reeds  and  two  manuals  of 
keys.  The  reeds  e*xtended  from  ceo  in  the 
"  bourdon  "  to  c'""  in  alt,  or  seven  octaves. 
Two  blow-pedals  were  also  attached  to  it, 
which  enabled  the  performer  to  produce  ef- 
fects not  hitherto  attained  by  any  reed  instru- 
ment in  this  country.  In  1861,  after  numerous 
experiments,  Messrs.  Mason  &  Hamlin  suc- 
ceeded in  perfecting  their  "  School  Harmo- 
nium" simplifying  the  construction,  but  re- 
taining all  the  good  features  of  the  larger  in- 
strument. In  this  instrument,  the  bellows 
was  first  placed  vertically.  This  and  the  other 
improvements  were  soon  after  adapted  to 
the  organ  harmonium,  which  thenceforward 
became  capable  of  receiving  a  more  elegant 
form,  and,  in  1862,  was  brought  out  in  its 
present  shape,  as  the  "Cabinet  Organ" 
Its  history  since  that  time  has  been  one  of 
constant  improvement,  by  which  its  compass, 
variety  and  sweetness  of  tone  have  been  en- 
hanced, while  its  rapidity  of  action  enables 
it  to  render  secular  music  with  fine  effect, 
and  to  become  a  formidable  rival  of  the 
piano.  Of  these  improvements,  the  chief 
are,  the  Double  Bdlows;  the  improved 
Self-adjusting  Reed-  Valves  ;  the  Automatic 
Bellows  Swell,  an  addition  of  great  practi- 
cal value ;  the  Sounding  and  Tube  Boards, 
which  increase  the  resonance  of  its  tones ; 
the  Noiseless  Safety  Valves,  regulating  the 
pressure  and  escape  of  the  wind;  and  the 
Improved  Combination  Register,  winch  facili- 
tates the  drawing  and  closing  of  the  stops. 

The  Cabinet  Organ  is  the  most  perfect  of 
the  reed-instruments,  but  the  melodeons, 
harmoniums,  and  Cottage,  Gem  and  Monitor 
organs,  which  have  preceded  it,  or  are  now 
made  by  other  manufacturers,  though  in- 
ferior to  it  in  sweetness  of  tone,  'resonance, 
variety  and  rapidity  of  execution,  are  yet 
much  superior  to  the  English,  French  or 
German  instruments,  none  of  which  are  con- 
structed on  the  "exhaust  plan."  During 
the  year  ending  November  1,  1866,  the  in5 
ternal  revenue  taxes  paid  by  the  manu- 
facturers of  reed  instruments  in  the  United 
States,  on  their  sales,  were  a  little  more  than 
$80,000,  indicating  a  manufacture  of  the 
value  of  $1,600,000.  Of  this  $80,000,  Mason 
&  Ilamlin  paid  about  $21,000. 


HUMANITARIAN  AND  CORRECTIYE  INSTITUTIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRISONS  AND  PRISON  DISCIPLINE. 

THE  idea  of  imprisonment,  as  a  punish- 
ment for  crime,  though  less  than  a  hundred 
years  old  in  this  country,  seems  to  have  oc- 
curred to  our  law-makers  sooner  than  to 
those  of  most  of  the  states  of  Europe.  In 
the  early  history  of  the  colonies,  however, 
the  prison  was  seldom  used,  except  as  a  place 
of  detention  for  debtors,  for  those  arrested 
but  not  yet  tried,  and  for  criminals  awaiting 
the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty.  Death, 
under  the  code  of  most  of  the  colonies, 
which  was  based  upon  that  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, was  the  penalty  of  a  great  number  of  of- 
fences, not  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifteen  in 
one  of  the  states;  while  for  minor  crimes 
and  misdemeanors,  the  pillory,  the  stocks, 
whipping  at  the  whipping-post,  branding, 
cropping,  slitting  the  nostrils,  wearing  the 
halter,  and  banishment,  were  the  usual  pun- 
ishments. 

Very  soon  after  the  Revolution,  however, 
the  penal  code  was  revised  in  a  spirit  of  hu- 
manity in  most  of  the  states,  the  number 
of  capital  offences  greatly  diminished,  the 
indignities  to  the  person  either  abolished  or 
(with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  states) 
greatly  mitigated,  and  imprisonment  substi- 
tuted for  the  death  penalty,  as  well  as  in  a 
milder  form  for  various  punishments  of  a 
personal  character,  and  for  heavy  fines. 

The  prison  was  not  at  this  time  by  any 
means  a  model  institution.  The  worst  crim- 
inals were  often  herded  together,  and  fight- 
ing, blasphemy,  drunkenness,  and  obscenity 
made  their  dens  (for  really  they  were  nothing 
more)  perfectly  hideous.  Often,  too,  young 
and  innocent  persons,  unjustly  accused  of 
crime  or  detained  as  witnesses,  were  com- 
pelled to  endure  the  society  of  the  most  de- 
praved wretches,  and  the  young  man  or 
young  woman  who  entered  the  prison  with 
no  evil  habits,  after  a  few  weeks'  stay  there 
emerged  with  tainted  morals  and  thoroughly 

26 


educated  for  a  life  of  crime.  In  one  state 
(Connecticut)  an  old  abandoned  copper  mine 
was  fitted  up  as  a  convict  prison,  and  in  its 
dark,  damp  shafts  and  galleries,  into  which 
the  light  of  day  never  penetrated,  criminals 
were  confined  till  in  many  cases  its  poison- 
ous air  and  the  dampness  of  its  walls  put  an 
end  to  their  existence. 

Pennsylvania  having  been  the  first  state 
in  the  Union  to  ameliorate  her  penal  code, 
was  also  the  first  to  attempt  an  improvement 
in  her  convict  prisons.  In  1786,  the  Wal- 
nut Street  Prison  was  erected  on  the  solitary 
plan,  with  thirty  cells.  The  convicts  were 
confined  in  a  cell  larger  than  that  generally 
in  use  in  prisons,  and  here  they  remained 
without  work  or  books,  or  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  a  human  face  or  hearing  a  human 
voice.  The  men  who  advised  the  adoption 
of  this  plan  were  really  humane  men,  who 
had  from  motives  of  philanthropy  urged  and 
effected  the  abolition  of  the  death  penal- 
ty for  many  of  the  crimes  for  which  it  had 
hitherto  been  inflicted,  but  they  did  not  un- 
derstand how  terrible  a  system  of  torture 
they  were  establishing,  in  inaugurating  this 
solitary  plan.  To  have  no  occupation,  no 
recreation  or  relief,  nothing  to  do  but  to 
think,  think,  year  after  year ;  to  be  deprived, 
too,  of  all  communication  with  friends,  of 
all  religious  instruction,  of  all  opportunity 
of  reading  the  Bible,  or  any  other  book, 
was  a  torture  so  refined  and  dreadful  that 
it  was  deserving  of  being  ranked  with  the 
rack,  the  boot,  and  the  thumbscrew  of  the 
Inquisition. 

The  effects  of  this  system  of  punishment 
in  producing  insanity  and  fatuity,  though 
obviously  to  us  inherent  in  the  system  it- 
self, were  attributed  at  first  by  its  advo- 
cates to  the  limited  scale  on  which  it  was 
tried,  and  certain  defects  in  the  methods  of 
construction  and  arrangement ;  and  it  was 
insisted  that  if  tried  on  a  larger  scale  and 
with  the  modifications  suggested  by  experi- 
ence, it  would  be  found  the  best  plan  for  a 


436 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


prison,  The  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  have 
been  wont  to  deliberate  for  some  time  on 
the  best  plan  for  conducting  public  insti- 
tutions, whether  corrective  or  humane,  but 
when  their  minds  have  once  become  settled 
in  regard  to  them,  they  have  never  hesitated 
on  the  ground  of  the  expense  of  the  meas- 
ures they  deemed  necessary.  It  was  so  in 
this  case.  Two  convict  prisons  were  need- 
ed in  the  state,  one  to  take  the  place  of  the 
miserably  arranged  and  managed  one  at 
Philadelphia,  the  other  to  accommodate 
the  convict  population  of  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing western  counties.  The  latter,  since 
known  as  the  Western  Penitentiary  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  first  completed.  It  was 
located  at  Pittsburg,  and  was  finished  and 
occupied  in  1826.  The  Eastern  Peniten- 
tiary, located  at  Cherry  Hill,  near  Philadel- 
phia, was  not  completed  till  1829.  Mean- 
time, the  experiment  of  the  solitary  plan 
had  been  tried,  though  under  very  unfavor- 
able circumstances,  in  several  other  states. 
A  narrow  and  miserable  economy  had  pre- 
vented such  a  construction  of  the  cells  as 
was  tolerable ;  and  the  plan  of  strictly  soli- 
tary confinement,  bad  enough  at  the  best, 
became  utterly  unendurable  and  was  aban- 
doned. 

In  Maine,  one  of  the  states  which  tried 
the  experiment,  the  cells  were  in  the  form 
of  pits,  entered  through  a  trap  door,  made 
of  an  open  grate  of  iron,  about  two  feet 
square — serving  the  double  purpose  of  a 
door  and  a  window.  The  only  ventilation 
was  through  a  crooked  orifice  in  the  side 
wall,  one  and  a  half  by  five  inches,  and  all 
the  heat  they  had,  in  a  stern  northern  win- 
ter, was  by  the  admission  of  warm  air 
through  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  cell 
about  one  inch  in  diameter.  The  cells  or 
pits  were  entered  by  raising  the  trap  door, 
putting  down  a  ladder  for  the  convict  to 
descend,  and  then  drawing  up  the  ladder 
and  fastening  the  door  upon  him. 

The  Auburn  (New  York)  State  Prison,  also 
commenced  on  this  system,  carried  it  out 
with  great  rigor,  in  small,  inadequate,  and  ill 
ventilated  cells,  and,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
produced  the  most  disastrous  effects  on  the 
health  and  reason  of  the  convicts  subjected 
to  it,  and  in  1821  it  was  definitively  aban- 
doned. 

The  New  Jersey  Prison,  though  construct- 
ed on  the  same  plan,  was  better  arranged, 
and  the  rigor  of  its  regime  was  soon  modi- 
fied. At  the  time  of  erecting  the  two 


Pennsylvania  penitentiaries,  opportunity  for 
observation  had  been  afforded,  and  the  intel- 
ligent and  thoughtful  friends  of  prison  re- 
form in  the  state,  though  not  disposed  to 
give  up  the  idea  of  separating  convicts  from 
any  association  with  each  other,  yet  saw 
the  necessity  of  some  modifications  of  the 
solitary  system.  The  changes  they  initiated 
justified  the  change  of  name  they  applied 
to  the  system,  and  both  in  England  and  this 
country  it  has  since  been  known  as  the 
separate  system.  The  expenditure  for  per- 
fecting the  penitentiary  buildings  for  the 
purpose  designed  was  liberal,  almost  lavish. 
Each  prisoner  has  a  cell,  seven  feet  by  sev- 
enteen, or  thereabouts,  of  good  height,  and 
well  warmed  and  ventilated,  and  supplied 
with  water  for  washing,  a  water  closet,  a 
good  bed,  books,  and  the  implements  of 
some  kind  of  labor.  There  is  also  an  ar- 
rangement, by  means  of  which,  in  case  of 
sickness,  neglect,  or  the  want  of  any  article, 
he  can  call  his  keeper  to  his  cell.  These 
cells  are  so  arranged  as  to  prevent  the  possi- 
bility of  communication  between  one  con- 
vict and  another,  or  the  sight  of  one  convict 
by  another.  The  convict  is  visited  by  the 
warden,  the  keeper,  and  the  moral  instruct- 
or, and  is  allowed  to  receive^ the  visits  of 
those  who  are  interested  in  his  moral  and  re- 
ligious welfare.  On  the  Sabbath,  religious 
worship  is  conducted  in  the  corridor,  and 
all  who  have  cells  on  that  corridor  can 
listen  to  it,  and,  if  they  please,  join  in  the 
hymns  or  prayers. 

The  revulsion  of  feeling  caused  by  the 
cruelty  of  the  solitary  system,  led  many  of 
the  states,  and  prominently  among  them 
New  York  and  the  New  England  states,  to 
adopt  a  widely  different  system,  first  em- 
ployed in  this  country  at  Auburn  in  1821 
(though  it  had  previously  been  tried  in  Hol- 
land), and  hence  often  called  the  Auburn 
plan ;  a  more  appropriate  name  would  be 
either  the  congregated  or  the  silent  system, 
as  expressive  of  its  peculiar  features. 

Prisons  constructed  on  this  system  have 
small  cells,  usually  five  by  eight  feet  in 
size,  with  iron  grated  doors,  arranged  in. 
tiers  over  each  other,  in  which  the  prison- 
ers are  confined  at  night,  at  meal  times,  and 
on  the  Sabbath,  except  during  short  relig- 
ious exercises  in  the  chapel.  Attached  to 
the  prison  and  within  its  enclosure  are  ex- 
tensive workshops,  to  and  from  which  the 
men  are  marched  three  times  a  day,  keep- 
ing the  lock-step,  and  in  which  they  are  em- 


PRISONS    AND    PRISON    DISCIPLINE. 


437 


ployed  during  the  day,  their  services  being 
usually  let  to  contractors  at  so  much  per 
head  a  day,  the  contractor  furnishing  tools 
and  machinery,  and  the  state,  rooms,  power, 
and  the  board  and  clothing  of  the  convict. 
The  prisoner  is  prohibited  from  looking  up 
from  his  work,  or  speaking  to  a  fellow-con- 
vict, or  to  his  instructor  (the  contractor's 
agent)  except  about  his  work ;  nor  is  the 
instructor  or  the  keeper  allowed  to  converse 
with  him.  There  is  usually  a  sermon,  and 
perhaps  also  a  Sabbath  School  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  the  chaplain  or  moral  instructor 
is  also  allowed  intercourse  with  the  prisoners 
during  the  week ;  and  in  some  prisons  there 
are  libraries,  and  the  chaplain  selects  and 
exchanges  the  books  for  the  prisoners. 

On  one  or  the  other  of  these  plans,  the 
separate  or  the  silent,  or  on  some  attempted 
combination  of  the  two,  all  the  convict  pris- 
ons of  this  country  are  organized.  Neither 
plan  is  free  from  objections,  while  both  have 
also  their  advantages. 

The  separate  system  individualizes  the 
convict;  prevents  his  recognition  by  or 
communication  with  other  evil  disposed 
persons  who  may  be  in  prison  at  the  same 
time  ;  renders  a1  large  armed  force  of  guards 
unnecessary,  since  combinations  and  con- 
spiracies are  impossible,;  makes  his  reforma- 
tion more  practicable,  since  he  is  only  in 
communication  with  the  good  and  virtuous, 
and  is  left  for  the  most  part  to  his  own 
thoughts,  unprompted  to  evil  by  the  sight 
of,  or  association  with  the  vicious  ;  and  he 
is  not  liable,  except  under  extraordinary 
circumstances,  to  those  severe  personal  pun- 
ishments, by  the  lash,  the  bolt-shower-bath, 
bucking,  etc.,  which  are  regarded  as  indis- 
pensable in  the  silent  system,  and  conse- 
quently escapes  their  degrading  effect.  It 
was  for  many  years  claimed  that  the  sepa- 
rate system  induced  insanity  and  materially 
shortened  life ;  but  the  statistics  of  the 
Pennsylvania  prisons,  for  a  considerable 
term  of  years,  as  compared  with  the  best 
congregated  prisons  in  this  country,  demon- 
strated the  error  of  this  opinion.  Insanity 
is  much  less  frequent  than  in  the  Auburn  or 
the  Connecticut  prisons,  which  have  been 
reckoned  the  most  favorable  examples  of 
the  latter,  and  the  percentage  of  deaths  is 
also  smaller. 

The  objections  to  the  separate  system 
are,  the  much  greater  cost  of  the  prison 
buildings,  the  comparative  unproductiveness 
of  the  labor  of  the  prisoners  (the  result  of 


their  working  alone),  and  the  general  weak- 
ening of  the  character  of  the  convict,  mak- 
ing him  after  his  discharge  rather  depend- 
ent upon  others  for  guidance  than  inde- 
pendent and  self-reliant  in  his  conduct. 

The  silent  system  demands  a  much  less 
costly  structure  for  its  inmates,  and  while 
the  per  capita  cost  of  their  maintenance 
and  safe  keeping,  owing  to  the  greater  ex- 
penditure for  guards  and  watchmen,  is  about 
the  same,  the  labor  when  well  (i.  e.  econom- 
ically) managed,  is  considerably  more  pro- 
ductive. No  separate  prison  has  ever  yet 
paid  its  way,  while  some  of  the  congregated 
prisons  have  done  so,  for  a  time,  at  least. 

This  fact  has  exerted  an  unwarrantable 
influence  over  the  legislatures  of  the  dif- 
ferent states,  who  seem  to  have  forgotten, 
or  never  to  have  realized,  that  the  design  of 
imprisonment  was  to  reform  as  well  as  to 
punish,  and  only  to  have  inquired  which 
system  would  pay  the  most  immediate  prof- 
it to  the  state,  without  reference  to  its  effect 
upon  the  prisoner. 

The  objections  to  the  silent  system  are, 
that  it  deals  with  the  men  in  the  mass,  rath- 
er than  as  individuals  ;  that  it  is  impossible 
under  it  to  prevent  the  convicts  from  com- 
municating with  each  other,  and  that  from 
their  knowledge  of  each  other  they  are  less 
likely  to  be  reformed,  inasmuch  as,  after 
their  discharge,  the  more  hardened  will 
exert  an  evil  influence  over  those  who  de- 
sire to  reform ;  that  conspiracies  and  com- 
binations are  not  infrequent ;  that  extreme 
severity  on  the  part  of  the  wardens  and 
keepers  is  rendered  almost  inevitable,  and 
degrading  punishments  are  frequent ;  that 
the  almost  unlimited  and  irresponsible  pow- 
er, necessarily  reposed  in  the  officers,  is  very 
liable  to  abuse ;  and  that  the  constant  irri- 
tation of  mind  under  which  many  of  the 
prisoners  labor,  stimulated,  as  it  often  is,  by 
their  overseers  or  companions,  is  very  unfa- 
vorable to  reformation. 

When  we  add,  that  in  nearly  all  of  the 
states  the  pardoning  power  is  exercised  with 
very  little  discretion,  and  often  with  great 
injustice,  and  that  the  appointment  of  the 
officers  of  the  prisons  is  generally  among 
the  prizes  of  the  successful  political  par- 
ty, and  that  party  services,  not  eminent 
qualifications,  are  the  ground  on  which  the 
posts  are  claimed,  it  will  be  evident  that 
the  system  is  not  usually  so  well  adminis- 
tered as  it  might  be. 

There  are,  indeed,  in  nearly  all.  the  states, 


438 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


state  prison  directors,  or  inspectors,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  investigate  the  condition  of 
the  prisons  and  the  management  of  the  offi- 
cers, and  redress  any  wrongs  or  grievances 
of  the  prisoners ;  but  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  they  can  learn  but  little  except  what 
the  officers  are  disposed  to  have  them  know, 
and  in  many  cases  cruel  and  inhuman  beat- 
ings, and  the  use  of  the  bolt-shower-bath, 
one  of  the  most  terrible  instruments  of  tor- 
ture ever  invented,  the  yoke,  and  other 
punishments  worthy  only  of  the  Inquisition, 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  unhappy  prisoner,  often 
at  the  mere  caprice  of  the  keeper. 

In  Massachusetts,  and  perhaps  in  one  or 
two  other  states,  the  plan  has  recently  been 
adopted  of  commutation,  or  of  throwing  off 
a  certain  number  of  days,  proportioned  to 
the  length  of  the  sentence,  from  its  term, 
for  each  month  of  good  conduct  on  the  part 
of  the  prisoner.  Thus  a  prisoner  sentenced 
for  ten  years,  commutes  five  days  for  each 
month  of  good  behavior,  and  may  shorten 
his  sentence  almost  two  years,  if  his  conduct 
is  uniformly  good.  The  intention  of  the 
measure  is  good,  but  there  are  two  serious 
objections  to  it :  one,  that  as  a  reformatory 
measure  it  is  of  little  avail,  since  it  is  often 
the  case  that  the  sly,  cunning  rogue,  who  is 
constantly  on  his  guard,  is  more  likely  to 
conform  to  the  rules,  in  the  hope  of  the 
sooner  resuming  his  career  of  wickedness, 
than  the  man  who,  though  earnestly  desir- 
ous of  reformation,  is  passionate  and  sensi- 
tive to  harsh  treatment ;  and  the  other,  that 
the  personal  prejudices  or  spites  of  the 
keepers  will  often  make  this  an  engine  of 
punishment,  to  the  unhappy  wretch  who 
has  incurred  their  displeasure. 

A  better  plan,  in  every  respect,  is  that 
adopted  in  Ireland,  of  intermediate  prisons. 
'\  he  ordinary  prisons  of  Ireland  are  on  the 
separate  plan,  and  the  prisoner  sentenced  to 
one  of  them  for,  say  ten  years,  earns  the 
privilege,  if  he  will,  by  continuous  good 
conduct,  of  being  transferred  at  the  end  of 
six  years  to  an  intermediate  prison,  usually 
connected  with  some  government  works, 
where  the  men  work  in  gangs;  and  if  his 
conduct  continues  exemplary  there,  he  is 
discharged  at  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half, 
•by  a  ticket  of  license^  allowing  him  to  be  at 
large,  he  reporting  himself  to  the  constabu- 
lary station  nearest  him,  and  being  there  reg- 
istered, the  constabulary  being  notified  also 
of  his  having  received  a  ticket  of  license, 
by  the  prison  authorities.  During  the  re- 


mainder of  his  sentence  he  is  under  the 
surveillance  of  the  constabulary  force ;  and 
if  guilty  of  any  offence  against  the  laws,  can 
be  taken  at  once  and  remanded  without 
trial  to  his  first  prison,  to  serve  out  the  re- 
mainder of  his  sentence.  The  plan  works 
admirably  there,  and  would,  we  think,  do  so 
here  if  the  difficulty  in  regard  to  police  su- 
pervision could  be  obviated. 

Great  Britain  and  Germany  are  greatly  in 
advance  of  us  in  the  matter  of  prison  dis- 
cipline. Eminent  men  are  devoting  their 
whole  thoughts  and  time  to  the  work  of  de- 
vising the  best  means  of  combining  punish- 
ment most  effectually  with  reformation,  and 
the  government,  wisely  deeming  the  men 
worth  reforming  at  any  cost,  spares  no  ex- 
pense to  carry  into  effect  the  best  methods. 
In  both  countries,  too,  every  officer,  even 
down  to  the  lowest  subordinate,  is  trained 
for  his  work,  and  is  selected  for  his  moral 
worth  and  executive  ability,  and  not  as  a  re- 
ward of  partisan  service. 

Besides  the  convict  prison,  already  de- 
scribed, of  which  there  is  one  in  each  state, 
and  in  the  larger  two  or  three,  there  is  in 
each  county  (with  a  few  exceptions  where 
several  small  counties  have  united  in  sup- 
porting a  district  prison)  a  county  jail,  to 
which  persons  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
crime  are  committed  previous  to  trial,  in 
which  witnesses  who  would  be  liable  to  ab- 
scond are  detained,  and  persons  convicted 
of  habitual  intemperance  and  vagrancy,  pet- 
ty larceny,  and  other  crimes  of  a  venial 
character,  are  confined.  To  these  county 
jails  are  also  committed  prisoners  convicted 
in  the  United  States  courts,  in  many  cases, 
and  juvenile  delinquents  awaiting  trial  or 
transportation  to  a  reformatory.  In  most 
cases,  there  are  one  or  more  apartments 
destined  for  the  confinement  of  those  ar- 
rested on  civil  process,  and  known  as  the 
debtors'  prison. 

These  jails,  when  located  in  the  large 
towns,  or  in  populous  and  wealthy  counties, 
especially  if  recently  erected,  are  usually 
built  substantially  on  the  plan  of  the  silent 
convict  prisons,  but  the  rule  of  silence  is 
not  so  strictly  adhered  to.  Each  prisoner 
has  a  cell  to  himself,  but  the  able-bodied  are 
employed  in  the  day  time  in  the  workshops 
connected  with  the  prison,  or  in  other  work, 
under  the  direction  of  the  jailer  or  his  dep- 
uty. The  sentences  being  in  the  majority 
of  cases  short,  and  the  prisoners  in  many  in- 
stances confirmed  drunkards,  or  otherwise 


PRISONS   AND    PRISON    DISCIPLINE. 


439 


physically  infirm,  the  labor  is  seldom  or 
never  sufficient  to  defray  the  cost  of  the 
prisoner's  maintenance. 

The  greater  part  of  the  jails  throughout 
the  country  are,  however,  inferior  to  these, 
and  are  rather  calculated  to  demoralize 
than  to  reform  their  inmates.  Unseemly 
and  ill-constructed  buildings,  often  erected 
originally  for  some  other  purpose,  and  at  all 
events  poorly  adapted  to  this,  ill  ventilated 
and  frequently  filthy,  congregating  the  pris- 
oners, whether  convicted  for  crime,  awaiting 
trial,  or  detained  as  witnesses,  in  one  or  two 
rooms,  where  they  remain  night  and  day, 
the  vicious  polluting  the  minds  and  deprav- 
ing the  tastes  of  the  innocent,  by  their  blas- 
phemy and  obscenity,  and  their  boasting 
over  the  crimes  they  have  committed ; 
drunkenness  and  pilfering  practised  un- 
checked, or  at  least  with  but  partial  re- 
straint ;  and  in  many  cases,  the  jailer,  a  ra- 
pacious, greedy  cormorant,  selected  in  con- 
sequence of  party  service,  and  without  any 
qualifications  of  humanity  or  moral  princi- 
ple for  his  post;  all  these  together  consti- 
tute a  scene  so  forbidding,  that  it  is  wonder- 
ful that  it  should  be  tolerated  in  an  intelli- 
gent and  enlightened  community.  It  is 
certainly  desirable  that  in  counties  where 
the  population  is  so  sparse  and  the  number 
of  criminals  so  small  as  to  make  the  burden 
of  erecting  and  maintaining  a  good  and  well- 
regulated  county  jail  too  heavy  for  a  single 
county,  several  adjacent  counties  should 
unite  and  establish  a  district  prison,  where 
those  improvements  can  be  adopted  which 
shall  prevent  it  from  becoming  a  source  of 
moral  corruption,  and  over  which  a  man 
thoroughly  qualified  for  his  position  may  be 
placed. 

In  the  large  cities  there  are  other  prisons 
deserving  of  notice.  The  large  number  of 
offenders,  as  well  as  the  different  authorities 
by  which  they  are  committed,  render  a  clas- 
sification of  the  prisons  necessary.  There 
are,  then,  in  most  of  the  large  cities,  peni- 
tentiaries, or  prisons  to  which  persons  guilty 
of  minor  crimes  are  sentenced  for  periods 
from  one  month  to  two  years,  and  where 
they  are  usually  employed  in  labor  during 
their  period  of  imprisonment.  In  these, 
there  are  usually  separate  buildings  for  male 
and  female  prisoners.  There  are  also  city  or 
police  prisons,  to  which  parties  arrested  by 
the  police  are  committed  for  safe  keeping 
till  tried,  and  in  which,  if  their  offence  is 
trivial,  they  pass  their  brief  term  of  impris- 


onment. To  these  prisons  are  also  commit- 
ted prisoners  convicted  of  capital  offences, 
and  awaiting  execution,  or  those  who  having 
been  convicted  of  state  prison  offences,  are 
not  yet  sent  to  the  convict  prisons ;  or  hav- 
ing appealed,  await  the  result  of  their  ap- 
peal. United  States  prisoners  are  also  con- 
fined here.  Besides  these,  there  are  prisons 
for  persons  arrested  on  civil  process,  gener- 
ally known  as  debtors1  prisons,  though  debt- 
ors are  not  imprisoned  in  most  of  the  states, 
except  on  the  charge  of  fraudulent  conduct ; 
there  are  also  houses  of  detention,  for  wit- 
nesses ;  and  workhouses,  or  houses  of  correc- 
tion, for  able-bodied  vagrants.  Under  the 
general  head  of  education,  we  have  spoken 
of  the  houses  of  reformation  for  juvenile  de- 
linquents, which  partake  somewhat  of  a 
penal  character,  though  having  for  their 
main  object  the  reformation  of  the  youthful 
offender. 

The  condition  of  many  of  these  institu- 
tions is  very  far  from  what  it  should  be, 
though  the  sums  expended  upon  them  by 
the  city  authorities  have  been  amply  suffi- 
cient to  make  them  model  institutions,  if 
money  alone  could  accomplish  that  end. 
Many  of  them  are  of  bad  construction,  but 
the  great  want  in  most  of  them  is  of  capa- 
ble, upright,  humane,  judicious  keepers — a 
want  never  to  be  fully  remedied  till  the  ap- 
pointments are  made  on  the  ground  of  com- 
petency for  the  position,  alone,  without  ref- 
erence to  political  opinions. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  of  the  peni- 
tentiaries, and  prominent  among  them  the 
Albany  (New  York)  Penitentiary,  where  the 
prison  has  been  constructed  under  the  super- 
vision and  direction  of  men  of  large  expe- 
rience on  the  subject  of  prison  discipline, 
and  where  the  officers  employed  have  been 
selected  solely  on  the  ground  of  their  adap- 
tation to  their  several  positions.  In  these 
institutions,  the  prisoners  have  been  treated 
as  human  beings,  and  not  being  deprived  of 
all  hope  or  self-respect,  a  large  proportion 
of  them  have  thoroughly  reformed,  and  on 
their  restoration  to  society  have  proved 
themselves  good  citizens. 

The  improvements  in  the  construction  of 
prisons,  as  well  as  in  their  discipline  and 
management,  are  due  in  a  great  degree  to 
the  unwearied  labors  of  the  late  "  Boston 
Prison  Discipline  Society,"  founded  in 
1826,  the  "  Philadelphia  Society  for  allevia- 
ting the  miseries  of  Public  Prisons,"  found- 
ed in  1787,  and  the  "New  York  Prison 


440 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


Association,"  founded  in  1846.  These  socie- 
ties, though  the  first  two  were  engaged  for 
years  in  a  most  acrimonious  discussion  of  the 
comparative  merits  of  the  separate  and  silent 
systems,  have  yet  diffused  much  valuable  in- 
formation on  the  subject  of  prison  manage- 
ment. For  fifteen  years  past  the  Philadel- 
phia society  has  published  a  quarterly  Jour- 
nal of  Prison  Discipline,  containing  articles 
of  great  value  and  importance.  The  Phila- 
delphia association  has  a  visiting  committee 
who  visit  regularly  and  frequently  the  pris- 
oners of  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  and  of 
the  city  prisons,  and  instruct  and  encourage 
them  in  their  efforts  to  reform.  Efforts  are 
also  made  to  protect  those  who  are  unjustly 
accused,  and  to  save  from  prison  the  young 
who  are  novices  in  crime  or  dupes  of  the 
designing.  This  work  was  originated  and 
successfully  carried  on  in  that  city  for  many 
years  by  the  late  Isaac  T.  Hopper,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  subse- 
quently removed  to  New  York,  and  there 
was  the  means  of  organizing  the  New  York 
Prison  Association.  The  reports  of  this 
association  are  very  valuable  and  interest- 
ing, and  throw  much  light  on  the  causes  of 
crime  and  the  most  effectual  means  of  re- 
pressing it,  as  well  as  on  the  statistics  of 
crime  both  in  the  state  of  New  York  and 
in  other  states  and  countries.  The  associa- 
tion has  authority  from  the  legislature  to 
visit,  inspect,  and  report  upon  the  condition 
of  the  convict  and  county  prisons  through- 
out the  state,  and  by  its  reports  has  aided 
greatly  in  improving  the  condition  and  con- 
struction of  the  latter.  It  employs  a  general 
agent,  who  visits  the  city  prisons,  and  pro- 
cures the  release  of  the  innocent  and  friend- 
less, and  the  suspension  of  judgment  and 
discharge  of  those  who,  having  committed 
trivial  offences,  give  evidence  of  sincere  re- 
pentance, and  a  determination  to  do  better 
in  future.  The  same  agent  also  aids  dis- 
charged prisoners  who  are  desirous  of  lead- 
ing correct  lives,  furnishing  them,  where 
necessary,  with  clothing  and  a  small  sum 
of  money,  and  finding  them  employment. 

There  is  also  a  Women's  Prison  Associa- 
tion in  New  York,  formerly  connected  with 
the  New  York  Prison  Association,  which 
now  maintains,  at  191  Tenth  avenue,  a  re- 
fuge for  discharged  female  prisoners,  called 
the  "  Isaac  T.  Hopper  Home."  Here  121 
females  were  received  last  year,  on  their 
discharge  from  prison,  and  53  provided 
with  good  situations,  1 5  discharged,  and  the 


remainder  retained  at  the  Home.  The  effect 
of  this  institution  in  reforming  this  class 
of  women  has  been  excellent.  Similar  in- 
stitutions exist  in  Boston,  Baltimore,  and 
other  cities.  In  Boston,  a  philanthropic 
gentleman,  Rev.  Mr.  Spear,  has  established 
a  monthly  journal,  called  the  Prisoner's 
Friend,  for  the  benefit  of  this  unhappy  class, 
and  the  promotion  of  measures  for  their  im- 
provement. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HOSPITALS  FOB  THE  INSANE. 

THE  condition  of  the  insane  in  all  civil- 
ized countries  has  become,  within  the  last 
seventy  years,  an  object  of  deep  solicitude 
to  the  humane.  Hospitals  for  their  treat- 
ment, or  rather  for  their  confinement,  have 
existed  in  Europe  for  five  or  six  hundred 
years ;  but  the  suffering  endured,  previous 
to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  in  these 
places  of  torment,  by  the  hapless  creatures 
deprived  of  reason,  exceeds  the  powers  of 
human  description.  The  vilest  galley-slave, 
or  the  most  depraved  heretic  in  the  power 
of  the  pitiless  officers  of  the  Inquisition, 
was  not  subjected  to  such  tortures  as  were 
inflicted  on  those  who  had  "lost  their  wits," 
and  who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  known 
as  lunatics.  Confinement  in  close,  dark, 
damp  cells,  without  fire,  without  sufficient 
clothing,  in  the  most  pestilential  filth,  load- 
ed with  chains,  often  cruelly  beaten  either 
at  the  will  of  their  brutal  keepers  or  as  the 
only  curative  treatment,  their  limbs  often 
sloughing  off  from  the  combined  irritation 
of  their  chains  and  frost,  till  death,  most 
earnestly  longed  for,  yet  sometimes  so  long 
delayed  as  to  excite  our  astonishment,  ended 
a  life  of  inconceivable  wretchedness :  such 
was  the  terrible  fate  that  awaited  the  insane, 
even  in  Christian  lands,  but  eighty  years  ago. 
Nor  was  it  th'ose  deprived  of  reason  alone, 
who  were  consigned  to  a  doom  so  terrible. 
The  private  establishments  for  the  treatment 
of  lunatics,  and  even  some  of  the  public 
ones,  offered  ready  facilities  for  putting  out 
of  the  way  persons  whose  existence  in  soci- 
ety interfered  with  the  covetousness,  malice, 
or  hatred  of  relatives  or  others,  and  whom 
it  was  not  prudent  to  remove  by  poison  or 
the  assassin's  knife ;  and  many  a  helpless 
victim  was  consigned  to  a  private  or  public 
"bedlam,"  whose  fault  was  not  insanity,  but 


HOSPITALS   FOR   THE    INSANE. 


441 


the  possession  of  property  or  affection  cov- 
eted by  another. 

The  first  step  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  insane  was  taken  by  Philip 
Pinel,  at  the  Bicetre  in  Paris,  in  1792.  He 
took  off  their  chains,  brought  them  out  to 
the  light  of  day,  and  sought  to  win  them 
back  to  reason  by  kindness  instead  of  bar- 
barity. Humane  reforms  are  seldom  rapid 
in  their  progress,  and  this  was  no  exception 
to  the  general  rule.  Twenty-one  years  later, 
the  first  movement  to  substitute  kindness  for 
chains,  and  the  system  of  non-restraint  for 
one  of  cruelty  and  brutality,  was  made  in 
England  by  William  Tuke,  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  at  the  Retreat,  near  York, 
England.  Three  years  later  the  first  perma- 
nent lunacy  commission  was  appointed  in 
England,  and  its  reports  revealed  such  atroci- 
ties in  the  treatment  of  these  poor  wretches, 
that  reform  became  imperative ;  but  in  Eng- 
land and  on  the  continent  of  Europe  it  is 
only  within  the  last  thirty  years  that  the 
proper  construction  of  insane  hospitals  and 
the  truly  scientific  treatment  of  insanity 
may  "be  said  to  have  been  initiated.  In  both 
particulars  our  country  has  fully  kept  pace 
with  the  most  advanced  of  the  European 
states. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  there  were 
but  two.  insane  hospitals  in  the  country,  and 
of  these  one  was  a  branch  of  a  general  hos- 
pital. These  were  the  "Insane  Department 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,"  at  Philadel- 
phia, founded  in  1755,  and  the  "Virginia 
Lunatic  Asylum,"  at  Williamsburg,  Virgin- 
ia, foimded  in  1773.  The  two  had  less  than 
two  hundred  patients.  In  their  treatment 
they  were  probably  on  a  par  with  the  best 
institutions  of  the  time  in  Europe,  which  is 
110  very  high  encomium ;  chains,  straps, 
strong,  dark  rooms,  the  strait-jacket,  and 
very  likely  occasional  whippings  and  beat- 
ings were  among  the  remedial  means  em- 
ployed ;  but  this  was  the  universal  treatment 
of  the  insane.  No  other  insane  hospital  was 
established  in  this  country  till  1817,  though 
the  number  of  the  insane,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  century,  could  hardly  have  fallen 
short  of  5000  persons.  These  were  kept  in 
private  houses,  under  restraint  if  violent,  or 
at  liberty  if  deemed  harmless ;  if  paupers, 
they  were  confined  in  jails  and  poor-houses, 
or  let  out  to  the  lowest  bidder,  who  man- 
aged, if  possible,  to  make  their  services  of 
some  value,  or  if  not,  often  kept'  them  con- 
fined in  pens  or  sheds,  under  circumstances 


of  the  most  revolting  filth  and  exposure.  A 
warm  room  in  the  winter  was  considered 
entirely  unnecessary  for  the  insane,  partly, 
doubtless,  from  the  apprehension  that  they 
would  injure  themselves  or  others  by  means 
of  the  fire,  and  partly  from  an  absurd  no- 
tion that  the  feverish  heat  attendant  upon 
their  disease  rendered  them  insensible  to 
cold. 

In  1817,  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  Pennsylvania,  moved  by  the  suc- 
cess which  had  attended  the  experiment  of 
Mr.  Tuke,  at  his  Retreat  in  the  vicinity  of 
York,  Eng.,  established  at  Frankford,  Penn., 
the  "  Asylum  for  Persons  deprived  of  their 
Reason,"  a  small,  but,  from  the  first,  an  ad- 
mirably managed  institution,  and  which  has 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  in  which  the 
system  of  non-restraint  was  adopted  in  this 
country.  In  1818,  the  McLean  Asylum  at 
Somerville,  Mass.,  the  first  of  the  New  Eng- 
land insane  hospitals,  was  established.  The 
Blooraingdale  Asylum,  a  branch  of  the  New 
York  General  Hospital  in  New  York  city, 
was  founded  in  1821 ;  the  South  Carolina 
Insane  Hospital  at  Columbia,  in  1822  ;  the 
Retreat  for  the  Insane,  at  Hartford,  Conn., 
in  1824 ;  and  the  Kentucky  Asylum  at  Lex- 
ington, the  same  year. 

Up  to  1840,  there  were  fourteen  insane 
hospitals  in  existence  in  the  United  States. 
Of  these  five  were  in  the  southern  states, 
four  in  New  England,  two  in  New  York, 
two  in  Pennsylvania,  and  one  in  Ohio.  The 
construction  of  many  of  these  was  very 
faulty  in  respect  to  ventilation,  warming, 
and  convenience  of  classification  of  patients. 
Many  of  them  were  also  over-crowded  for 
their  accommodations.  Their  management 
was,  however,  decidedly  in  advance  of  the 
views  which  had  obtained  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century,  and  their  construction,  in 
most  instances,  admitted  of  such  modifica- 
tions as  would  make  them,  if  not  perfect, 
yet  measurably  well  adapted  to  the  comfort 
and  welfare  of  their  inmates.  But  at  this 
time  a  new  era  commenced  in  the  care  and 
treatment  of  the  insane.  This  was  due  to 
several  causes.  The  managers  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital  for  the  Insane,  which  for  many 
years  had  occupied  a  site  in  the  city,  at  the 
corner  of  Eighth  and  Pine  streets,  finding  its 
location  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  dense 
population,  sold  its  property  in  the  city,  and 
purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen acres  in  the  suburbs,  in  1836,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  erect  upon  it  a  hospital  for  the 


442 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


accommodation  of  about  two  hundred  pa- 
tients. Having  ample  funds  at  command, 
and  a  judicious  board  of  managers,  it  was 
resolved  to  introduce  into  the  hospital  all 
the  improvements  in  construction  which 
were  to  be  found  in  the  best  insane  hospitals 
in  Europe  and  America.  The  present  emi- 
nent superintendent  of  the  hospital,  Dr. 
Kirkbride,  was  elected  to  the  post  early  in 
the  progress  of  the  work,  and  contributed 
greatly  to  the  completeness  and  perfection 
of  its  arrangements.  This  hospital  was  not 
opened  till  the  beginning  of  1841,  and  its 
improved  construction  exerted  a  decided  in- 
fluence on  those  states  which  were  contem- 
plating the  erection  of  hospitals  for  the  in- 
sane. 

A  still  more  powerful  agency  in  stimula- 
ting action  in  behalf  of  the  insane,  and  lead- 
ing to  the  erection  of  new  and  improved 
hospitals  for  them,  was  found  in  the  efforts 
of  Miss  Dorothea  L.  Dix.  Highly  educated, 
and  occupying  a  social  position  which  left 
nothing  to  be  desired,  this  heroic  and  noble- 
hearted  woman,  touched  with  the  condition 
and  sufferings  of  the  insane,  devoted  herself 
to  the  work  of  promoting  their  welfare  by 
personally  investigating  their  condition  in 
each  state,  and  urging  upon  the  legislatures 
the  erection  and  maintenance  of  hospitals 
for  their  treatment  and  cure.  Her  memori- 
als to  the  different  legislatures,  and  subse- 
quently to  Congress,  are  replete  with  terrible 
facts,  showing  the  cruel  abuses  to  which 
they  were  subject  where  their  care  devolved 
upon  relatives  or  upon  the  towns ;  and  the 
eloquence  of  her  appeals  was  almost  invaria- 
bly irresistible.  The  twenty  years  which 
have  passed  have  increased  the  public  hospi- 
tals for  the  insane  to  more  than  fifty,  besides 
a  considerable  number  of  private  asylums. 
Of  these  public  hospitals,  most  have  accom- 
modations for  250  patients,  and  some  of 
them  for  a  much  larger  number.  In  their 
construction  there  has  been  jealous  care  ex- 
ercised to  introduce  whatever  improvements 
had  been  fairly  tested,  either  in  Europe  or 
America ;  and  the  result  is  that  in  conven- 
ience and  healthfulness,  and  in  all  the  par- 
ticulars of  construction  and  management, 
the  American  insane  hospitals  are  surpassed 
by  those  of  no  country  in  the  world.*  To 


*  The  most  complete  and  perfect  of  the  American 
hospitals  for  the  insane,  not  only  in  its  construction 
but  in  all  its  equipments  and  appliances,  is  the  "  New 
Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  the  Insane,"  near  Phila- 


these  ends  the  Annual  Convention  of  Super- 
intendents of  Insane  Hospitals,  first  organ- 
ized in  1845,  and  the  American  Journal  of 
Insanity,  established  in  1844,  have  materi- 
ally contributed.  At  the  time  of  the  com- 
mencement "of  the  latter,  not  more  than  five 
or  six  works  on  insanity,  including  transla- 
tions and  reprints,  had  been  published  in 
this  country.  The  number  of  such  works 
is  now  very  large.  Many  of  the  superin- 
tendents of  insane  hospitals  have  visited  the 
European  institutions,  and  some  of  them, 
Drs.  Earle,  Bell,  and  Ray  among  the  num- 
ber, have  given  to  the  public  very  full  de- 
scriptions of  the  best  institutions  there.  The 
Convention  of  Superintendents  have  agreed 
upon  certain  principles  in  regard  to  con- 
struction, number  of  patients,  and  minimum 
extent  of  grounds,  desirable  in  the  erection 
of  hospitals ;  these,  with  other  suggestions 
of  great  value  and  importance,  have  been 
embodied  in  a  treatise  on  the  construction 
and  management  of  hospitals  for  the  insane, 
by  Dr.  T.  S.  Kirkbride  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital.  Drs.  Beck  and  Ray  have,  in  their 
works  on  medical  jurisprudence,  laid  down 
with  great  clearness  and  force  the  principles 
which  should  govern  all  legal  investigations 
concerning  insanity.  Dr.  Macdonald  o;ave  the 
first  public  course  of  lectures  to  medical  stu- 
dents on  insanity,  in  1842. 

The  careful  investigations  made  by  most 
of  the  superintendents  into  the  different 
forms  of  insanity,  and  their  comparative  ef- 
fect on  the  general  health  of  the  patient, 
have  led  to  many  discoveries  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  community  at  large  as  well 
as  to  the  medical  profession.  It  has  been 
fully  demonstrated  that  early  treatment  at  a 
hospital  greatly  increases  the  probability  of 
cure  ;  that  insanity  often  exists  long  before 
its  presence  is  suspected ;  that  crimes  are 
many  times  committed  under  an  insane  im- 
pulse ;  and  that  mental  aberration  may  ex- 
ist, to  an  extent  which  renders  the  subject 
irresponsible,  where  there  is  no  hallucination, 


delphia,  opened  in  1859,  intended  for  male  patients 
only,  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  female 
department,  which  was  opened  in  1841 ;  both  being 
under  the  general  supervision  and  management  of 
Dr.  Thomas  S.  Kirkbride.  It  is  intended  for  250 
patients,  and  cost,  with  its  complete  equipment, 
about  $350,000.  It  was  planned  by  Dr.  Kirkbride, 
and,  for  its  size  and  purpose,  is  unsurpassed  either 
in  Europe  or  America.  The  hospitals  recently 
erected  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  Kalaiuazoo, 
Mich.,  are  also  admirably  arranged. 


HOSPITALS    FOE    THE    INSANE. 


443 


and  BO  maniacal  excitement,  or  melancholic 
depression.  Painful  evidence  has  been  ad- 
duced that  in  many  instances  persons  have 
perished  upon  the  gallows  whose  crimes 
have  been  committed  under  the  influence 
of  insanity,  and  who  should  have  been  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  the  superintendent  of 
an  insane  hospital  rather  than  to  the  hang- 
man. 

Within  the  past  two  on  three  years,  in- 
sane hospitals  have  been  established  for 
those  who  have  committed  serious  offences 
against  the  laws  under  the  influence  of  in- 
sanity, and  for  convicts  who  have  become 
insane  during  their  imprisonment.  The 
largest  of  these  is  at  Auburn,  opened  in 
February,  1859,  and  which  has  received 
sixty-nine  patients,  fifty-five  of  whom  are 
still  in  the  hospital. 

Among  the  improvements  introduced  in 
the  treatment  of  the  insane  within  the  past 
ten  or  twelve  years  are  horticulture  and 
floriculture  for  those  patients  who  can  be 
induced  to  take  an  interest  in  them ;  libra- 
ries and  reading-rooms  ;  gymnasiums  well 
provided  with  apparatus ;  the  introduction 
of  paintings  and  engravings,  not  only  into 
the  halls,  but  into  the  patients'  rooms; 
games  like  chess,  checkers,  backgammon, 
tivoli,  and  dominoes,  as  well  as  those  of  a 
more  active  character;  school  exercises  for 
a  portion  of  the  patients  ;  parties,  lectures, 
tableaux,  readings  and  recitations,  and  other 
measures  for  diverting  the  mind,  and  recall- 
ing it  from  the  trains  of  thought  to  which  it 
is  accustomed  to  revert.  The  success  which 
has  crowned  these  measures  has  been  most 
gratifying.  The  percentage  of  recoveries  in 
recent  cases  has  been  constantly  on  the  in- 
crease, and  even  among  those  regarded  here- 
tofore as  incurable,  there  have  been  many 
instances  of  recovery  under  the  stimulus  to 
new  trains  of  thought  thus  induced. 

There  is  still  needed  provision  in  all 
the  states  for  cases  of  long  standing,  the 
chances  of  whose  recovery  are  very  slight, 
inasmuch  as  in  many  cases  they  have  fallen 
into  a  condition  of  hopeless  imbecility,  or 
are  most  of  the  time  stupid  and  depressed, 
with  occasional  alternations  of  violent  mania. 
The  safety  of  the  community,  as  well  as 
their  own  comfort,  require  that  they  should 
be  in  a  hospital;  yet  most  of  the  insane 
hospitals  are  so  pressed  with  applications 
for  the  admission  of  recent  cases,  generally 
of  a  far  more  hopeful  character,  that  they 
are  reluctant  to  retain  these  incurables,  and 


far  more  reluctant  to  receive  them,  when 
brought  to  them  after  years  of  insanity.  In 
England,  and  generally  in  Europe,  hospitals 
specially  for  incurables  have  been  establish- 
ed ;  but  this  plan  has  its  objections,  as,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  fatuity,  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble to  pronounce  positively  on  the  curability 
of  a  given  case,  and  the  association  with 
those  whose  recovery  is  more  probable  often 
exerts  a  beneficial  influence  upon  those  who 
have  long  been  insane.  Some  measures 
should  be  adopted  soon  for  the  relief  of  this 
large  class  of  the  insane. 

The  fifty  public  insane  hospitals  in  the 
country  have  cost  on  the  average  somewhat 
more  than  $250,000  each,  or  an  aggregate 
of  not  less  than  $13,000,000.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  private  asylums,  they  afford  ac- 
commodations for  a  little  more  than  ten 
thousand  patients.  According  to  the  esti- 
mate of  Miss  Dix,  recently  published,  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  the  United 
States,  who  at  some  time  in  their  lives  are 
afflicted  with  insanity,  is  about  62,000.  This 
would  indicate  an  alarming  deficiency  of 
hospital  accommodations  for  this  unfortu- 
nate class.  That  there  is  a  great  deficiency 
is  undoubtedly  true,  but  it  is  not  quite  so 
large  as  these  figures  would  indicate.  The 
population  of  the  hospitals  is  a  constantly 
changing  one,  and  the  discharges  in  any  one 
year  will  amount  to  very  nearly  one  half  of 
the  number  in  the  hospital.  It  is  safe  there- 
fore to  conclude  that  the  present  hospital 
accommodations  are  sufficient  for  nearly  or 
quite  one  half  the  insane.  They  are,  how- 
ever, unequally  distributed.  Massachusetts 
has  five  public  and  several  private  hospitals, 
furnishing  accommodations  for  nearly  1500 
insane ;  Connecticut,  with  nearly  one  half  the 
population,  has  but  one  public  institution, 
having  accommodations  for  250,  and  one 
small  private  asylum.  New  York  has  but 
five  public,  and  several  private  hospitals,  the 
public  hospitals  affording  accommodations 
for  not  more  than  1600  patients;  while 
Pennsylvania,  with  a  considerably  smaller 
population,  has  seven  public  hospitals,  with 
accommodations  for  about  1800  patients. 

The  newer  states  are  not,  as  yet,  fully 
provided  with  hospital  accommodations  for 
the  insane,  though  most  of  them  have  com- 
menced their  erection. 

The  character  of  our  population,  active, 
restless,  eager,  and  impulsive,  is  such  as  to 
make  insanity  more  prevalent  than  in  most 
other  countries;  and  it  is  of  a  different 


444 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


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THE    RELIEF    OF    THE    POOR. 


445 


type,  assuming  oftener  the  violent  form ; 
while  in  Europe,  the  pauper  insane,  who 
form  the  largest  portion  of  those  afflicted, 
have  usually  become  so  under  the  influence 
of  insufficient  food  and  depressing  circum- 
stances, and  are  melancholy  and  dejected, 
rather  than  violent. 

The  preceding  table,  prepared  with  great 
care,  exhibits  the  condition  and  success  of 
nearly  all  the  public  insane  hospitals  of  the 
United  States,  up  to  January,  1860,  though 
a  few  of  the  returns  of  -the  remoter  institu- 
tions are  of  the  previous  year. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  POOR. 

IN  every  large  community  there  is,  of  ne- 
cessity, a  dependent  class,  to  be  in  some 
way  provided  for ;  their  poverty  and  help- 
lessness may  proceed  from  the  loss  of  their 
protectors,  the  husband  or  parents,  at  a  time 
when  they  were  unable  to  provide  for  them- 
selves; from  sickness;  from  mental  or  phys- 
ical incapacity  for  self-support ;  from  lack 
of  employment ;  or  from  intemperance  and 
vicious  indulgence. 

Whichever  of  these  causes  may  have  in- 
duced this  state  of  dependence,  it  is  a  recog- 
nized duty  in  all  civilized  communities  to 
diminish,  and  so  far  as  possible  prevent,  ex- 
treme suffering  on  the  part  of  those  thus 
helpless. 

The  methods  of  accomplishing  this  result 
are  of  necessity  various.  All  who  need,  at 
times,  pecuniary  aid,  are  not  paupers ;  and 
to  treat  them  as  such  would  not  only  wound 
and  distress  them  needlessly,  but  would  in 
the  end  produce  a  demoralization  and  indis- 
position to  exertion  which  would  throw  an 
intolerable  burden  on  the  tax-paying  class, 
who  would  be  compelled  to  support  them. 

It  was  the  recognition  of  this  truth  which 
led  very  early  to  the  organization  of  asylums, 
dispensaries,  and  relief  societies  for  the  or- 
phan and  the  widow  (especially  those  of  cer- 
tain classes),  the  aged  and  infirm,  and  the  sick. 
It  led  also  to  the  administration  of  private 
charities,  which,  although  sometimes  inju- 
dicious, was  prompted  by  the  most  humane 
motives.  It  also  led  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  out-door  poor  and  the  pauper, 
which  is  commonly  established  in  our  large 
towns. 

The  methods  of  providing  for  the  poor,  as 


well  as  the  authorities  who  take  charge  of 
it,  vary  in  different  sections  of  the  country. 
In  New  England,  where  the  town  was  an 
older  political  organization  than  the  county, 
province,  or  state,  the  legal  care  of  the  poor 
has  always  devolved  upon  the  first  town 
officer,  or  selectman,  as  he  is  usually  called. 
To  him  all  applications  for  assistance  are 
made,  and  after  the  necessary  examination 
into  their  condition  and  necessities,  relief  is 
furnished,  to  a  limited  extent,  from  the  town 
treasury.  Those  needing  only  temporary 
assistance  receive  small  sums,  and  are  en- 
couraged to  struggle  on  at  their  homes ; 
those  wholly  dependent  are  provided  for,  in 
the  smaller  towns,  by  contract  with  some 
citizen,  who  for  a  stipulated  sum  "agrees  to 
provide  them  with  food,  clothing,  and  shel- 
ter, employing  such  of  them  as  are  able  to 
perform  some  labor,  in  such  work  as  their 
health  or  want  of  skill  will  permit.  In  the 
larger  towns,  this  class  are  received  into 
almshouses,  to  which  often  a  farm  is  at- 
tached, much  of  the  lighter  labor  of  which 
is  performed  by  the  paupers.  Paupers  of 
foreign  birth,  who  have  never  gained  a  resi- 
dence in  any  town,  as  well  as  vagrants  who 
have  no  fixed  abiding  place,  are  sent  to  a 
state  almshouse,  or  placed  in  charge  of  a 
state  contractor  for  the  poor. 

In  the  middle  and  western  states,  the  assist- 
ance to  the  poor  and  the  support  of  paupers 
are  a  county  charge,  and  are  under  the  control 
of  supervisors  elected  by  the  voters  of  the 
county.  Those  entirely  dependent  are  usu- 
ally quartered  in  a  county  almshouse,  and, 
where  practicable,  employed  in  light  labor. 
In  the  Southern  states,  with  a  milder  climate 
and  a  sparser  population,  there  is  less  occa- 
sion for  definite  preparation  for  the  wants  of 
a  pauper  class,  especially  as  a  very  consider^ 
able  portion  of  those  who  would  elsewhere 
be  dependent  upon  the  public  are,  from  the 
peculiar  constitution  of  their  institutions, 
cared  for,  when  infirm,  sick,  or  disabled,  by 
their  masters.  Hence,  except  in  the  cities 
and  large  towns  of  the  South,  there  has  been 
no  well-defined  provision  for  paupers. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  there  was 
a  vast  amount  of  poverty  and  suffering,  the 
result  of  the  prostration  of  commerce,  the 
ravages  of  war,  the  loss  of  the  productive  in- 
dustry of  so  large  a  number  of  able-bodied  men 
for  several  successive  years,  and  the  complete 
and  ruinous  depreciation  of  the  continental 
currency.  From  this  condition,  however, 
under  the  stimulus  of  an  active  and  prosper- 


446 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


ous  trade  and  commerce,  the  country  soon 
rallied,  and  though  the  war  of  1812  brought 
much  privation  and  loss  of  property,  yet  the 
constant  westward  emigration,  and  the  enter- 
prise of  the  people,  kept  the  pauper  popula- 
tion within  narrow  limits.  The  poor  were 
mostly  natives  of  the  country,  and  the  ties 
of  kindred  were  strong  enough  to  prevent 
the  burden  of  their  support  from  pressing 
heavily  on  the  public  treasury. 

In  the  larger  towns,  and  especially  in  the 
seaports,  where  there  was  the  largest  influx 
of  persons  of  foreign  birth,  and  of  families 
reduced  to  poverty  through  the  vicissitudes 
of  a  seafaring  life,  there  were  benevolent  so- 
cieties, some  of  them  dating  back  almost  to 
the  revolutionary  period,  of  the  different  na- 
tionalities, which  bestowed  aid  on  their  own 
countrymen,  and  marine  societies  (that  of 
New  York  founded  as  early  as  1770)  to  pro- 
vide for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  seamen. 
There  were  also  one  or  two  dispensaries  in 
the  larger  towns,  for  providing  medical  at- 
tendance and  promoting  vaccination  among 
the  poor.  Between  1800  and  1830,  relief 
societies,  some  of  them  connected  with  par- 
ticular trades  or  professions,  such  as  the  tai- 
lors', house-builders',  firemen's,  etc.,  some 
composed  of  persons  of  particular  national- 
ities, as  the  Germans,  Irish,  etc.,  and  oth- 
ers of  a  more  general  character,  like  the  Ma- 
sonic,Odd  Fellows',  and  Temperance  Lodges, 
were  organized,  having  for  their  object  the 
care  of  the  sick,  and  provision  for  the  wid- 
ows and  orphans  of  their  members.  The 
New  York  Hospital  opened  in  1792,  the 
City  Hospital  at  Bellevue,  the  New  York 
Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary  founded  in  1820,  the 
City  Dispensary  founded  in  1791,  the  North- 
ern Dispensary  founded  in  1827,  and  the  Ly- 
ing-in Asylum  founded  in  1824,  afforded  the 
necessary  medical  treatment  to  those  who 
were  without  means  to  pay  for  the  attend- 
ance of  a  physician.  Soon  after  1830,  how- 
ever, the  tide  of  European  emigration  began 
to  set  westward,  and  with  each  successive 
year,  larger  and  still  larger  numbers  of  emi- 
grants, at  first  mainly  from  Ireland,  but  sub- 
sequently in  quite  as  large  numbers  from  the 
German  states,  began  to  pour  in  upon  us. 
Many  of  these  possessed  a  small  amount  of 
money,  and  others,  stout  and  able-bodied, 
found  ready  employment  at  remunerative 
wages,  and  provided  well  for  themselves  and 
families. 

No  inconsiderable  portion,  however,  had 
either  been  paupers  at  home,  or  coming  here 


with  insufficient  means,  their  manners,  cus- 
toms, and  language  diverse  from  ours,  and 
the  climate,  under  their  privations,  proving 
far  more  severe  than  that  of  their  native 
country,  sunk  down  into  a  hopeless  and  de- 
spondent pauperism  almost  immediately  on 
their  arrival.  With  the  intent  of  obviating 
this  influx  of  foreign  pauperism,  stringent 
laws  were  passed  by  the  states  having  exten- 
sive commercial  relations  with  Europe,  pro- 
hibiting the  reception,  by  captains  of  emi- 
grant ships,  of  pauper  emigrants,  and  a  tax 
of  two  dollars  per  head  required  of  all  emi- 
grants arriving  at  the  principal  ports,  or  a 
bond  by  the  ship-owners  to  the  state  that 
they  should  not  become  chargeable  to  the 
state  within  three  years.  These  laws  were  so 
constantly  evaded,  and  the  pressure  of  foreign 
pauperism  in  consequence  became  so  severe 
in  New  York,  the  great  port  of  entry  for  emi- 
grant ships,  that  a  modification  became  nec- 
essary, and  a  board  of  Commissioners  of  Emi- 
gration was  appointed  to  receive  the  emigrant 
tax,  which  was  raised  to  three  dollars,  and 
they  were  required  to  establish  hospitals, 
almshouses,  etc.,  and  to  assume  the  entire 
responsibility  for  the  pauperism  of  emigrants 
for  five  years  after  their  arrival. 

Measures  nearly  as  stringent  were  adopted 
by  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania. 

Notwithstanding  these  efforts  to  restrain 
within  due  metes  and  bounds  the  influx  of 
foreign  pauperism,  and  prevent  its  becoming 
chargeable  upon  our  own  citizens,  its  in- 
crease in  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and 
Pennsylvania,  has  been  such  as  to  create  no 
small  degree  of  alarm  on  the  part  of  the  tax- 
payers. The  state  of  New  York  alone  had, 
in  1859,  above  260,000  paupers,  being  7.4 
per  cent,  of  her  population,  or  nearly  one 
pauper  for  every  13  persons.  This  propor- 
tion is  about  eight  times  that  of  Ireland,  and 
more  than  double  that  of  the  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland ;  and  for- 
midable as  it  is,  it  does  not  include  any  of 
those  under  the  care  of  the  Commissioners 
of  Emigration.  The  increase  of  pauperism 
has  been  nearly  fifteen  times  that  of  the  pop- 
ulation within  the  last  thirty  years.  Of  this 
increase  more  than  75  per  cent,  are  either 
of  foreign  birth  or  the  children  of  foreigners. 
In  New  York  city  the  proportion  of  foreign- 
ers exceeds  eighty  per  cent. 

These  statistics,  however,  by  no  means 
tell  the  whole  story  in  regard  to  the  depend- 
ent poor  of  the  great  cities.  Large  num- 
bers, who  are  unwilling  to  be  enrolled  on 


THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  POOR. 


447 


NewYork. 
1869. 

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houses  

Land  attached  to  these  houses  
Number  of  persons  relieved  in  alms 
Out-door  poor  
Cost  of  support  of  poor  in  almshouse 
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houses  
Average  yearly  expense  of  each  pau 
houses  
Expenditure  for  out-door  poor  
Average  expenditure  per  head  per 
out-door  poor.  . 

Total  expenditure  for  legal  relief  of 
Population  
Ratio  of  expenditure  for  paupers  to 
Whole  number  of  paupers  
Percentage  of  paupers  to  population 
Number  of  insane  paupers  
Valuation  of  property  of  country  or 
Percentage  of  poor-rate  to  valuation 
Percentage  of  the  poor-rate  of  the  v 
the  country  or  state  

448 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


the  city  or  county  records  as  paupers,  are 
still  dependent  for  a  considerable  share  of 
their  support,  especially  during  the  winter 
months,  on  private  charity,  bestowed  either 
through  the  churches  with  which  they  are 
connected  or  some  of  the  societies  or  asso- 
ciations devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
These  organizations  have  greatly  increased 
within  the  past  twenty  years,  in  all  our  large 
cities,  and  though  varied  in  their  specific 
purposes,  they  all  have  the  general  object  of 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  poor.  For 
the  sick  poor,  hospitals,  dispensaries,  and 
infirmaries  have  been  greatly  multiplied ;  for 
the  aged  and  infirm  and  for  very  young 
children,  homes  and  nurseries  have  been  es- 
tablished ;  for  widows  and  orphans,  widows' 
societies,  assistance  societies,  and  orphan 
asylums ;  for  the  disabled,  relief  societies ; 
for  youthful  offenders  or  the  morally  en- 
dangered, asylums,  houses  of  reformation, 
houses  of  industry,  children's  aid  societies, 
and  "missions;"  for  the  intemperate  poor, 
inebriates'  homes  and  Samaritan  homes ; 
and  for  the  poor  in  general,  associations  for 
improving  the  condition  of  the  poor,  prov- 
ident societies,  soup  houses,  etc.,  etc. 

In  addition  to  these,  very  large  sums  in 
the  aggregate  are  bestowed  by  the  benevo- 
lent in  private  charity  to  the  poor  and  suf- 
fering, and  sums  almost  as  large  in  contribu- 
tions to  the  importunate  mendicant,  by  those 
who  give  from  impulse  and  a  naturally  gen- 
erous disposition. 

The  great  increase  of  mendicancy,  and  the 
annoying  importunity  of  the  beggars  who 
preferred  a  living  obtained  in  that  way  to 
one  acquired  by  honest  toil,  led  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  class  of  organizations  now  exist- 
ing in  most  of  the  large  cities  in  the  country, 
but  originating  in  the  city  of  New  York.  In 
different  cities  different  names  for  these  or- 
ganizations have  been  adopted,  but  their 
general  purpose  is  the  same.  "The  New 
York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condi- 
tion of  the  Poor,"  was  not  only  the  first  but 
has  been  the  most  efficient  in  its  action.  Its 
purposes,  and  those  of  its  kindred  associa- 
tions, of  which  there  are  now  thirteen  in  as 
many  of  our  large  cities,  are,  "to  discoun- 
tenance indiscriminate  almsgiving  and  put 
an  end  to  street  begging  and  vagrancy ;  to 
visit  the  poor  at  their  dwellings,  and  extend 
to  them  appropriate  relief;  and  through  the 
friendly  intercourse  of  visitors  to  inculcate 
among  them  habits  of  frugality,  temperance, 
industry,  and  self-dependence."  Each  city, 


where  one  of  these  associations  exists,  is  di- 
vided into  districts,  which  are  again  divided 
into  sections  (New  York  has  almost  four 
hundred  of  these  sections),  to  each  of  which 
a  visitor  is  appointed,  who  takes  upon  him- 
self, without  compensation,  the  entire  over- 
sight of  the  poor  of  his  section,  visiting 
them,  ascertaining  their  situation,  their  re- 
sources, if  any,  their  just  claims  upon  any 
other  organization  for  relief,  and  where  nec- 
essary, rendering  them  such  assistance  as 
will  enable  them  to  subsist  until  they  can 
obtain  work  or  aid  from  quarters  where  they 
have  a  claim  for  it,  or  if  they  need  assistance, 
bestowing  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  destroy 
their  desire  for  self-dependence  or  injure 
their  self-respect. 

To  check  street  begging,  every  member 
(and  any  person  contributing  to  the  funds 
of  the  association  is  a  member)  is  furnished 
with  printed  cards  and  a  directory  showing 
the  residence  of  the  visitors  and  the  section 
which  they  have  in  charge,  and  when  a  beg- 
gar applies  for  charity,  the  member  inquires 
his  residence,  and  instead  of  giving  him 
money,  gives  him  a  card  Avith  the  address 
of  the  visitor  upon  it,  and  directs  him  to  call 
upon  that  visitor,  who  will  investigate  his 
case,  and  if  proper,  render  him  aid. 

These  associations  have  also  been  active  in 
promoting  sanitary  reforms,  encouraging  the 
erection  of  well-arranged  tenement  houses,  in 
preventing  truancy,  in  aiding  in  the  forma- 
tion of  temperance  societies,  in  promoting 
the  establishment  of  dispensaries  and  houses 
of  reformation,  and  in  diffusing,  by  means  of 
tracts  and  handbills,  information  among  the 
poor  on  the  subject  of  cleanliness,  ventila- 
tion, and  household  economy. 

Ignorance,  intemperance,  licentious  indul- 
gence, the  congregation  of  such  large  num- 
bers in  filthy,  ill-arranged,  and  ill  ventilated 
tenement  houses,  and  disregard  of  sanitary 
laws  generally,  are  the  causes  of  more  than 
four  fifths  of  the  pauperism  of  our  great 
cities,  and  it  is  only  by  removing  these 
causes  that  any  considerable  diminution  in 
the  number  of  paupers  can  be  expected. 
The  small  dependent  class  whose  poverty 
is  not  traceable  to  either  of  these,  can 
readily  be  provided  for;  but  the  terrible 
burden  of  taxation  to  maintain  those  who  are 
paupers  from  their  own  fault  or  that  of  their 
parents,  renders  it  certain  that  there  must  be, 
ere  long,  carefully  considered,  but  stringent 
legislation  to  prevent  the  evils  which  inflict 
"such  a  burden  on  the  industry  of  our  people. 


HOSPITALS. 


449 


CHAPTER   IV. 

HOSPITALS. 

HOSPITALS  for  the  sick,  either  general  or 
special,  have  been  in  existence  in  Europe 
from  the  early  Christian  ages,  and  their  en- 
dowment has  been  a  favorite  form  of  Chris- 
tian charity.  In  this  country,  the  first  gen- 
eral hospital  was  the  Pennsylvania,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, opened  in  1752.  The  charter, 
granted  in  1751,  contemplated  "the  recep- 
tion and  relief  of  lunaticks  and  other  distem- 
pered and  sick  poor  in  this  province,"  and 
it  has  always  had  a  department  for  the  in- 
sane, who  occupied  a  portion  of  the  hospital 
building  until  1 841,  when  they  were  removed 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  the  Insane, 
then  completed,  which  we  have  described 
under  the  head  of  Hospitals  for  the  Insane. 
This  building,  now  the  female  department  of 
the  insane  hospital,  was  erected  mainly  from 
funds  resulting  from  the  sale  of  the  hospital 
land,  and  the  general  hospital  has,  aside 
from  this,  a  permanent  fund  of  nearly  $400,- 
000  invested,  the  income  of  which  sustains 
nearly  150  free  beds.  The  average  number 
of  inmates  is  below  200.  The  medical  staff, 
selected  by  the  managers,  serve  gratuitously, 
and  are  the  most  eminent  members  of  the 
profession  in  the  city.  There  is  a  library 
of  over  10,000  volumes  attached  to  the  hos- 
pital. Benjamin  West's  picture  of  "  Christ 
Healing  the  Sick"  was  painted  for  this  hos- 
pital, and  its  exhibition  added  $24,000  to  its 
funds. 

The  New  York  Hospital,  the  first  in  New 
York,  was  incorporated  in  1771  by  the  co- 
lonial legislature,  but  was  not  opened  for  the 
reception  of  patients  till  1791.  At  first  it 
had  wards  for  the  insane,  like  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital,  but  in  1818  the  governors 
of  the  hospital  established  a  separate  asylum 
for  the  insane  at  Bloomingdale,  with  an  effi- 
cient superintendent  and  corps  of  officers, 
but  under  their  general  supervision,  and  sup- 
ported in  part  from  their  funds.  The  gen- 
eral hospital  has  grown  up  to  be  a  very  large 
and  admirably  managed  institution.  It  is  a 
close  corporation,  under  the  control  of  26 
governors.  All  cases  of  serious  accident  or 
emergency  are  admitted  immediately,  with- 
out regard  to  payment  or  recovery ;  other- 
wise, persons  whose  cases  appear  not  to  ad- 
mit of  cure  or  relief,  are  not  received.  It  has 
four  physicians  and  six  surgeons  in  regular 
attendance,  besides  a  house  physician  and 
several  assistants.  The  entire  medical  staff 


is  twenty-four.  There  are  about  500  beds. 
The  cost  of  each  patient  is  $4.32  per  week. 
The  rate  of  deaths  to  the  Avhole  number  of 
patients  is  only  about  5-£  per  cent.;  being 
[ess  than  that  of  any  hospital  in  Europe. 
Connected  with  the  hospital  is  a  library  of 
between  6000  and  7000  volumes. 

The  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  at 
Boston,  founded  in  181 7,  is  an  institution 
of  high  character  and  reputation.  It  has 
funds~to  the  amount  of  about  $300,000  ;  a 
medical  staff  of  20  physicians  and  assistants, 
and  about  200  beds.  It  is  managed  by 
a  board  of  trustees,  and  a  president,  vice 
president,  secretary,  and  treasurer.  It  has 
an  out-door  department,  furnishing  medical 
and  surgical  aid  to  over  3000  out-patients. 
The  McLean  Insane  Asylum,  at  Somerville, 
is  a  branch  of  the  hospital.  The  annual 
expenditure  is  nearly  $100,000. 

There  are  now  in  the  city  of  New  York 
fourteen  hospitals,  and  five  other  institutions 
having  hospital  accommodations.  Of  these, 
seven  are  general,  and  receive  patients  of  all 
classes  except  those  with  contagious  dis- 
eases; one  is  for  small  pox,  one  for  syphi- 
litic diseases,  one  for  quarantine  patients, 
two  exclusively  for  women,  one  for  children, 
and  one  for  diseases  of  the  eye.  Of  the 
five  institutions  having  hospital  accommo- 
dations, one  is  for  lying-in  women,  two  for 
young  children,  one  for  aged  females,  and 
one  for  colored  persons.  There  are  also 
hospitals  connected  with  the  Orphan  Asy- 
lums, House  of  Refuge,  and  Juvenile  Asy- 
lum, for  the  sick  inmates  of  those  institu- 
tions. The  entire  capacity  of  these  hospital 
accommodations  exceeds  7000  beds. 

Philadelphia  has  eleven  hospitals,  four  of 
them  general,  one  naval,  one  for  infectious 
disease,  one  a  lying-in  charity,  one  for  dis- 
eases of  the  eye  and  limbs,  and  three  for 
aged  and  indigent  females.  The  entire  num- 
ber of  beds  does  not  exceed  1600. 

Boston  has  eight  hospitals,  of  which  five 
are  general,  and  one  for  diseases  of  the  eye 
and  ear,  one  for  aged  and  indigent  females, 
and  one  a  lying-in  hospital. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  has  five,  two  of  them 
general,  one  naval,  and  two  for  aged  women. 

Baltimore  has  three,  two  of  them  general, 
and  one  for  aged  women. 

Charleston  has  two  hospitals,  and  Norfolk, 
Va.,  two,  a  naval  and  city  institution. 

Cincinnati  has  three,  one  a  commercial 
hospital,  one  a  hotel  for  invalids,  and  one  a 
widows'  and  female  asylum  and  hospital. 


450 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


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If  to  the  municipal  relief,  $624,482,  we  add  that  afforded  by  the  Commissioners  of  Emigration,  $206,064,  and  that  furnished  by  the  voluntary  charitable  associations  of  the  city 
which  by  careful  investigation  has  been  demonstrated  to  amount  to  $586,119  for  the  year  1860,  we  have  a  total  aggregate  of  $1,416,665  for  the  public  relief  of  the  poor  in  the  city  of 
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*  Adults.  t  Children.  A  large  portion  of  these  are  children  of  foreigners,  though  themselves  born  in  this  country. 

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SI 

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1  s 

h 

Almshonse,  Blackwell's  Island.  . 
Bellevue  Hospital  
City  I'rison  (insane  paupers) 
City  Lunatic  Asylum,  a.  Island. 
Kundall's  Island  Nursery  
"  Hospital 
Workliotise,  Blackwell's  Island.  . 
Colored  Home  
Colored  Orphan  Asylum  
Island  Hospital,  Blackwell's  Isl.. 
(Small  Pox  Hospital,  Blackw's  Is. 

Out-door  poor  for  the  year  

1 

i 

a, 
[3 

1 
| 

i 

o 
H 

COMMISSIONERS  or  EMIGRATION. 
Total  assistance  afforded.  .  .  . 
Kefuge  and  Hospital,  Ward's  Isl.. 

27 

452 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    COKRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


Chicago  has  a  marine  hospital. 

St.  Louis  has  four,  one  for  quarantine,  one 
marine,  and  two  general ;  one  of  them  under 
the  care  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

New  Orleans  and  Mobile  are  more  am- 
ply supplied  with  hospitals  in  proportion  to 
their  population  than  most  of  the  cities  of 
the  Union,  the  former  having  four,  one  of 
them  a  United  States  naval  hospital.  The 
Chanty  Hospital  at  New  Orleans  is  the 
largest  in  this  country,  receiving  from  13,000 
to  2 0,000  patients  a  year,  and  having  about 
1000  beds.  Mobile  has  three,  one  marine 
and  two  general.  All  are  large,  and  admira- 
bly managed. 

Most  of  the  cities  of  twenty  thousand  in- 
habitants and  over  have  one,  and  some  of 
them  more  than  one  hospital,  though  ordi- 
narily their  wards  are  by  no  means  full. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

DISPENSARIES. 

ANOTHER  of  the  methods  of  relief  and  min- 
istration to  the  wants  of  the  poor  has  been 
the  establishment  of  Dispensaries.  The 
idea  of  such  institutions  originated,  we  sup- 
pose, in  Rome,  but  was  not  adopted  in  oth- 
er cities  till  the  latter  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. In  London,  a  dispensary  was  establish- 
ed in  1696.  There  was  none  in  Paris  till 
1 803.  At  first,  it  was  simply  an  apothecary's 
shop,  where  medicines  were  dispensed  gratu- 
itously to  the  poor.  After  a  time,  a  physi- 
cian attended  at  a  certain  hour  to  prescribe 
for  patients  who  might  require  treatment ; 
then,  as  the  number  of  patients  increased, 
they  were  classified,  and  other  physicians 
volunteered  to  take  charge  of  the  different 
classes,  and  a  house  physician  and  apothecary 
were  appointed  to  take  the  general  oversight, 
keep  the  records,  prepare  medicines,  arrange 
the  patients  for  the  classes,  etc. ;  then,  as  it 
was  found  that  many  of  the  sick  poor  were 
unable  to  come  to  the  dispensary  to  receive 
treatment,  and  some  of  those  who  came  once 
or  twice  were  unable  to  continue  to  attend, 
and  so  suffered  for  the  want  of  medical  care, 
the  plan  was  adopted  of  dividing  the  region 
appertaining  to  the  dispensary  into  districts, 
to  each  of  which  a  district  physician  was  ap- 
pointed who  visited  the  sick  at  their  dwell- 
ings. Vaccination,  from  its  first  introduction, 
was  largely  practised  at  the  dispensaries ; 
and  nearly  all  of  them  now  give  attention 


to  it,  keeping  a  supply  of  the  vaccine  virus 
constantly  on  hand,  and  vaccinating  all  who 
apply,  and  at  some  seasons  of  the  year  call- 
ing the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  neces- 
sity of  it.  To  some  of  the  dispensaries  a 
lying-in  department  is  added. 

The  first  dispensary  in  this  country  was 
the  Philadelphia,  founded  in  1 786. 

The  New  York  Dispensary,  the  first  in 
that  city,  was  founded  in  1791,  and  the  Bos- 
ton Dispensary  in  1796. 

There  are  now  in  New  York  five  public 
dispensaries,  covering  the  whole  city  below 
Sixtieth  street  west  of  Fifth  avenue,  and  be- 
low Fortieth  street  east  of  that  avenue.  The 
territory  of  the  city  below  these  streets  is 
parcelled  out  between  these  dispensaries,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  give  to  each  a  district  not 
excessive  either  in  size  or  population.  Each 
dispensary  employs  two  or  more  district 
physicians,  to  visit  the  sick  poor  at  their 
homes  when  they  are  unable  to  come  to  the 
dispensary.  The  patients  who  come  to  the 
dispensary  between  the  hours  of  10  A.  M. 
and  4  p.  M.,  are  divided  into  eight  or  nine 
classes,  each  of  which  has  its  room,  where 
the  physician  in  attendance  prescribes  for 
the  patients  belonging  to  his  class.  The 
medicines  prescribed  are  furnished  by  the 
institution,  and  though  plainly  put  up,  great 
care  is  taken  to  have  them  uniformly  of  the 
best  quality. 

Besides  these,  there  are  three  homoeo- 
pathic dispensaries  in  the  city,  and  four  oth- 
er institutions  of  a  dispensary  character,  in- 
tended for  special  diseases,  two  of  them  for 
diseases  of  the  eye,  and  two  for  women  and 
children. 

Philadelphia  has  three  dispensaries,  two 
of  them  with  a  lying-in  department.  It  has 
also  several  institutions  which  dispense  med- 
icine to  the  poor,  and  prescribe  for  them  in 
particular  forms  of  disease,  in  connection  with 
the  hospital  or  asylum  accommodations. 

Boston  has  one  central  dispensary,  which 
is  largely  endowed,  although  its  funds  are 
not  yet  available.  This  dispensary  has  two 
consulting  and  eight  attending  physicians, 
two  consulting  and  four  attending  surgeons, 
a  medical  superintendent  and  apothecary, 
and  eight  district  physicians,  who  divide  be- 
tween them  the  .  city  territory  and  visit  all 
the  sick  poor  who  apply,  and  who  are  un- 
able to  attend  at  the  dispensary.  The  Mas- 
sachusetts General  Hospital  also  affords 
medical  and  surgical  relief  to  out-patients,  to 
a  very  considerable  extent. 


DISPENSARIES. 


453 


Nativity  of 
patients. 

•q^tq  nSrajojjo 

I 

§                    CNO5OCO-2t-O 
^3                             O5  00            O  CO   ^ 

PQ                  CM  o  "^t-       o 

SS2300 

•qi-nquBOuarayjo 

GO  oe  o  co  oo 

O  OO  1C  CO  c/> 

§ 

sT 

0>0»£.-|<0 

Financial. 

qoBa    oj     9Utotp9ni 

tj"  -  -  - 

T-l             (M 

rr> 

9 
t~ 

*=. 
01 

••••••! 

eo                            •     •     .     .     . 

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SsSs 

0 
0 

b- 
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aT               •     •    :    I    :  O 

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S          •  •  ;  •  '.  s. 

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«»CCIT 

to 

OS 

-i 

E 

1 

i 

Prescriptions,  their 
number,  average,  and 
cost. 

*not^dijo89j(l 
qo«a  jo'jsoo  9Soj9Ay 

o  o  o  o  o 

lo 

3 
j 

3 

^We  subjoin  the  following  general  statistics  of  the  New  York  Dispensaries.  Owing  to  the  loss  of  its  ej 
Dispensary  cannot  be  ascertained  :  — 

Average  number  of  years  in  which  medical  charity  has  been  dispensed  to  the  sick  poor  of  New  York  by  the  dispensaries 
\Y  hole  number  of  persons  vaccinated  in  all  the  dispensaries  since  1804 
"Whole  number  of  persons  who  have  received  medicine,  and  medical,  surgical,  and  vaccine  service  gratuitously  since  1791 
Aggregate  amount  of  expenditures  of  the  several  dispensaries  since  1791 
General  average  cost  of  medicine,  and  medical,  surgical,  and  vaccine  service  to  each  dispensary  patient  since  1791 
Average  number  of  patients  treated  annually  for  the  average  twenty-nine  years  that  the  dispensaries  have  been  organized  ar 
Sew  York  Dispensary  alone,  in  the  sixty-nine  years  of  its  existence,  has  prescribed  for  

qoe9  o^  "Ojj  sSaaaAy 

"b-SSo 

oi 

to 
oi 

;J  r-  CM  T--  oi 

•snoiidiJ089jd 
jo   jgqinnu   o[oq^ 

r-OOOCCtO 

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/, 
0 

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ssstfs 

Besults. 

•p9A9i[9j  jo  pajno 
pg^atjqosip  agqmn^j 

e^cst-C^  — 

00  G-J  C5  OS^ 
CO  T-I  <M  Q*  l-i 

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1 

*sq^ti9p  jo  j9qinnNj 

O)O*-COOO 
t—  Cs  »O  *-t  00 
(M        T-lCO 

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00 

o,   ,S*5?nmH 

COCCOOi-tC^ 

C^  ^»  l-H  OP  t- 

r^i-i  Oi  CO  rH 

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CO 
CM 

Vaccination. 

•pgjtrara 
-OBA  jgqinnu  9ioq^ 

1  -    /   1  -  —  '  —  f 
?O  CO  i-t  t-  CO 

£ 

°, 

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-IOOBA9.1  jo  J9qmnsj 

^S" 

§ 

of 

A\itHnu<i  jo  J9qinnfci 

Oi  00  T-*  1^-  CO 
iO^->J  i-^t^  CO 
r-T^I  if^r-T 

1 

o' 

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J 

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11 
1 

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CM 

3^ 

1 
t-~ 

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I" 

I 

•Aiijsugdsip  qo»a  jo  \v\0}  ptnuQ 

lllsi 

00 

i 

5 
| 

5lT-i03<Nr1 

Sexes  and  ages  of  patients. 

•9§O  JO  SIB9./C  U99} 

-jg  J9pun  Udjpuqo 

r-lOOCO5O 
<^'^l-rH  """1.*^ 

1 

1 

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rt  Oi  00  0>  TO 

"Vr~tos.  Tji.~, 

^i^  ^H« 

3 

co- 

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c>>  TO  Ol  b-  OS 

fM  00  CO  OO  CO 

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1 

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§-' 

§1 

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b-  OO  06  OO  OO 

Totals  
Boston  Dispensary,  A.D.  1796 

fi'^    ^ 

*,       I 

^  o  a  o  o 

454 


HUMANITARIAN    AND    CORRECTIVE    INSTITUTIONS. 


In  Brooklyn  there  are  three  city  dispensa- 
ries, not  as  yet  systematized  like  those  of  New 
York,  and  having,  up  to  the  present  time, 
no  district  physicians.  There  is  also  an  eye 
and  ear  infirmary,  at  which  persons  suffering 
with  diseases  of  these  organs  are  prescribed 
for  gratuitously,  and  a  homoeopathic  dis- 
pensary. 

Baltimore  has  two  dispensaries  or  infirm- 
aries ;  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  New 
Orleans,  and  Charleston,  as  well  as  some 
other  smaller  cities,  one  or  more. 

Besides  these  institutions,  there  are  in 
connection  with  nearly  all  the  medical  schools 
in  the  large  cities,  cliniques,  at  which,  at  a 
given  hour,  once,  twice,  or  thrice  a  week, 
patients  are  prescribed  for  gratuitously  by 
the  professors,  in  order  to  familiarize  the 
students  with  the  practical  diagnosis  of  dis- 
ease. Some  of  the  medical  schools  have 
hospitals,  with  quite  a  number  of  free  beds, 
for  the  same  purpose. 

We  insert  a  table  showing  the  annual 
amount  of  medical  service  rendered  by  the 
dispensaries  of  New  York  and  Boston,  and 
the  small  cost  at  which  so  large  an  amount 
of  good  is  accomplished. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

NURSERIES  AND  FOUNDLING  HOSPITALS. 

THERE  has  been  a  strong  prejudice  in  this 
country  against  foundling  hospitals,  mainly 
undoubtedly  the  result  of  the  mismanage- 
ment which  formerly  prevailed,  and,  to  some 
extent,  still  prevails  in  some  of  the  great 
European  hospitals  for  foundlings.  They 
have  been  stigmatized  as  offering  a  premium 
for  licentiousness,  and  destroying  the  barri- 
ers against  illegitimate  births.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  has  been  urged  in  their  favor,  that 
they  tend  to  prevent  infanticide  and  those 
crimes  so  prevalent  in  communities  where  no 
such  institutions  exist.  After  long  delib- 
eration, the  public  authorities  of  New  York 
have  decided  in  favor  of  a  foundling  hospital, 
which  will  be  the  first  in  this  country. 

Provision  has  been  made  for  many  years 
past  for  the  care  of  the  young  children  of 
criminals,  and  of  paupers  deceased,  or  inca- 
pable of  taking  care  of  them,  in  all  our  large 
cities.  The  usual  method,  if  they  are  in- 
fants, is  to  put  them  out  to  nurse  until  they 
are  three  or  four  years  of  age,  the  city  pay- 
ing a  dollar  a  week  or  thereabout  to  the  nurse. 


In  many  cases,  those  who  have  thus  taken 
charge  of  them  were  utterly  unfit  for  their 
duty,  and  painful  instances  of  cruelty  and 
maltreatment  of  these  unfortunate  children 
have  come  to  light.  Closer  scrutiny  is  now 
exercised  in  regard  to  the  character  and  po- 
sition of  those  who  apply  for  employment 
as  nurses,  and  the  abuses  are  measurably 
checked.  If  the  children  survive  the  nurs- 
ing period,  they  are  placed  together  in  a 
public  nursery  or  farm  school,  and  there  re- 
ceive a  good  English  education,  and  are  then 
apprenticed  or  adopted  in  families  in  the 
country,  or,  in  some  instances,  sent  to  sea. 

The  neglect  and  evil  results  which  in 
many  instances  followed  from  the  course 
pursued  in  these  institutions,  as  well  as  the 
conviction  that  the  infant  children  of  vir- 
tuous parents,  who  were  deprived  of  their 
parents'  care  by  death  or  extreme  poverty, 
were  entitled  to  a  tenderer  watchfulness  and 
supervision,  has  led  in  most  of  the  large 
cities  to  the  establishment  of  nurseries,  in- 
fants' homes,  and  other  institutions  of  a  sim- 
ilar character,  for  children  of  this  class.  The 
"homes  for  the  friendless,"  a  class  of  insti- 
tutions we  have  elsewhere  described,  have 
received  very  considerable  numbers  of  these 
children,  and  after  carefully  rearing  them, 
have  provided  them  with  good  homes,  where 
they  have  been  adopted  by  those  who  re- 
ceived them.  There  are  also  in  New  York, 
Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  hospitals  for  in- 
fants of  legitimate  birth.  An  institution 
much  needed  in  all  our  large  cities,  and 
which  has  just  been  established  in  Boston,  is 
the  creche,  now  very  popular  in  most  of  the 
European  cities.  It  is  a  large  building,  with 
fine,  airy,  well-ventilated  rooms,  fitted  up 
with  cradles,  toys,  and  every  thing  necessary 
for  the  care  and  amusement  of  infants  and 
young  children,  and  provided  with  a  suffici- 
ent number  of  amiable  and  intelligent  nurses, 
where  the  poor  mother,  whose  daily  toil  sus- 
tains her  little  flock,  may  leave  them  for  the 
day,  certain  that  they  will  be  well  cared  for, 
and  receive  wholesome  food  and  pure  air. 
For  this  care  she  pays  a  trifling  sum,  grad- 
uated to  her  ability. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

HOMES    AND    ASYLUMS    FOR    THE    AGED 
AND   INFIRM. 

FROM  tne  care  of  children  who  have  been 
bereft  of  a  parent's  tender  love,  to  the  pro- 


HOMES  AND  ASYLUMS  FOR  THE  AGED  AND  INFIRM. 


455 


vision  for  those  whom  the  burden  of  years 
and  infirmity  has  reduced  to  an  almost 
childish  feebleness,  seems  a  natural  transi- 
tion. For  this  class,  and  especially  for 
women  who  in  the  time  of  old  age  find 
themselves  without  those  who  can  minister 
to  their  wants,  and  to  whom  the  almshouse 
seems  almost  as  terrible  as  the  grave,  the 
large-hearted  charity  of  the  philanthropic  in 
most  of  our  cities,  has  made  liberal  provision. 
New  York  has  five  institutions  for  this  class, 
besides  several  relief  societies  intended  main- 
ly for  them ;  Boston  three  or  four,  one  of 
them  largely  endowed ;  Philadelphia  four  ; 
Brooklyn  two,  one  the  Graham  Home,  nobly 


endowed  by  one  of  her  citizens ;  Baltimore 
two;  and  the  other  larger  cities  one  or  two 
each.  In  Boston  and  Philadelphia  there  are 
also  institutions  for  aged  clergymen,  mer- 
chants, and  others.  New  York  has  an  asy- 
lum for  infirm  seamen,  the  Sailor's  Snug 
Harbor,  located  on  Staten  Island,  and  found- 
ed and  amply  endowed  by  the  munificence 
of  a  retired  sea  captain,  Eobert  R.  Eandall. 
Provision  has  been  made  in  most  of 
the  Northern  cities  for  children,  the  aged 
and  infirm,  and  the  sick  of  the  African  race, 
in  separate  institutions,  but  with  accommo- 
dations fully  equal  to  those  provided  for 
whites. 


INDEX 


ACCOKDIOH,  the,  438. 

Adriatic,  tho  (steamer),  picture  of,  237. 

Aged  and  infirm,  houses  and  asylums  for  the,  454. 

Agricultural  books,  98. 

Agricultural  exhibitions,  the  first,  25;  benefits  of,  26;  fruit 
culture  increased  by,  84. 

Agricultural  implements  in  old  times,  20,  24,  26;  Improve- 
ments in,  30-37;  manufacture  of  in  Illinois,  76. 

Agricultural  literature,  progress  of,  97. 

Agricultural  newspaper,  the  first,  25. 

Agricultural  periodicals,  97-8. 

"Agricultural  Repository,"  97. 

Agricultural  societies  recommended  by  Washington,  24;  first 
establishment  and  increase  of,  25;  results  of,  26;  publi- 
cation of  the  proceedings  of,  99. 

Agricultural  wealth  of  California,  68;  of  the  United  States,  68. 

Agriculture,  history  of,  in  the  United  States,  19;  of  the 
Indians,  21;  exhaustive  system  of,  22;  primitive  con- 
dition of,  a  century  ago,  22 ;  efforts  for  the  improvement 
of,  24 ;  stimulated  by" foreign  demand,  71 ;  by  canals  and 
railroads,  72 ;  total  value  of  the  products  of,  7"6 ;  scientific 
discoveries  relating  to,  99 ;  prospects  of,  101 ;  annual 
value  of,  157  (table) ;  use  of  steam  in,  263. 

Albany,  penitentiary  of,  439. 

Allen,  Horatio,  account  of  his  first  locomotive  trip,  245. 

"  American  Agriculturist,"  98. 

American  bottom,  first  settlement  of  the,  74 

"American  Farmer,"  97. 

American  Watch  Company,  371. 

Ainericus,  large  ox,  48. 

Ambler's  mowing  machine,  35. 

Amoskeag  Locomotive  Works,  246 ;  Illustration  of,  247. 

Atnoskeag  steam  fire  engine,  260. 

Andrews,  Dr.,  permutation  lock  of,  397. 

Annealing,  process  of,  402. 

Apples,  primitive  culture  and  use  of,  81;  thirty  good  native 
varieties  of,  82 ;  at  the  South,  82. 

Apple  trees  in  California,  83. 

Apricots  in  California,  83. 

Ark. Wright's  cotton-spinning  invention,  108,  275. 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  139 ;  the  fur  trade  of,  844. 

Atlanta  and  West  Point  railroad,  205. 

Atlantic,  first  crossing  of  the,  by  steam,  180. 

Atlantic  slope,  area  of  the,  101. 

Auburn  prison,  silk  manufacture  in,  395;  trial  of  solitary 
confinement  in,  436. 

Axes,  manufacture  of,  841. 

Ayrshire  cows,  good  milkers,  49 ;  importations  of,  50. 

Ayrshire  bull,  portrait  of,  45. 

Bakewell,  improvement  in  the  breeding  of  cattle  by,  39. 

Kaldwin,  M.  W.,  engine  builder,  246. 

Baldwin's  steam  car  for  cities,  251. 

Ilallast,  use  of,  in  railroad  construction,  195. 

Baltimore,  the  oyster  trade  of,  385;  hospitals  of,  449. 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad,  192 ;  account  of,  203,  245 ;  pre- 
mium for  coal-burning  engine  offered  by,  Z46. 

Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  railroad,  anecdote  of  th«  first 
engine  on,  251-2. 

Baltimore  clippers,  162. 

Bank  of  England,  145.  151. 

Bankrupt  law,  operation  of  the,  152. 

Banks,  multiplication  of.  143, 151 ;  failure  of,  15L 

Bark,  oak  and  hemlock,  319. 


Barley,  production  and  geographical  distribution  of,  78. 

Batchelder,  John,  sewing-machine  patent  of,  414. 

Bay  State  Mills.  308. 

Beads,  glass,  manufacture  of,  405. 

Beam  engines.  252. 

Beans,  production  and  exports  of,  79. 

Bean's  sewing-machine  patent,  414. 

Beaver  cloth,  305. 

Bedford  hog,  the,  63. 

Beech-nut  hog,  picture  of,  61. 

Bee  culture,  90. 

Beeswax  and  honey,  production  of,  90l 

Belting,  rubber,  manufacture  of,  411. 

Berkshire  hog,  picture  of,  62. 

Berlin  decree,  the,  139-40. 

Bernard,  General,  177. 

Beverly,  Mass.,  first  cotton  mill  nt,  277, 2SO. 

Bigelow's  power  loom  for  carpets,  306. 

Black  Hawk  horses,  origin  and  qualities  of,  54. 

Black  Eiver  canal,  185. 

Blackstone  canal,  190. 

Blanchard,  Thomas,  hat-felting  process  of,  349. 

Bleaching,  improvements  in,  276;  of  cotton  goods,  288;  of 
paper  stock,  297. 

Blodgett  &  Lerow,  sewing  machine  of,  414. 

Blowers  for  steamboats,  introduced  by  E.  L.  Stevens,  241. 

Blue  grass,  Kentucky,  80. 

Bock,  Henry,  tambouring  machine  of.  414. 

Bohemia,  manufacture  of  glass  in,  399. 

Boilers,  water  gauges  for,  229  ;  pumps  connected  with,  233; 
act  for  the  inspection  of,  242;  stationary,  bad  manage- 
ment of,  254 ;  inspection  law  required  for,  255,  268. 

Bones  for  manure,  100. 

Bony  fish,  for  manure,  the  taking  of,  885. 

Book  farming,  prejudice  against,  25. 

Books,  agricultural,  98. 

Boots  and  shoes,  importations  and  manufacture  of,  816 ;  manu- 
facture of,  in  Massachusetts,  &a,  824;  by  machinery, 
325 ;  qualities  and  prices  of,  825. 

Boston,  export  of  apples,  82 ;  lumber  business  of,  97;  railroad 
enterprise  of,  192,  197 ;  clothing  trade  of,  310 ;  shoe  trade 
of.  324;  ice  trade  of,  387. 3S8;  glassworks  in,  399 ;  Prison 
Discipline  Society  of,  439;  hospitals  of,  449;  dispensa- 
ries of.  452,  453  (table). 

Boston  and  Maine  railroad,  197. 

Boston  and  Providence  railroad,  197. 

Boston  Locomotive  Works,  246. 

Bottles,  manufacture  of,  405. 

Boydell's  engines,  264.  i 

Bradshaw,  John,  sewing-machine  patent  of,  414. 

Bramah  lock,  the,  897. 

Brazil,  export  of  flour  to,  107 ;  cotton  imported  from,  117. 

Breadstutfs,  fluctuations  in  European  demand  for,  71. 

Breaking  machine,  the,  302. 

Breech-loading  weapons,  382. 

Breed,  definition  of,  41. 

Breeding,  two  modes  of,  40. 

Bricks,  early  importation  of,  856 ;  material  of,  857 ;  manufac- 
ture of,  358 ;  machines  for,  853. 

Broadcloth,  the  fulling  of,  802-3. 

Brooks  Brothers,  clothing  establishment  of,  810. 

Brooklyn,  boiler  explosion  in,  254;  hospitals  of,  449;  dispen- 
saries of.  454. 

Brooklyn  Ship  Timber  Bending  Company,  267. 


458 


INDEX 


Brooklyn  Water  Works,  pumping  engine  at,  258. 

Brown,  Noah,  240. 

Brown  stone  houses,  859. 

Brussels  carpet,  307. 

Buckskin  gloves,  826,  827. 

Buckwheat,  production  and  geographical  distribution  of,  78; 
land  cleansed  by  its  cultivation,  78. 

Buffalo  robes,  345. 

Buildings  and  building  material.  353. 

Bunker,  Elias,  sloop  of,  178;  captain  of  the  Fulton,  179. 

Burr  &  Co.,  hat  body  manufactory  of,  349. 

Butler,  Charles,  208. 

Butter,  great  production  of,  from  73  cows,  89 ;  from  an  Ayr- 
shire cow,  50 ;  production  of,  per  cow,  in  different  States, 
ol. 

Byfield  breed  of  hogs,  64 

Calico  printing,  276;  improvements  in,  277;  processes  of, 
288 ;  statistics  of,  290. 

California,  domestic  animals  in,  68 ;  agricultural  wealth  of, 
68;  agricultural  development  of,  77;  fruit  and  wine  of, 
83;  vintage  and  silk  culture  of,  102;  gold  discovered  in, 
154 ;  capital  and  goods  sent  to,  155 ;  routes  to,  224 

Caloric  engine,  the,  270-71. 

Camden  and  Amboy  railroad,  202. 

Canada,  operation  of  the  treaty  with,  156. 

Canadian  ponies,  origin  of,  53. 

Canal  up  the  Potomac  projected  by  Washington,  71. 

Canals,  American,  173,  184;  mode  of  constructing  and  ope- 
rating, 185-6;  principal,  table  of,  190;  of  New  York, 
financial  results  of,  190;  for  coal  transportation  (table), 
190;  sensation  produced  by,  191. 

Candy  and  confectionery,  892. 

Cane,  sugar.    See  Sugar  cane. 

Cane  carrier,  the,  description  of,  128. 

Cannon,  improvements  in,  834 ;  metal  for,  335;  casting,  835; 
proving,  336. 

Caoutchouc.     See  India-rubber. 

Carding,  hand,  picture  of,  299. 

Carding  machine,  improvements  in,  276;  operation  of,  287; 
Introduction  of,  801. 

Card-making  machine,  276,801. 

Cards,  wool,  300 ;  machine  for  making,  301. 

Carhart's  melodeons,  434. 

Carpenter  &  Pluss's  pumping  engine,  263. 

Carpets,  use  and  manufacture  of,  in  America,  806;  kinds  of, 
306,  307  ;  quantity  of,  made  in  New  York  and  Massachu- 
setts, 308. 

Carriages,  manufacture  of,  360 ;  materials  of,  361 ;  illustra- 
tions of,  363-6 ;  process  of  making,  367 ;  statistics  of.  368. 

Carrying  trade  in  colonial  times,  135;  during  the  French 
wars,  138 ;  English  decree  against  the,  189 :  cessation  of, 
140. 

Car-sprinars,  rubber,  411. 

Cartwri^ht,  power  loom  of,  108,  276. 

Gary's  boiler,  244.  259. 

Cast  iron,  best  metal  for  guns,  835. 

Cattle  two  centuries  ago,  20 ;  cruel  treatment  of,  20,  23 ;  in 
Virginia,  the  first  in  the  United  States,  37  ;  laws  for  the 
preservation  of, 87;  in  the  other  colonies,  37, 38;  Danish. 
in  New  Hampshire,  38 ;  native  sources  of,  38;  mode  of 
keeping  in  Virginia,  38;  increase  in  the  average  weight 


OI  lllimu  v  t.u  urctruo  ui,  *l-*>u. 

Cavalry,  diminished  importance  of,  328. 

Cayuga  and  Seneca  Lake  canal,  184 

Census  of  1860.  tables,  169-70. 

Census  statistics,  imperfection  of,  78. 

Central  railroad  of  New  York,  200;  of  New  Jersey,  202;  of 
Pennsylvania,  203 ;  of  Virginia,  204;  of  Georgia,  205 ;  of 
Illinois,  205;  of  Michigan,  208. 

Champlain  or  Northern  canal,  184 

Charcoal  roads,  176. 

Charleston,  railroad  connections  of,  205. 

Cheese,  great  production  of,  from  one  farm,  39 ;  production 
of,  per  cow,  in  different  States,  51 ;  whole  amount  of,  51. 

Chemnng  canal,  185. 

Chenango  canal,  185. 

Chicago,  rise  and  growth  of,  75 ;  preeminent  as  a  grain  depot, 
75;  statistics  of  the  grain  trade  of,  76;  preeminent  as  a 
lumber  market,  96 ;  receipts  of  lumber  at,  96 ;  effect  of 
railroads  upon  the  grain  trade  of,  220 (table);  general  rail- 
road business  of,  221  (table);  steam  elevators  of,  264. 

Chickering,  Jonas,  manufacture  and  improvement  of  the 
piano  by,  453. 

Chickering's  piano-forte  manufactory,  picture  of,  852. 

Childers,  trotting  horse,  portrait  of,  56. 

China,  American  cotton  goods  sent  to,  107;  former  course  ot 
trade  with,  146;  English  war  with,  164 ;  American  treaty 


with,  164;  land  transportation  in,  172 ;  American  steam- 
ers in,  281. 

Chincha  islands,  guano  obtained  from,  100. 

Chouteau,  Pierre  &  Co.,  fur  traders,  345. 

Cigars,  manufacture  of,  in  Hamburg,  87. 

Cincinnati,  pork-packing  in,  65 ;  early  steam  transportation 
of,  181 ;  railroad  connections  of,  205 ;  steam  fire  engines 
at,  259 :  hospitals  of,  449. 

Cities,  street  railroads  in,  223;  plans  of  steam  cars  for,  251; 

frisons  in.  439. 
engineering,  American  triumphs  in,  280. 

Clark,  G.  B.,  mulberry  plantation  of,  394. 

Clay  for  brick,  358. 

Clay,  Henry,  importation  of  Herefords  by,  48;  compromise 
tariff  of,  147. 

Clearing  house,  exchanges  at  the,  160. 

Clermont,  the,  Fulton's  first  steamboat,  179. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  72, 184. 

Clipper  ships,  162 ;  in  the  California  trade,  167. 

Clocks,  early  manufacture  of,  368;  wooden  and  brass,  process 
of  making,  369 ;  exportation  of,  870. 

Cloth,  home-spun,  801. 

Clothins  trade,  the,  rise  and  growth  of,  309 ;  management  of. 
309-10. 

Cloth  manufacture,  wool  used  for,  802. 

Cloth  printing,  804. 

Cloths  and  cassimeres,  imports  of,  312. 

Clover  and  grass  seeds,  production  of,  by  sections,  79. 

Coal  discovered  in  Pennsylvania,  190;  quantity  of,  transport- 
ed, 219 ;  public  works  built  for,  220. 

Coasters,  travelling  by,  179. 

Cod  fishery,  the,  mode  of  conducting,  378-81 ;  illustration  of, 
380. 

Ccelebs.  short-horn  bull,  47. 

Cole's  u  American  Fruit  Book,"  84. 

Colles,  Christ'r,  first  steam  engine  in  America  built  by,  227. 

Colling,  Charles  and  Robert,  breeders  of  short-horns,  39. 

Colonies,  the  American,  restriction  of  commerce  and  manu- 
factures in,  183;  trade  of,  with  the  West  Indies,  «fcc.,  184; 
fisheries  of,  135;  table  of  exports  from,  in  1770, 130;  the 
revolution  in,  137. 

Coloring  matters,  203. 

Colt,  Samuel,  invention  of  the  revolver  by,  331 ;  the  manufac- 
tory of,  831. 

Comet,  the,  second  western  steamboat,  239. 

Commerce,  foreign,  of  the  United  States,  history  of,  104-5; 
colonial,  restricted  by  Great  Britain,  133-7  ;  with  the  West 
Indies,  134;  effect  of  the  revolution  upon,  137;  activity 
of,  after  the  war  of  1812, 143;  after  the  revulsion  of  1887, 
152;  table  of,  for  70  years,  157;  remarkable  advance  of, 
168 ;  of  the  great  lakes,  186-7. 

Commercial  disasters,  table  of  losses  from,  152. 

Conant,  J.  L.,  sewing-machine  patent  of,  414 

Conestoga  horses,  54. 

Conestoga  wagon,  184. 

Connecticut,  the  clock  business  in,  368-70 ;  silk  culture  and 
manufacture  in,  893. 

Conner,  James,  fire-proof  chest  made  by,  896. 

Cooking  by  steam,  Papin's  account  of,  266-7. 

Cooks',  Messrs.,  carriage  manufactory,  361 ;  picture  of,  366. 

Corlies'  sewing-machine  patent,  414. 

Cooper,  William,  invention  of,  for  enamelling  glass,  405. 

Corliss  and  Nightengale's  stationary  engines,  253,  254. 

Corn,  Indian,  native  mode  of  cultivating,  -i\ ;  Ojibway  legend 
of  the  origin  of,  68;  first  cultivation  of,  by  the  colonists, 
69 ;  early  exports  of,  69 ;  census  statistics  of,  70 ;  increased 
exportation  of,  70;  table  of  exports  of,  71 ;  late  introduc- 
tion of,  into  the  West,  75;  exports  of,  to  Great  Britain, 
1840-1858,  158. 

Corning  and  Sotham,  of  Albany,  importation  of  Herefords 
by,"49. 

Cornish  engines,  258. 

Corn  laws,  English,  repeal  of,  153, 157. 

Cotswold  sheep,  picture  of,  57. 

Cotton,  the  demand  for,  106;  the  high  prices  of  labor  sus- 
tained by,  106 ;  the  most  important  article  of  export, 
107;  importation  of,  into  England.  108;  improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of,  108;  increase  in  exportations  of,  109; 
prices  for  different  qualities  of,  109 ;  increase  in  American 
consumption  of,  110;  raw  and  manufactured,  decline  in 
cost  of,  110;  first  cultivation  and  exportation  of,  111; 
picture  of  cleaning,  by  hand  and  by  the  gin.  112;  progress 
of  the  production  of,  since  the  invention  of  the  gin,  1 13-16; 
monopoly  of  the  foreign  market  for,  117;  sources  of  the 
supply  of,  117;  qualities  of,  from  different  countries.  118; 
process  of  cultivating,  120;  high  prices  maintained  by, 
122;  effect  of  the  war  upon  the  production  of,  124;  ef- 
fects of,  upon  American  commerce,  141  ;  exports  of, 
1790-1859,  158;  the  transportation  of,  favorable  to  rail- 
roads, 205;  effect  of  railroads  upon,  220  (table);  raw, 
divisions  of,  286;  for  paper-making,  293, 


INDEX 


459 


Cotton  clothing,  demand  for,  157. 

Cotton  sin,  invention  of  the,  111,  277;  description  of  the,  111 ; 
picture  of  a,  112;  infringements  of  the  patent  for,  113; 
effect  of,  upon  production,  113. 

Cotton  goods,  importation  of,  105 j  sent  from  the  United 
States  to  China,  107. 

Cotton  manufactures,  progress  of,  274;  inventions  in,  275-6, 
286 ;  table  of  dates  of,  277 ;  in  the  United  States,  277, 280 ; 
In  1809,  2S1 ;  protective  duties  on,  283 ;  table  of,  in  1S31, 
283;  returns  of,  in  1840,  284;  table  of,  in  1860,  285;  the 
processes  of,  286-290 ;  exports  and  imports  of,  290 ;  table 
of  the  progress  of,  290. 

Cotton  plant  of  Europe  and  America,  110. 

Cotton  States,  the,  progress  of  the  population  of,  116 ;  supe- 
riority of  the  climate  and  labor  of,  119. 

Cotton  yarn,  prices  of,  110. 

Cows  in  New  England  at  its  settlement,  19 ;  in  Virginia,  23 ; 
in  Virginia,  not  housed  nor  milked  in  winter  for  fear  it 
•would\ill  them,  38;  in  Ehode  Island  in  1750,39;  great 
prices  for,  in  England,  40;  selection  of,  for  breeding, 
42;  treatment  of,  in  New  England,  42;  comparative 
statement  of  the  products  of,  51 ;  proportion  of,  to  popu- 
lation, in  the  States,  51. 

Cranberry,  culture  of  the,  84. 

Creampots  (cows),  47. 

Creche,  the,  454 

Credit,  system  of,  148 ;  evils  of,  148. 

Creole  cane,  origin  of,  127. 

Crocheting  machine,  Thimonier's,  414. 

Cromptonys  mule  spinner,  108,  275-6. 

Crooked  Lake  canal,  185. 

"Cultivator,"  the,  98. 

Cumberland  national  road,  the,  174, 177. 

Currency,  inflation  of,  146. 

Currier,  operations  of  the,  319. 

Curves  in  railroads,  193-4. 

Gushing,  Caleb,  treaty  with  China  negotiated  by,  164. 

Cutlery,  American  manufacture  of,  339;  grinding  and  polish- 
ing of,  340;  statistics  of,  342. 

Cut-off,  steam,  the  theory  of  the,  282-3 ;  experiments  upon 
the,  272. 

Dahlgreu,  Captain,  improved  guns  of,  335. 

Barker's  steam  car  for  cities,  251. 

Darlington  railroad,  191. 

Davis,  Phineas,  coal-burning  engine  built  by,  203,  246. 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry,  99. 

Deer  skins  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  844. 

Delano,  Jesse,  fire-proof  chests  of,  396. 

Delaware  and  Hudson  canal,  185;  enlargement  of,  186. 

Delaware  and  Raritan  cr.nal,  190,  202. 

Delaware  and  Schuylkill  Company,  173. 

Denison,  E.  B.,  on  American  locks,  898. 

Detectors,  low-water,  270. 

Devonshire  cattle,  qualities  and  importations  of,  49. 

Dewsbury  trade,  the,  315. 

Dismal  Swamp  canal,  173. 

Dispensaries  in  the  United  States,  452;  in  New  York  and 

Boston,  453  (table). 

Dix,  Dorothea  L.,  efforts  of,  in  behalf  of  the  insane,  442. 
Dowley,  L.  A.,  importation  of  Herefords  by,  49. 
Donkey  engine,  the,  241 ;  use  of,  260,  263. 
Double  Duke,  short-horn  bull,  portrait  of,  43. 
Downing's  "Fruit  and  Fruit  Trees  of  America,"  84. 
Drawing  frame,  the,  287, 302. 
Dressing  machine,  invention  of  the,  276. 
Dummy  engine,  the,  250. 
Dunderberg,  the,  338. 

Dwellings,  number  and  value  of,  354;  Improved  style  of, 355. 
Dynamometer,  the,  176. 
Dyeing  of  cotton  goods,  289 ;  of  woollens,  301, 803 ;  of  leather, 

320. 
Dye-stuffs  for  woollens,  304 

Eagle  Cotton  Mill,  Pittsburg,  284 

East  Indies,  cotton  imported  from,  117:  inferior  quality  of, 
118. 

Eggs,  consumption  of,  90. 

Egypt,  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  cotton,  117. 

Elevators,  the,  of  Chicago,  76. 

Electro-gilding,  377. 

Electro-plating,  372 ;  illustrations  of,  873-6. 

Eliot's  "  Essays  on  Field  Husbandry,"  97. 

Embargo,  the,  of  1808, 140;  effects  of,  142. 

Emigration  into  the  United  States  explained,  106;  to  the 
United  States  from  Germany,  146;  of  planters  to  the 
west,  152;  from  New  England  to  the  west,  188 ;  of  foreign 
paupers,  446;  Commissioners  of,  446. 

Engineers,  steam,  254,  268;  advice  to,  270. 

England,  importation  of  food  into,  71 ;  consumption  of  tobac- 
co in,  87;  sources  of  the  cotton  supply  of,  117,  275,  277; 


restrictions  of,  upon  colonial  trade,  183, 139;  loss  of  the 
naval  supremacy  of,  143 ;  Bank  of,  145,  151 ;  warehouse 
system  of,  146;  short  harvests  in,  152;  navigation  laws 
of,  161 ;  cotton  manufactures  in,  275. 

Eolodicon,  the,  433. 

Ericsson's  screw  propeller,  167, 180,  240;  steam  fire  engine, 
259 ;  caloric  engine,  270-71 ;  turreted  war  steamers,  388. 

Erie  canal,  construction  of  the,  72,  166,  184;  effect  of  the 
opening  of,  180,  181;  enlargement  of,  186;  effect  of,  on 
western  New  York,  186. 

Erie  railroad,  account  of  the,  200. 

Essex,  the,  838. 

Essex  hog,  improved,  picture  of,  62. 

Evans,  Oliver,  228,  229;  "  Orukter  Amphibolos"  of,  235  (pic- 
ture), 243 ;  on  steam  wagons,  244. 

Eve,  J.,  cotton  gin  of,  113 ;  rotary  engine  of,  258. 

Everett,  Edward,  anecdote  of,  about  American  ice  in  India, 
389. 

Exchanges  at  the  New  York  clearing  house,  160. 

Explosions,  steam,  242. 

Export,  three  chief  articles  of,  107. 

Exports,  table  of  colonial,  186;  of  domestic,  141, 158;  of  Ameri- 
can, British,  and  French,  1800-1865, 168.  (See  Imports 
and  exports.) 

Factory  operatives  in  New  England,  282. 

Faile,  Edward  G.,  Devon  cow  and  bull  owned  by,  44,  46. 

Fairbanks,  W.  W.,  engine  builder,  246. 

Farmers,  their  primitive  condition  a  century  ago,  22;  their 
fear  of  innovation,  23;  influence  of  the  Revolution  upon, 
24;  backward  in  joining  agricultural  societies,  25;  their 
improvement  by  means  of,  26. 

"  Farmers'  Cabinet,"  98. 

Farming  in  America  in  early  times,  19;  by  the  Indians,  21; 
by  the  early  settlers  of  Illinois,  74,  75. 

Farm  implements,  general  account  of,  26. 

Farms,  number  and  value  of,  in  the  United  States,  102. 

Fawkes  engine,  the,  264. 

Felting,  the  process  of,  304-5 ;  of  hat  bodies,  349. 

Finkle  &  Lyon's  sewing  machine,  illustrations  of,  418. 

Fire-arms,  introduction  and  improvements  of,  828;  illustra- 
tions of,  329-30. 

Fire  engines,  steam,  244;  origin  and  kinds  of,  259. 

Fish,  eating  of,  at  stated  times,  decreed  by  Queen  Elizabeth, 
162. 

Fisher,  steam  carriages  built  by,  244. 

Fisheries,  colonial,  of  New  England,  185;  growth  of  the,  162; 
account  of,  377 ;  European,  importance  of,  378;  American, 
378;  of  the  lakes,  385;  statistics  of  the,  886. 

Fishing  bounties,  the,  162,  378. 

Fitch,  the  fur  of  the,  347. 

Fitch,  John,  picture  of  the  steamboats  of,  226;  first  condens- 
ing engine  built  by,  227 ;  his  boats,  how  propelled,  229 ; 
the  honor  due  to,  234;  picture  of  his  propeller,  235. 

Flat  boats  on  the  western  rivers,  165, 180, 182,  284  (picture). 

Flax  and  hemp,  culture  of,  89;  statistics  of,  90. 

Flax-seed,  exports  of,  89. 

Flint  glass,  404 

Flock  paper,  298. 

Flora,  short-horn  cow,  47. 

Florida,  sugar-cane  cultivated  in,  127. 

Flour,  early  exports  of,  73 ;  trade  of  Chicago  in,  76 ;  demand 
for  Southern,  107;  exports  of,  1881-1888,  148;  to  Great 
Britain,  1840-1858,  158;  and  provisions,  1790-1858,  158; 
effect  of  the  Western  railroad  upon  the  trade  in,  197 ;  tho 
grinding  of,  432. 

Floyd  gun,  the,  337. 

Fly  frame,  the,  287. 

Food,  importation  of,  into  England,  71. 

Forest  trees  of  the  United  States,  91. 

Fortunatus  or  Holderness,  short-horn  bull,  48. 

Foundling  hospitals,  454. 

Fourdrinier  machine,  the,  295. 

Foster,  Wm.,  first  importer  of  merino  sheep,  59. 

Fowls,  foreign  varieties  of,  90-91. 

Fox,  silver,  fur  of  the,  845. 

France,  revenue  from  tobacco  in,  85 ;  imports  of  cotton  into, 
109 ;  free  trade  with,  138;  effect  of  the  revolution  of  1848 
in,  upon  commerce,  154;  system  of  roads  in,  174 

Free-trade  treaty  between  France  and  England,  188. 

French,  D.,  steamboat  built  by,  239. 

Fruit,  former  and  present  importance  of,  81 ;  native  varieties 
of,  82;  production  of,  82;  at  the  South,  82;  increasing 
exportation  of,  63 ;  no  danger  of  a  glut  of,  83 ;  in  Califor- 
nia, 83;  imports  of,  from  tie  Mediterranean,  83;  census 
statistics  of,  84. 

Fruit-raising,  works  on,  84. 

Fruit  trees,  annual  sale  of,  82. 

Fuel  for  locomotives,  249 ;  economy  in,  250 ;  for  stationary 
engines,  256. 

Fulling-mill,  the,  302. 


460 


INDEX 


Fulton,  Robert,  first  steamboat  of,  165, 179,  229, 236  (picture) ; 

builds   steamboats  at   Pittsburg,  239;    steam   battery 

built  by,  241. 

Fulton,  the,  navigation  of  Long  Island  Sound  by,  179-80. 
Fur,  hat  bodies  formed  from,  805. 
Furs,  kinds  and  comparative  value  of,  845;   table  of,  846; 

preparation  of,  347. 
Fur  trade,  history  of  the,  348. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  on  cotton  manufactures  In  1809,  281. 

Gayler,  C.  J.,  fire-proof  safes  of,  396. 

u  Genesee  Farmer,"  98. 

Genesee  Valley  canal,  185. 

George's  Banks,  cod  fishery  of,  881 ;  halibut  fishery  of,  882. 

Georgetown  and  Pittsbnrg  canal,  188. 

Georgia,  colonial  exports  of,  187;  railroad  system  of,  205; 

silk  culture  in,  893. 

Gibbs,  James  E.  A.    See  Willcox  &  Gibbs. 
Gilding  metals,  various  modes  of,  372. 
Girard,  Stephen,  189. 
Glass,  importance  and  uses  of,  398;  history  of,  899;  statistics 

of,  400 ;  materials  of,  400 ;  process  of  manufacturing,  401 ; 

crown,  401 ;   cylinder,  402 ;   window,  consumption  and 

imports  of,  403;  plate,  403;  grinding  and  polishing,  403; 

silvering,  404;   bending,  404,    flint,  404;    colored,  405; 

enamelled,  405 ;  soluble.  405,  bottle,  &c..  405. 
Gloucester,  Mass.,  the  mackerel  business  of,  383. 
Gloves,  skins  for,  318 ;  kinds  and  manufacture  of,  326. 
Glucose  or  grape  sugar,  180. 
Gold,  discovery  of,  in  California,  154 ;  effect  of,  on  the  price 

of  labor,  107 ;  as  an  article  of  export,  157. 
Gold's  steam-heating  apparatus,  265. 
Goodale  and  Marsh's  steam  excavator,  264. 
Goodyear,  Charles,  invention  of  vulcanized  rubber  by,  410. 
Government  reads,  177. 
Governor,  the,  of  steam  engines,  233. 
Grain,  trade  in.  at  Chicago,  &c.,  76. 
Granite  for  building,  859. 
Grapes  in  California,  immense  growth  of,  88. 
Grass  and  hay  crop,  importance  of  the,  at  the  North,  79. 
Grasses  first  cultivated  in  New  England,  20;  progress  in  the 

cultivation  of,  80. 
Grass  seed,  production  of,  79. 
Gravel  roads,  176. 
Gray,  William,  the  ships  of,  139. 
Grazing  in  Texas,  102. 
Great  Britain,  inadequate  home  production  in,  71 ;  trade 

with,  after  the  revolution,  138 ;  comparative  area  of,  157; 

corn  and  pork  exported  to,  158;  commercial  advantages 

of,  161 ;  sources  of  the  cotton  of,  275,  277;  progress  oi 

manufactures  in,  290. 
Great  Eastern,  the,  241. 

Greenough,  J.  ,J.,  first  sewing-machine  patentee,  414. 
Greenville  and  Columbia  railroad,  205. 
Greenwood,  Miles,  259. 
Grice  and  Long's  steam  car  for  cities,  251. 
Grover  &  Baker's  sewing  machine,  invention  of,  419;  de- 
scription of,  424;  warehouse  of,  428. 
Guano,  introduction  and  use  of,  100. 
Gulf  region,  the,  area  of,  101 ;  grazing  in,  102. 
Guns,  manufacture  of,  834.    (See  Cannon.) 
Gutta  percha,  manufactures  of,  411. 

Halibut  fishery,  the,  382 ;  growth  of,  883. 

Hall,  Adam,  truck  frame  in  front  of  the  engine  used  by,  246. 

Hamburg,  manufacture  of  cigars  in,  87. 

Hamilton,  report  of,, upon  manufactures,  141,  280,  300,  316. 

Hamlin,  Etnmons,  improved  melodeon  of,  434. 

Handles  of  cutlery,  341. 

Hanks,  William,  silk  produced  by,  373. 

Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroad",  209. 

Hanson,  Timothy,  propagator  of  timothy  grass,  80. 

Hargreaves'  spinning  jenny,  108,  275. 

Harrow,  improvements  in  the,  82. 

Hat  bodies,  process  of  manufacturing,  349. 

Hats,  woollen,  manufacture  of,  305-6;  early  manufacture  of, 
848;  superiority  of  American,  349;  improvements  in 
making,  349. 

Hay,  importance  of,  at  the  North,  79;  progress  in  the  pro- 
duction of,  SO ;  statistics  of,  80 ;  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of,  80;  geographical  distribution  o^  81;  im- 
proved quality  of.  81. 

Heating  by  steam,  265. 

"Hell-gate"  passage,  179. 

Hemp,  culture  of,  89 ;  at  the  West,  90. 

Herd,  discoverer  of  timothy  grass,  80. 

Herefords,  improved  by  Tomkins,  40 ;  imported  Into  Ken- 
tucky by  Henry  Clay,  48 ;  characteristics  of,  49 ;  other 
importations  of,  49. 

Herring  fishery,  the,  mode  of  conducting.  381. 

Herring,  Silas  C.,  manufacturer  of  fire-proof  safes,  897. 


Hiawatha,  legend  of,  68. 

Hides,  sources  and  statistics  of,  317  ;  kinds  of,  317-18 ;  prep- 
aration of,  for  tanning,  318,  320,  321 ;  growing  cost  of,  823. 

Hinckley  and  Drury,  locomotive  builders,  246. 

Hittinger,  Cook  &  Co.'s  portable  engine,  255 ;  hoisting  en- 
gine. 256. 

Hobbs,  A.  C.,  lock-maker,  897,  398. 

Hogs,  illustrations  of,  61,  62;  first  importations  of,  63;  first 
attempts  at  improving,  64;  most  profitable  at  the  West, 
64;  proper  mode  of  breeding,  64;  mode  of  killing  and 
dressing  at  Cincinnati,  65;  packing,  66;  products  of,  66; 
statistics  of,  66,  67. 

Hoisting  engines,  256. 

Holland,  S.,  on  the  mode  of  ascertaining  horse-power,  228. 

Holly  on  the  caloric  engine,  271. 

Holly,  of  Seneca  Falls"  rotary  engine  of,  252-3 ;  pump  of, 
260,  263. 

Homes  and  asylums  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  454. 

Honey,  production  of,  90. 

Hops,  culture  of,  88;  improvements  in  the  management  of, 
88;  inspection  and  classification  of,  89;  fluctuations  in 
price  of,  89  ;  statistics  and  geographical  distribution 
of,  89. 

Hopper,  Isaac  T.,  prison  associations  organized  by,  440. 

Horizontal  steam  engines,  252. 

Horrocks,  loom  patented  by,  276. 

Horse  railroads  in  cities,  223. 

Horse-power  of  steam  engines,  how  obtained,  228. 

Horses,  improvement  of,  in  half  a  century,  52;  first  importa- 
tions of,  53 ;  increase  in  speed  of,  53 ;  favorite  varieties 
of,  for  the  road,  54 ;  at  the  South,  54 ;  statistics  of,  54 ; 
kinds  used  by  the  early  colonists  at  the  West,  75. 

Horticultural  societies,  81. 

Horticulture,  works  on,  84. 

Hose,  rubber,  manufacture  of,  411. 

Hosiery  and  fancy  knit  work,  308. 

Hospitals  in  the  United  States,  449 ;  In  New  Tork,  Boston, 
and  Philadelphia,  table  of,  450. 

Hospitals  for  the  insane,  440 ;  convention  of  superintendents 
of,  442 ;  cost  and  accommodations  of,  443  ;  table  of,  444. 

Houses,  materials  of,  356;  building  of,  and  speculation  in, 
357. 

Hovey's  "  Magazine  of  Horticulture,"  84. 

Howard,  E.,  originator  of  American  watch-making,  370. 

Howe,  Elias,  Jr.,  invention  of  the  sewing  machine  by,  414; 
proceedings  of,  419 ;  income  of,  421 ;  manufactory  of,  429. 

Howe,  John  J7,  pin  machines  of,  890. 

Hudson  river,  navigation  of,  234;  steamboats  on,  past  and 
present,  240. 

Hudson  river  steamboat,  picture  of,  194. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  843. 

Humanitarian  and  corrective  institutions,  435. 

Hull,  Jonathan,  240,  243. 

Hussey's  reaping  machine,  35. 

Ice,  uses  of,  386;  the  trade  In,  887;  mode  of  cutting  and 
storing,  388 ;  wastage  of,  889. 

Ice-houses,  construction  of,  888. 

Ichaboe,  the,  and  other  guano  islands,  100. 

Illinois,  settlement  of,  by  the  French,  74 ;  by  revolutionary 
soldiers,  75;  rapid  agricultural  development  of.  75;  man- 
ufacture of  agricultural  implements  in,  76;  public  im- 
provements of,  189. 

Illinois  Central  railroad,  history  of,  205;  working  of,  206; 
land  department  of,  207. 

Imports  and  exports,  table  of,  1790-1807,  140 ;  1808-1820, 142; 
after  the  war  of  1S12, 143 ;  table  of,  1821-1830,  145  ;  1831- 
1840,147;  of 'certain  articles,  148 ;  1841-1850,153;  1851- 
1860, 156;  for  70  years,  157. 

India,  cotton  imported  from,  117;  exports  and  imports  of  cot- 
ton and  cotton  goods.  153;  muslins  of,  274;  American  ice 
In,  387,  389.  (See  East  Indies.) 

Indiana,  internal  improvements  of,  189. 

Indian  corn.     See  Corn,  Indian. 

Indians,  agriculture  of  the,  21 ;  their  astonishment  at  sight  of 
a  plough,  22. 

India-rubber,  source,  uses,  and  manufacture  of,  406 ;  illustra- 
tions of,  407-8;  vulcanized,  how  made,  410 ;  articles  made 
of,  411 ;  imports  and  exports  of,  412 ;  growth  of  the  man- 
ufacture of,  412. 

Infants,  institutions  for  the  care  of,  454. 

Innovation,  fear  of,  in  farming,  23. 

Insane,  the,  former  treatment  of,  440;  first  efforts  for  the 
amelioration  of,  441  ;  hospitals  for,  in  the  United  States, 
441, 444  (table) ;  improvements  in  the  treatment  of,  443. 

Insanity,  American  works  on,  442. 

Interest,  made  high  by  cheap  lands,  103. 

Ireland,  Indian  corn  introduced  into,  153;  famine  in,  164; 
prison  system  of,  488. 

Iron,  imported,  compared  with  that  of  Pennsylvania,  105. 

Iron-clad  war-steamtrs,  338, 


INDEX 


461 


Ironsides,  the,  338. 

Isherwood,  Chief  Engineer,  steam  experiments  of,  272. 

Italy,  importation  of  rags  from,  292. 

"Jacketing,"  269. 

Jackson,  Patrick  S.,  281 ;  Lowell  originated  by,  282. 

Jails,  county,  438;  defects  of,  489. 

James,  William  T.,  246. 

James  I,.  ''Counterblast  to  Tobacco,"  86. 

James  River  Cotton  Mill,  284. 

James  Kiver  and  Kanawha  Company,  190. 

James  Steam  Mills,  engines  used  in,  263. 

Jay,  treaty  concluded  by,  139. 

J.  C.  Gary,  the,  steam  fire  engine,  244 

Jenks,  ring  spindle  of,  286. 

Jenny,  Devon  cow,  portrait  of,  44. 

Jerome,  Chauncy,  manufacture  of  clocks  by,  869. 

Jerome  Manufacturing  Company,  370. 

Jersey  cows,  value  of,  as  milkers,  50 ;  diffusion  of,  50. 

J.  G.  Storm,  the,  steam  fire  engine,  244. 

Johnson  and  Morey,  sewing  machine  of,  414. 

Jones,  H.  C..  burglar-proof  lock  of,  897. 

"Journal  of  Prison  Discipline,"  440. 

Keel  boats  on  the  Ohio,  165, 

Kentucky,  importation  of  short-horns  into,  47;  their  improve- 
ment there,  48;  Herefords  imported  into,  by  Henry  Clay, 
48;  thorough-bred  horses  in,  54;  blue  grass,  80. 

"Kettle-bottoms"  (vessels),  163. 

Kip-skins,  definition  and  sources  of,  318. 

Knives,  manufacture  of,  340,  341. 

Knowles,  John,  first  sewing  machine  invented  by,  413. 

Labor,  high  wages  of,  103 ;  at  the  South,  cheapness  of,  119 ; 
comparison  of  free  and  slave,  120. 

Laclede,  St  Louis  founded  by,  843. 

Lake  cities,  166. 

Lake  region,  area  of  the,  101 

Lakes,  the  great,  steamers  and  tonnage  on,  166;  ship-building 
on,  167;  navigation  of,  186;  tonnage  on,  187 ;  first  steam- 
boat on,  239 ;  fisheries  of,  385. 

Lamb-skins,  uses  of,  318;  treatment  of,  320. 

Lancaster  gun,  the,  334. 

Land,  how  cleared  by  the  Indians,  21 ;  exhaustive  cropping 
of  the,  22 ;  eifect  of  the  cheapness  of,  upon  wages  and 
Interest,  103;  speculation  in,  147-8, 187;  public  sales  and 
grants  of,  157,  207. 

Land  grants  to  railroads,  207. 

Lard,  preparation  and  disposition  of,  66;  exports  of,  to  Great 
Britain,  1S40-1S5S,  158. 

Lardner,  remarks  of,  on  England's  self-superiority,  234 ;  on 
the  speed  of  locomotives,  249. 

Lard  oil,  manufacture  and  uses  of,  67. 

Latta's  steam  car  for  cities,  251 ;  steam  fire  engines,  259. 

Leather,  316;  tables  of  manufactures  of,  316,  326;  kinds  of, 
318;  treatment  of,  after  tanning,  319. 

Leather  splitting  machines,  323. 

Lee  &  Larned's  steam  fire  engines,  244,  259. 

Leeghwater  engine  compared  with  that  of  Brooklyn  Water 
Works,  258. 

Lenses,  manufacture  of,  405. 

Leopold  and  Trevithick,  inventors  of  the  high-pressure  en- 
gine, 229. 

Libraries,  township  and  district,  99. 

Liebig  on  manuring,  101). 

Lillie's  safes,  397. 

Lime,  building,  qualities  and  sources  of,  358. 

Liverpool  and' Manchester  railway,  192. 

Live  stock,  number  and  value  of,  in  1850, 1860,  and  1866, 102. 
(See  Cattle  Stock.) 

Livingston,  Chancellor,  introducer  of  the  grass-fed  hog,  64; 
monopoly  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  trade  claimed  by,  181 ; 
opposed  railroads,  197;  associated  with  Fulton,  239. 

Loaf  sugar,  how  made,  392. 

Locks,  burglar-proof,  397-8. 

Locks  canal,  1S5;  inclined  planes  substituted  for,  186. 

Locomotive,  the  first,  picture  of,  194 ;  coal-burning,  invention 
of,  203 ;  the  first  successful  American,  205 ;  premium  for, 
246 

Locomotive  engines,  principles  of,  196;  history  of,  243;  ex- 
periments with,  244;  the  first  in  the  United  States,  245; 
manufactures  and  exportation  of,  246  ;  difference  between 
English  and  American,  249 ;  cost,  proper  construction, 
and  speed  of,  249 ;  running  expenses  of,  250. 

Logging  operations  in  Maine, "92-6;  at  Green  Bay,  96. 

Long  and  Norris,  locomotive  builders,  246. 

Long  Dock,  the,  at  Jersey  City,  202. 

Long  shawls  for  men's  use,  80S. 

Looms,  hand  and  power,  picture  of,  278.    (See  Power  loom.) 

Loper  propeller,  the,  167. 

Louisiana,  sugar  cane  cultivated  in,  127. 


Lowell,  Mass.,  manufactories  of,  steam  used  in,  268;  origin 
of,  282:  factory  system  of,  285. 

Lowell  and  Jackson,  power  loom  of,  281 !  cotton  mill  estab- 
lished by,  282. 

Lowell  locomotive  shop,  246. 

Lumber,  the  trade  in,  188 ;  for  building,  sources  and  supply 
of,  356,  857. 

Lumber  business,  the,  91;  in  Maine,  92;  at  Green  Bay,  96; 
statistics  of,  96. 

Lunatics.    See  Insane. 

Lynn,  shoe  manufacture  of,  824. 

Macadam  roads,  176. 

Machinery,  benefits  of,  269. 

Machines,  exportation  of,  prohibited  by  England, 281. 

Mackerel  fishery,  the,  mode  of  conducting,  883. 

McLean  Asylum,  the,  441,  449. 

Masic  lock,  the,  398. 

Mail  service  of  the  United  States,  174;  contracts,  177. 

Maine,  account  of  lumbering  in,  92-6;  prison  system  of,  486. 

Malthus,  theory  of,  disproved,  86. 

Manchester  Company,  the,  cotton  fabrics  made  by,  284 

Manning,  William,  patentee  of  the  first  successful  mowing- 
machine,  135. 

Mansfield,  Conn.,  silk  culture  in,  893. 

Manufactures,  comparatively  small  exports  of,  107 ;  Northern, 
at  the  South,  122-3;  colonial,  home  restriction  of,  183; 
rise  of,  144 ;  in  New  England,  146 ;  progress  of,  1820-1830, 
147;  competition  of  home  and  foreign, '154;  annual  value 
of,  157;  exports  of,  1807-1859, 158;  increase  of,  159;  use 
of  steam  in,  268;  systematizing  of,  361. 

Manure,  early  neglect  of,  23;  artificial,  100;  the  taking  of 
"bony  fish  for,  885. 

Maple  sugar  and  molasses,  production  of,  130. 

Marble  for  building,  859. 

Marietta,  Ohio,  brig  built  at,  165. 

Marten,  stone,  fur  of  the,  347. 

Maryland,  cotton  mills  in,  285. 

Mason,  Captain  John,  Danish  cattle  imported  by,  87. 

Mason,  William,  locomotive  builder,  246. 

Mason  &  Hamlin's  organ  harmonium,  &c.,  434. 

Massachusetts,  Agricultural  Society  of,  1792,  25;  introduction 
of  cattle  into,  37;  introduction  of  horses  into,  53;  of 
sheep,  59  ;  wool-growing  unprofitable  in,  60 ;  production 
of  fruit  in,  82;  law  for  the  inspection  of  hops  in,  89;  rail- 
road system  of,  196 ;  cotton  manufacture  in,  284 ;  table  of 
woollen  manufactures  of,  312;  boot  and  shoe  manufac- 
ture of,  324 ;  mackerel  fishery  of,  333 ;  the  ice  business 
of,  387;  silk  bounty  of,  894;  prison  system  of,  438 ;  Gen- 
eral Hospital  of,  449. 

Matanzas,  the,  propeller,  240. 

Maufih  Chunk  railroad,  192. 

Maumee  river,  fisheries  of  the,  885. 

Maysville  road  veto,  177. 

McCormick's  reapers,  85,  86. 

Melodeon,  the,  433. 

Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad,  208. 

Mercantile  agency,  statistics  of  the,  159. 

Merino  sheep,  first  exhibition  of,  25;  importations  and  In- 
crease of,  59. 

Merrimac  and  Monitor,  encounter  of  the,  838. 

Merryman,  John,  of  Baltimore,  his  herd  of  Herefords,  49. 

Mexican  war,  the,  164. 

Mexico,  ancient  use  of  cotton  in,  274. 

Miami  canal,  188. 

Michigan,  railroads  of,  208. 

Michigan,  lake,  first  steamer  on,  166. 

Michigan,  U.  S.  steamer,  experiments  upon,  272. 

Middlesex  canal,  173. 

Milk,  yield  of,  by  an  Ayrshire  cow,  50;  value  of  Jerseys 
for,  50. 

Miller,  E.  L.,  builder  of  the  first  successful  American  locomo- 
tive, 205. 

Mills,  flour  and  grist,  431 ;  statistics  and  operation  of,  431-2. 

Minie  rifle,  the,  328. 

Mink  fur,  347. 

Minnesota,  railroad  system  of,  207. 

Mississippi,  the,  flat  boats  and  steamers  on,  181-8 ;  navigation 
of,  234. 

Mississippi  railroad,  the,  208. 

Mississippi  valley,  <fcc.,  area  of,  102. 

Missouri,  railroads  of,  209. 

Mobile,  hospitals  of,  452. 

Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad,  207. 

Mohawk  and  Hudson  railroad,  197,  245. 

Mohawk  Valley  railroad,  picture  of  the  first  locomotive 
on,  194. 

Molasses,  bow  drained  from  sugar,  128;  maple,  130;  use 
of,  391. 

Monitors,  the,  33a 

Moody,  Paul,  282;  inventions  of,  286. 


462 


INDEX 


Mordecai,  Major,  experiments  of,  on  velocity  of  shot,  887. 

Morgan  horses,  origin  and  character  of,  54. 

Morocco  leather,  318 ;  tanning  of,  320. 

Morris  and  Essex  canal,  190. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  the  Erie  canal  projected  by,  178 ;  report 

of,  upon  connecting  the  lakes  and  the  Hudson,  184. 
Morrison's  steam  crane,  265. 
Morus  multicaulis  speculation,  the,  90,  894. 
Mould-board,  the,  improvements  in,  80, 81 ;  Jefferson's  treatise 

on,  31. 

Mowatt,  John  E.,  towboat  business  established  by,  241,  243. 
Mower,  Excelsior,  picture  of,  33. 
Mowing  machines,  85;  utility  and  economy  of,  86. 
Mulberry,  culture  of  and  speculation  in  the,  393-4. 
Mule  spinner,  the,  275;  picture  of,  279. 
Mummy  cloths,  material  of,  275 ;  used  to  make  paper,  298. 
Mnngo,  manufacture  and  uses  of,  315. 
Muscovado  sugar,  128. 
Musical  instruments,  manufacture  of,  433. 
Mutton  raising  profitable  at  the  East,  60. 

Nap,  the,  of  cloth,  how  formed,  303. 

Narcotics,  kinds  used  in  different  countries,  85. 

Nasmyth,  J.,  on  Colt's  revolver  factory,  331. 

Native  cattle,  not  a  race  or  breed,  41 ;  improvement  of,  42 ; 
at  the  West,  47. 

Naval  gunnery,  changes  in,  337,  338. 

Naval  power  of  the  United  States,  143. 

Navigation,  equality  in,  obtained  by  the  United  States,  171-2; 
internal,  in  early  times,  178. 

Navigation  act,  the,  145. 

Negroes,  lucrative  employments  of,  115;  condition  of,  at  the 
South,  119-21. 

Nelson,  short-horn  bull,  48. 

Newark,  carriage-making  at,  862. 

Newbold,  Charles,  first  patentee  of  a  cast-iron  plough,  81. 

Newell's  burglar- proof  locks,  397. 

New  England,  early  farming  in,  19 ;  by  the  Indians,  21 ;  the 
cattle  in,  19, 20 ;  introduction  of  cattle  into,  37 ;  decline  of 
sheep-raising  in,  59,  60;  why  wheat  is  not  a  prominent 
crop  in,  73;  rye  profitable  in,  78;  fisheries  and  colonial 
trade  of,  135 ;  emigration  from,  to  the  West,  188;  railroads 
in,  196-7;  locomotive  shops  in,  246;  cotton  manufactures 
In,  281 ;  factory  operatives  in,  282;  fisheries  of,  378. 

"New  England  Farmer,"  98. 

New  Hampshire,  importations  of  Danish  cattle  into,  87,  38. 

New  Haven,  the  oyster  business  of,  385. 

New  Haven  Clock  Company.  370. 

New  Jersey  once  preeminent  in  wheat  raising,  73 ;  prison 
system  of,  436. 

New  Jersey  Central  railroad,  202. 

New  Orleans,  hospitals  of,  452. 

New  Orleans,  Jackson  and  Great  Northern  railroad,  208. 

Newspapers,  quantity  of  paper  required  for,  298. 

New  York,  Agricultural  Society  of,  1791,  25;  introduction  of 
cattle  into,  37;  of  horses,  53;  of  sheep,  59;  four-fifths  of 
the  taxes  of,  paid  by  agriculture,  77 ;  road  system  of,  175; 
canals  of,  184;  railroads  of,  197;  table  of  woollen  manu- 
factures of,  312;  tanneries  in,  317;  leather  manufactures 
of,  326 ;  number  and  value  of  dwellings  in,  854 ;  amount 
of  building  materials  used  in,  860;  carriage-making  in, 
862 ;  prison  system  of,  436. 

New  York  city,  great  fire  of  1835  in,  148;  shipping  at,  1850- 
1865, 168;  omnibuses  and  horse  railroads  in,  223;  cloth- 
Ing  trade  of,  309  ;  leather  trade  of,  317  ;  fur  trade  of,  846; 
the  hat  business  in,  849;  Prison  Association  of,  439-40; 
relief  of  the  poor  in,  448;  hospitals  of,  449,  450  (table); 
pauperism  in,  451  (table)  ;  dispensaries  of,  452, 453  (table) ; 
other  institutions  of,  454-5. 

New  York  Central  railroad,  200. 

"  New  York  Farmer,"  98. 

"New  York  Herald,"  engines  used  by,  269. 

Norris  locomotive  engine  works,  246. 

Norris,  Lee,  India-rubber  invention  of,  409. 

North  and  South,  no  competition  between,  121. 

North  Carolina,  colonial  exports  of,  136. 

North  Eiver  boats,  180. 

North  Eiver  of  Clermont  (steamboat),  picture  of  the,  236. 

Northwest  Fur  Company,  348. 

Nurseries  and  foundling  hospitals,  454. 

Nurseries,  fruit,  in  the  United  States,  82. 

Oats,  production  and  geographical  distribution  of,  78. 

Ogeechee  canal,  190. 

Ohio,  increase  in  the  value  of  stock  in,  50;  canal  system  of, 

188. 

Ohio  Company  for  Importing  English  Cattle,  48. 
Ohio  river,  navigation  of,  165;   drainage  of,  166;  the  first 

steamboat  on,  239. 
Omnibuses  in  New  York,  223;  introduction  and  increase 

of,  360. 


Oneida  canal,  185. 

Opium  war,  the,  in  China,  168-4. 

Optical  instruments,  glass  for,  404. 

Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  204. 

Orchard  grass,  80. 

Orchards,  planting  of;  81. 

Orleans,  the,  first  western  steamboat,  289. 

Oscillating  steam  engines,  252. 

Orukter  Amphibolos,  the,  picture  of;  285;  account  of,  248. 

Oswego  canal,  184. 

Otter,  sea,  the  fur  of  the,  845. 

Oxen,  New  England  working,  superiority  of,  42. 

Oyster  trade,  the,  884. 

Oysters,  planting  and  breeding  of,  384. 

Pacific  Fur  Company,  844. 

Pacific  railroad,  demand  for  the,  224;  acts  for  and  progress  of 
the,  225 ;  of  Missouri,  209. 

Pacific  slope,  area  of  the,  101 ;  agricultural  production  of 
the,  102. 

Paddle  wheel,  the,  240. 

Panama  railroad,  224. 

Panic,  the,  of  1837, 151. 

Paper,  importance  and  first  manufacture  of,  291 ;  materials 
for,  292-3;  machinery  for,  295;  sizes  of,  296;  process  of 
making,  296 ;  hand-made,  297 ;  census  statistics  of,  298. 

Paper-hangings,  manufacture  of,  298. 

Paper-soled  shoes,  326. 

Papin,  Denis,  his  account  of  cooking  by  steam,  266-7 ;  of  the 
safety-valve,  267. 

Parkersburg  branch  railroad,  204. 

Paterson,  locomotive  works  of.  246. 

Patersons,  the,  of  Baltimore,  189, 140. 

Patterson,  Mr.,  of  Baltimore,  breeder  of  Devons,  49. 

Patton  stock  of  cattle,  47. 

Paul's  patent  for  carding  cotton,  108. 

Pauperism,  treatment  of,  445;  increase  of,  from  immigration, 
446 ;  in  New  York,  table  of,  451. 

Peach  trees  in  California,  83. 

Peaches,  perfection  of,  at  the  South,  82. 

Pear  orchards  in  Mississippi  and  Georgia,  82 ;  in  Massachu- 
setts, 83. 

Pear  trees,  profit  of,  83 ;  in  California,  63. 

Pease  and  beans,  production  and  exports  of,  79. 

Peel,  Robert,  calico  printing  by,  276. 

Peltry,  347.     (See  Furs.) 

Penitentiaries,  city,  439. 

Penknives,  blades  of,  340. 

Penn  Cotton  Mill,  Pittsburg,  284. 

Pennsylvania,  railroads  and  canals  of,  188-9;  line  of  improve- 
ments of,  202;  coal  transportation  of,  219-20 ;  cotton  mills 
in,  284;  silk  production  of,  893;  glass  manufacture  of, 
400 ;  prison  system  of,  435 ;  insane  hospitals  of,  441,  442 
(note). 

Pennsylvania  railroad,  203;  curves  and  high  grade  of,  230. 

Penobscot,  logging  booin  on  the,  94. 

Perkins,  Jacob;  277,  301. 

Permutation  locks,  397. 

Perry,  the  fleet  of,  166. 

Petersham  cloths,  306. 

Petersham  Morgan,  horse,  portrait  of,  55. 

Philadelphia,  locomotive  works  of,  246 ;  benefit  of  the  sta- 
tionary engine  to,  271;  boot  and  shoe  manufacture  of, 
824;  dwellings  in.  855;  carriage-making  in,  362;  silk 
manufacture  in,  395  ;  Prison  Society  of,  489-40;  hospitals 
of,  441,  449 ;  dispensaries  of,  452. 

Piano,  the,  American  manufactures  of  and  improvements  in« 
433. 

Pickering,  Col.  Timothy,  breeder  of  the  Woburn  hog,  64. 

Pierce,  of  Troy,  air-tube  patent  of,  256. 

Pinel,  Philip,  reform  of  the  treatment  of  lunatics  by,  441. 

Pine  lumber,  classification  of,  94. 

Pine  woods  hog,  picture  of,  61. 

Pins,  manufacture  of.  3S9 ;  American  improvements  in,  890, 

Pistols,  revolving,  831 ;  breech-loading,  833. 

Pittsburg,  glass  manufacture  of,  899. 

Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne,  and  Chicago  railroad,  208. 

Plank  roads,  176. 

Plaster  of  Paris,  use  of,  for  safes,  896. 

Plating,  processes  of,  872. 

Plough,  astonishment  of  the  Indians  at  first  sight  of  a,  22. 

"Plough,  Loom,  and  Anvil,"  98. 

Ploughs,  early  scarcity  and  inefficiency  of,  27;  description  of 
various  kinds.  27-31);  immense  saving  from  the  improve- 
ment of,  3J  ;  cast-iron,  invention  and  "manufacture  of,  81 ; 
patents  for.  31 ;  steam.  263-4. 
Plum  trees  in  California,  83. 
Plush,  silk,  for  hats,  350. 
Pomological  Society,  American,  82. 

Poor,  relief  of  the,  systems  of,  445 ;  comparative  statistics  of, 
447  (table);  associations  for,  446,  448. 


INDEX 


463 


Population,  excess  of,  in  Europe,  over  production,  71;  pro- 
gress of,  in  the  United  States,  132,  144. 

Pork,  packing  of,  66;  classification  and  disposition  of.  66;  ex- 
ports of,  to  Great  Britain,  1840-1858,  158. 

Portable  steam  engines,  255 ;  for  farmers,  263,  264. 

Postage,  reduction  of,  179. 

Post-office  Department,  early  operations  of  the,  174. 

Potato  crops  in  Great  Britain,  failure  of,  153. 

Potatoes,  production  and  exports  of,  79. 

Poughkeepsie,  pin  manufactory  at,  890. 

Poultry  and  eggs,  9J. 

Poussin,  Capt,  177. 

Powell,  of  Philadelphia,  importer  of  short-horns,  48. 

Power  loom,  invention  of  the,  276;  picture  of,  278;  Lowell's, 
231 ;  for  woollens,  302 ;  for  carpets,  306. 

"  Prairie  whales,"  163. 

Preblo,  Commodore,  165. 

Preserves,  preparation  of,  392. 

Prince  &  Co.'s  melodeons,  434. 

Prince  Rupert's  drops,  4i  2. 

Printing  of  calico,  276;  of  cloth,  304;  of  carpets,  807, 308. 

Print  works,  cotton,  288;  statistics  of,  290. 

Prison  discipline.     See  Prisons. 

*  Prisoner's  Friend,"  the,  440. 


Products  of  the  soil,  68. 

Propeller,  the  first  ever  huilt,  picture  of,  235. 

Propellers,  lake,  character  of,  187 ;  packet,  between  Philadel- 
phia and  New  York,  190 ;  origin  of,  240 ;  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of,  241.  (See  Screw  propellers.) 

Protective  policy,  the,  144, 152. 

Providence,  cotton  mill  at,  280. 

Provisions  and  flour,  exports  of,  1790-1859, 158. 

Prussian  blue,  how  made,  67. 

Public  improvements,  early,  173.   (See  Canals,  Railroads,  &c.) 

Pump,  force,  for  steam  engines,  255. 

Pumping  engine  of  the  Brooklyn  Water  Works,  258. 

Pumps,  steam,  258 ;  importance  of,  260. 

Pyes1  burglar-proof  lock,  897. 

Quincy  granite,  359. 
Quincy  railroad,  192. 

Rabbits'  fur,  345. 

Race,  definition  of,  41. 

Rafting  in  Maine,  94. 

liag-pickers,  292. 

Rags,  table  of  imports  of,  292;  consumption  of,  298 ;  substi- 
tutes for,  293;  grades  of,  293-4;  woollen,  for  shoddy, 
313-14. 

Rake,  hand  and  horse,  86. 

Railroad  cars,  manufacture  of,  867. 

Railroad  companies,  object  of,  193. 

Railroad  iron,  importation  of,  156;  quantity  used,  &c.,  219. 

Railroads,  191 ;  the  earliest,  192 ;  benefits  of,  193;  principles 
of  construction  of,  193 ;  power  on,  196 ;  continuous  line 
of,  from  Bangor  to  New  Orleans,  204,  208  (table) ;  land 
grants  to,  207 ;  table  of,  in  the  United  States,  209-219 ; 
financial  results  of,  219 ;  travel  on,  221 ;  horse,  in  cities, 
223 ;  in  the  world,  table  of,  224 ;  comparative  cost  of,  224 ; 
early  origin  of,  244-5 ;  speed  on,  249 ;  aggregate  saving  of 
time  by  travel  on,  250. 

Rails,  iron,  195;  improvements  in,  245. 

Rat  skins  for  gloves,  326. 

Reaney  &  Neafy's  steam  fire  engine,  259. 

Reaper,  Wheeler's,  picture  of,  84. 

Reaping  machines,  great  value  of,  32 ;  kind  used  by  the  Gauls, 
32 ;  triumph  of  American,  at  Paris,  85. 

Reed  instruments,  musical,  433. 

Reed's  oscillator,  255. 

Revolution,  effect  of  the,  upon  commerce,  137. 

Revolver,  Colt's,  Invention  and  manufacture  of,  331 ;  other 
patents  for,  832. 

Ribbons,  manufactories  of,  395. 

Rice,  production  of,  114-15. 

Richelieu,  policy  of,  in  regard  to  tobacco,  85. 

Ridgeley,  Gen.,  breeder  of  the  Woburn  hog,  68. 

Rifle,  improvements  in  the,  328;  Sharp's,  332;  Whitney's,  838. 

Ring  spindle,  the,  286. 

Roads,  state  of,  half  a  century  ago,  52 ;  origin  and  progress  of, 
172;  different  kinds  and  systems  of,  174;  proper  con- 
struction of,  175;  national,  176-7;  of  Connecticut,  sati- 
rized, 192. 

Roberts  &  Rich,  safe  manufacturers,  397. 

Rodman,  Lieut., improvement  of,  in  gun-casting,  336. 

Roger  &  Co.,  carriage  factory  of,  362. 

Rogers,  Smith  &  Co.,  plated  goods  of,  illustrated,  878-6; 
manufactory  of,  377. 

Rogers  Locomotive  Works,  246. 


Rotary  steam  engines,  252. 
R.  R:  Cuyler,  the,  propeller,  240. 
Russia,  few  roads  in,  172. 
Rum  exported  from  the  colonies,  135. 

Rye,  diminished  cultivation  of,  77;  total  product  of,  77; 
profitable  in  New  England,  78. 

Sable,  Russian  and  Hudson's  Bay,  346. 

Safes,  fire-proof,  history  of,  395-7 ;  burelar-proof,  897. 

Safety  val  ve,  use  of  the,  229 ;  account  of  the,  233 ;  Papitfs  ac- 
count of  the,  267. 

Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  the,  455. 

St.  Anthony,  Minn.,  lumber  business  at,  257. 

Salmon  fishery,  the,  882. 

Sanders,  Col.,  of  Kentucky,  importation  of  cattle  by,  47. 

San  tee  canal,  173. 

Savannah,  railroad  from,  205. 

Savannah,  the,  first  ocean  steamer,  180. 

Schaffer,  materials  for  paper  used  by,  293. 

Schnebley's  patent  for  reaping  machine,  35. 

Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna  Company,  178. 

Scissors,  manufacture  of,  840. 

Scott,  John,  asbestos  safe  of,  897. 

Screw  propeller  used  by  John  Fitch,  229. 

Screw  propellers,  on  the  lakes,  losses  of,  166;  introduction  of, 
ISO.  (See  Propellers.) 

Scythes,  the  manufacture  of,  342. 

Sea  island  cotton,  111 ;  its  production  stationary,  117. 

Seamen,  American,  impressed  by  England,  139. 

Sewing  machines,  history  of,  413 ;  patents  for,  414 ;  illustra- 
tions of,  415-18,  421-2;  growth  of  the  manufacture  of, 
419 ;  combination  of  patentees  of,  420,  421 ;  classes,  ope- 
ration, and  description  of,  421-7;  applications  of,  428; 
sales  and  manufactories  of,  429 ;  process  of  manufactu- 
ring, 429. 

Sewing  silk,  American,  395. 

Sharp's  rifle,  332 ;  manufactory  for,  333. 

Sheep,  first  exhibition  of  merino,  25;  importations  of,  59; 
statistics  of,  59,  60,  63;  decrease  of,  in  New  England,  59; 
increase  of,  in  the  South  and  West,  60;  protection  of, 
from  dogs,  60;  most  valuable  of  domestic  animals,  60. 

Sherwood,  Benjamin,  revolving  safe  of,  397. 

Ship-building,  in  the  colonies,  135;  table  of,  in  1771,162;  dif- 
ferent styles  of,  162;  increase  of,  163 ;  on  the  lakes,  167; 
at  the  West  and  East  compared,  359 ;  table  of,  360. 

Shipping,  American  and  foreign  at  New  York,  1850-1865, 168. 

Ship  Timber  Bending  Company.  267. 

Shoddy,  318;  manufacture  of,  814;  uses  of,  315. 

Shoes.    See  Boots  and  shoes. 

Short-horns,  great  sales  of,  in  England,  40 ;  importations  of, 
47 ;  not  suited  to  New  England,  48 ;  improvement  of,  in 
Kentucky,  48. 

Sickle,  use  of  the,  32. 

Side  wheel,  the,  240. 

Silk,  culture  of,  90 ;  tricolor,  from  Lyons,  154 ;  efforts  to  pro- 
mote the  production  of,  893-4 ;  raw,  table  of  imports  of, 
895. 

Silk  hats,  process  of  making,  350. 

Silks^imports  of,  1831-1840,  148 ;  increased  importation  of, 
156. 

Silk-worms,  management  of,  898-4. 

Silsby  and  Mynderse  steam  fire  engine,  260 ;  picture  of,  261. 

Sing  Sing  marble,  359. 

Singer's  sewing  machine,  illustrations  of,  417 ;  introduction 
of,  419 ;  description  of  the  manufacture  of,  429. 

Skinner,  J.  S.,  agricultural  editor,  98. 

Skins  and  furs  used  as  currency,  75. 

Skins  of  animals  for  leather,  817-18. 

Skin-splitting  machine,  320. 

Skunk,  fur  of  the,  345. 

Slater,  Samuel,  cotton  machinery  introduced  by,  280. 

Slatersville,  cotton  mill  at,  280. 

Slave  population  in  the  United  States,  172. 

Slaves,  condition  of,  in  the  South,  119. 

Slave  trade,  inhibition  of  the,  141. 

Slide  valve,  the,  229. 

Sloops,  travelling  by,  178. 

Small,  James,  cast-iron  mould- boards  and  ploughs  made  by, 
81. 

Smith,  Adam,  upon  high  wages  and  interest,  103;  on  leather, 
827. 

Smith,  J.  B.,  paper  of,  on  cotton,  118. 

Soil,  products  of  the,  68 ;  fertility  of  the,  at  the  West,  74 ;  im- 
poverishment of  the,  87. 

Sorghum  syrup  and  sugar,  130. 

South,  the,  no  competition  with  the  North,  121 ;  Northern 
manufactures  in,  122-3  ;  results  of  the  railroads  of,  220; 
cotton  manufactures  at,  2S4 ;  supply  of  lumber  at,  357 ; 
silk  culture  in,  393. 

South  America,  cotton  imported  from,  117. 

South  American  wool,  813. 


464 


INDEX 


8outh  Carolina,  Agricultural  Society  of,  1784,  25;  colonial 
exports  of,  137. 

South  Carolina  railroad,  192 ;  account  of,  204-5. 

South  Downs,  improved  Kentucky,  picture  of,  58. 

Souther,  John,  locomotive  works,  246. 

Southern  staples,  158. 

Southern  States,  the,  fruit  in,  82 ;  labor  of,  concentrated  upon 
cotton,  110;  cotton  factories  in,  115;  character  of  the 
climate  and  labor  of,  119. 

Spear,  Mr.,  safe-filling  discovered  by,  897. 

S  L  ecie,  imports  and  exports  of,  145, 147, 148, 153, 156 ;  exports 
of,  1821-1859, 158. 

Specie  circular,  the,  151. 

Specie  payments,  suspension  and  resumption  of,  151. 

Speculation,  rise  of,  147;  results  of,  151. 

Spindles  in  cotton  mills,  286,  288. 

Spinning  by  hand,  picture  of,  279. 

Spinning,  cotton,  288. 

Spinning-jenny,  invention  of  the,  108,  275. 

Spirits,  imports  of,  1831-1888, 148. 

Spreading  machine,  for  cotton,  287. 

Springfield,  manufacture  of  guns  at,  334. 

Squirrel  furs,  347. 

Stafford's  breech-loading  pistol,  333. 

Stages,  system  of,  174, 178. 

Stamp  act,  the,  137. 

Stationary  engines,  252;  improvements  still  needed  in,  269; 
universal  use  of,  271.  (See  Steam  engines.) 

Steam,  progress  of,  on  the  Mississippi  (table),  183 ;  advantage 
of,  for  city  travel,  250 ;  laws  of,  256-7 :  general  results  of 
the  use  of,  268 ;  universal  use  of,  271 ;  government  ex- 
periments with,  272. 

Steam  battery  built  by  Pulton,  241 ;  wagons,  advantages  of, 
244;  fire  engines,  244;  ploughs,  263;  elevators. 264 -"ham- 
mers, 265;  cranes,  265;  heating,  265;  boiling:,  drying, 
cooking,  266;  timber-bending,  267;  press,  the,  269;  pack- 
ing, vulcanized  rubber  for,  411. 

Steam  engine,  the,  history  of,  227 ;  the  first  in  America,  227; 
wonders  of  the,  230-4(1 ;  patents  issued  on  account  of, 
231 ;  component  parts  of,  2-32 ;  applications  of,  to  naviga- 
tion, 240. 

Steam  engines,  manner  of  obtaining  the  horse-power  of,  228; 
low  and  high  pressure,  229  ;  American  improvements  in, 
230;  stationary,  different  kinds  of,  252;  improvements 
In,  253,  269;  "bad  management  of,  254;  portable,  255; 
hoisting,  256;  portable,  for  farmers,  263;  objections  to, 
269;  stationary,  271;  government  experiments  upon, 
272. 

Steam  engineers,  254,  268,  270. 

Steam  gauges,  kinds  of,  229 ;  value  of,  270. 

Steam  tonnage,  164 ;  ocean  and  inland,  165 ;  table  of  increase 
of,  at  the  West,  183. 

Steamboat,  the  first  at  the  West,  165;  racing,  183. 

Steamboats,  introduction  of,  179 ;  speed  of,  180 ;  illustration 
and  notice  of  Fitch's,  226,  229;  Fulton's,  229;  Stevens's, 
280;  superiority  of  American,  231 ;  history  of,  234;  the 
first  on  the  Hudson.  234 ;  at  the  West,  239 ;  on  the  lakes, 
289 ;  explosion  of,  242 ;  act  for  the  inspection  of,  242. 

Steamers,  ocean,  lines  of,  164 ;  losses  of,  165 ;  Western,  de- 
scription of,  188  ;  on  the  lakes,  187 ;  side-wheel,  241 ;  use 
of  coal  in,  241 ;  iron-clad,  338. 

Stearine,  uses  of,  67. 

Stearns  &  Marvin,  safe  manufacturers,  897. 

Steel  for  cutlery,  treatment  of,  339-40 ;  tempering  of,  841. 

Steers,  George,  241. 

Steinway  &  Sons'  pianos,  433. 

Stephenson's  locomotives,  245. 

Stern  wheel,  the,  240. 

Stern-wheel  boats,  183. 

Stevens,  Robert  L.,  improvements  in  steamboats  by,  230; 
blower  introduced  by,  241. 

St.  Louis,  the  founding  of,  848 ;  the  fur  trade  of,  844 ;  hospi- 
tals of,  452. 

Stock,  progress  in  the  raising  of,  87 ;  products  of,  by  States 
and  sections,  51 ;  in  California,  68 ;  total  value  of,  in  the 
United  States,  68 ;  proportion  of,  to  the  hay  crop,  in  dif- 
ferent States,  80. 

Stockton  gun,  the,  834 

Stone,  building,  359. 

8t  Paul,  the  fur  trade  of,  845. 

Strawberries,  culture  of,  82. 

Street  railroads,  advantages  of  steam  on,  250 ;  Bteam  cars 
for,  251. 

Stuart's  sugar  refinery,  892. 

Suffolk  hog,  improved,  picture  of,  61. 

Sugar,  the  culture  of,  at  the  South,  115-16;  boiline  of,  127; 
yield,  profit,  production,  and  consumption  of,  129;  other 
than  cane,  130;  imports  of,  1881-1840, 148;  large  impor- 
tation of,  156 ;  failure  of  the  Louisiana  crop  of,  156 ;  com- 
parative consumption  of,  891 ;  refined,  mode  of  making, 
291-2 ;  superiority  of  American,  392. 


Sugar  cane,  introduction  of,  127 ;  varieties  of,  127 ;  mode  of 

cultivating,  128;  mills  for,  128. 
Sun  and  planet  motion,  230. 
Sunday  school,  the  first  in  New  England,  280. 
Super-heated  steam,  256. 
Surat  cotton,  character  and  price  of,  118,  119. 
Surgical  instruments,  manufacture  of,  842. 
Swine,  introduction  and  improvement  of,  63.    (See  Hogs.) 
Symington,  William,  229.  • 

Table  cutlery,  manufacture  of,  840. 

Tambouring  machine.  Bock's,  414. 

Tannin,  quality  and  sources  of,  319. 

Tanning,  316 ;  materials  for,  319 ;  process  of,  821 ;  new  pro- 
cess of.  323. 

Tariff,  the,  effect  of,  122;  reduction  of,  147;  of  1842, 152;  of 
1816-1828,  144-5;  table  of  imports  and  exports  under, 
145;  on  cotton  and  woollen  goods,  283;  on  woollens, 
312. 

Taunton  Locomotive  Company,  246. 

Tawing,  the  process  of,  820. 

Tecumseh,  Devon  bull,  portrait  and  history  of,  46. 

Tennessee,  premium  fleece  ut  the  London  World's  Fair,  raised 
in,  60 ;  railroads  of,  209. 

Terry,  Eli,  first  maker  of  wooden  clocks,  868. 

Texas,  grazing  in,  102 ;  sugar  cane  cultivated  In,  127. 

Thimonier,  crocheting  machine  of,  414. 

Thomas's  "  American  Fruit  Culturist,"  84. 

Thomaston  lime,  358. 

Threshing  machine,  the,  86. 

Timber,  varieties  of,  94-5 ;  for  ship-building,  359 ;  for  car- 
riages, 862. 

Timber-bending  by  steam,  267,  859. 

Time,  modes  of  measuring,  368. 

Timothy  grass,  discovery  and  propagation  of,  80. 

Tires,  American  improvement  in,  861. 

Tobacco,  cultivation  of,  in  Virginia,  72;  impoverishment  of 
the  soil  by,  80;  use  of,  and  opposition  to,  85;  production 
and  exports  of,  86;  proper  cultivation  of,  86;  geographical 
distribution  of,  87;  manufacture  and  consumption  of,  87; 
and  rice,  exports  of,  1790-1859, 158. 

Tomkins,  breeder  of  Herefords,  40. 

Toucey,  Hon.  Isaac,  273. 

Tonnage,  American,  140  ft  seq.  ;  entered  and  cleared  in  1771, 
162;  comparative  table  of,  1789-1858, 163;  of  the  interior, 
163;  steam,  164;  on  the  lakes,  166  (table),  187;  lessened 
by  steam  and  railroads,  167;  progress  of,  1851-1858,  167; 
effect  of  the  war  upon,  168;  steam,  table  of,  243. 

Tooke's  "  History  of  Prices,"  109. 

Trade,  domestic,  of  the  United  States,  159. 

Traders,  Indian,  operations  of,  187. 

Trades  carried  on  in  the  colonies,  133-4. 

Trading  voyage,  course  of  a,  146. 

Transportation,  means  of,  172;  reduction  of  the  cost  of,  184, 
186, 191, 193. 

Travel,  changes  in,  181-8, 187,  221,240;  aggregate  saving  of 
time  in,  by  railroads,  2.50;  and  transportation,  improve- 
ments in,  illustrated,  171. 

Trotting,  popularity  of,  in  the  United  States,  53. 

Tudor,  Frederick,  originator  of  the  ice  trade,  887. 

Tuke,  William,  improved  treatment  of  lunatics  by,  441. 

Tunnels  in  railroads,  195. 

Turnpike  companies,  176;  roads,  177. 

United  States,  the,  area  and  present  and  prospective  popula- 
tion of,  101 ;  number  of  farms  and  plantations  in,  102 ; 
value  of  live  stock  and  crops  in,  102 ;  high  prices  in,  103, 
et  seq.;  progress  in  wealth  and  population  of,  132,  144; 
condition  of,  after  the  revolution,  137;  naval  power  of, 
143 ;  domestic  trade  of,  159 ;  table  of  the  growth  of,  160 ; 
shipping  of,  161 ;  commercial  prospects  of,  168 ;  table  of 
railroads  in  the,  209-219;  improvement  of,  through  steam 
navigation,  234;  freedom  of  industry  in,  339;  individual 
industries  of,  353 ;  dwellings  in,  854. 

United  States  Bank,  143, 146, 151. 

Van  Kensselaer,  Stephen,  197. 

Velocity  of  shot,  experiments  upon,  887. 

Vera  Cruz,  expedition  to,  under  Gen.  Scott,  164. 

Vesuvius,  the,  third  western  steamboat,  289. 

Vine,  culture  of  the,  in  California,  83. 

Virginia,  introduction  of  cattle  into,  87 ;  early  mode  of  keep- 
ing cattle  in,  88 ;  introduction  of  horses  into,  53 ;  neglect 
of  wheat  in,  72 ;  cultivation  of  tobacco  in,  86;  exhaustion 
of  the  soil  of,  by  constant  cropping,  87 ;  public  improve- 
ments in,  190 ;  the  oyster  trade  of,  884. 

Virginia  and  Tennessee  railroad,  204. 

Virginia  Central  railroad,  204. 

"Walk-in-the-Water,  first  steamboat  on  Lake  Erie,  239. 
Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  189. 


INDEX 


465 


Wages,  high  rate  of,  from  cheap  lands,  103 ;  affected  by  the 
European  standard,  104;  how  maintained,  105;  by  the  cot- 
ton production,  106  ;  by  California  gold;  107. 

"Wares,  internal  production  of,  159. 

Warehouse  system,  the  English,  146. 

Wagon-making,  36T. 

Watt,  James,  inscription  on  the  monument  of,  227;  inventor 
of  the  low-pressure  engine,  229. 

Waterbury,  pin  manufactory  at,  890. 

Waltham,  Mass.,  cotton  mill  at,  282 ;  watch  manufacture  at, 
871. 

War  of  1812, 143. 

Washington,  advocacy  of  agricultural  societies  by,  24 ;  canal 
projected  by,  71 ;  interest  of,  in  internal  improvement, 
173. 

Washington,  the  steamboat,  explosion  of,  242. 

Washington  Iron  Works,  portable  engine  manufactured  at, 
255. 

Washington,  Pa.,  sewing  silk  made  at,  393. 

Watches,  American,  distinctive  character  of,  870 ;  process  of 
manufacturing,  371. 

Watson,  Elkanah, 'first  exhibition  of  merino  sheep  by,  25. 

Wealth,  progress  of,  in  the  United  States,  132, 144 ;  present 
and  prospective,  168. 

Weaving,  cotton,  2S8 ;  woollen,  302 ;  carpet,  806. 

West,  the,  agricultural  development  of,  74,  75 ;  interior  navi- 
gation of,  165 ;  ship-building  at,  359. 

West  India  colonies  shut  to  American  vessels,  163. 

West  Indies,  the,  cotton  imported  from,  117;  trade  of  the 
American  colonies  with,  134,  137 ;  cotton  first  obtained 
from,  275. 

Western  railroad  of  Massachusetts,  193 ;  history  and  connec- 
tions of,  196. 

Whale,  white,  leather  from  the,  319. 

Whale  fishery,  the,  rise  of,  135;  illustration  of,  379;  history 
of,  885-6;  mode  of  conducting,  386;  statistics  of,  886. 

Wheat,  early  cultivation  of,  72;  subject  to  great  casualties, 
73 ;  early  exports  of,  73 ;  at  the  West,  74 ;  trade  of  Chi- 
cago in,  76;  total  production  of,  by  sections,  77;  total 
exports  of,  77 ;  in  California,  77 ;  exported  from  the  South, 
115;  imported  from  Russia,  148;  value  of  the  crop  of 
1850,  156;  exports  of,  to  Great  Britain,  1840-185S,  158; 
received  across  the  lakes  (table),  187. 

Wheeler's  patent  reaper,  picture  of,  34 

Wheeler  &  Wilson's  sewing  machine,  illustrations  of,  415-16; 
invention  of,  419;  description  of,  422-3 ;  manufactory  of, 
429. 

Wheeling,  glass  -works  at,  400. 


Wheels  of  steam  vessels,  240 ;  of  carriages,  361 ;  of  railroad 
cars,  367. 

Whiskey,  American,  in  demand  in  Europe,  155. 

White  leather,  how  made,  320. 

White  River  canal,  189. 

White  Water  canal,  189. 

Whitehead,  patent  speeder  perfected  by,  284. 

Whiltemore's  machine  for  making  cards,  801. 

Whitney's  cotton  gin,  111 ;  effect  of,  upon  commerce,  141. 

Whitney,  Eli,  rifle  factory  of,  333. 

Wilder,  Enos  and  B.  G.,  fire-proof  safe  of,  897. 

Willy,  patent,  for  cotton,  287. 

Willcox,  J.  M.,  paper  mill  of,  291-2. 

Willcox  &  Gibbs's  sewing  machine,  invention  of,  420;  Illus- 
trations of,  opposite w 420-21;  description  of,  425  (third 
class). 

Winans,  Messrs.,  locomotive  builders,  246. 

Wine,  production  and  quality  of,  in  California,  83;  census 
returns  of,  84. 

Wines,  imports  of,  1831-1838, 148. 

Wilton  carpet,  807. 

Wilson,  Allen  B,    See  Wheeler  &  Wilson. 

Wobnrn  hog,  the,  63. 

Wolston  system,  the,  of  steam  ploughing,  264. 

Wood  used  in  house-building,  91 ;  for  fuel,  97. 

Wood  on  Railroads,  extract  from,  193. 

Woodward's  steam  pump,  260,  263. 

Wool,  exportation  of,  prohibited  by  England,  281 ;  American 
manufacture  of,  1S1  ;-185p,  800 ;  spinning  of,  302 ;  for  car- 
pets, source  and  preparation  of,  307 ;  home-grown,  312-18; 
South  American,  313 ;  inadequate  supply  of,  313. 

Wool  and  woollens,  statistics  of,  60,  63. 

Wool-growing  in  the  United  States,  59;  most  profitable  at  the 
South  and  West,  60  ;  statistics  of,  60. 

Woollen  manufactures,  development  of,  800 ;  processes  of, 
301 ;  various  kinds  of,  301-8;  census  statistics  of,  811. 

Women's  Prison  Association  of  New  York,  440. 

Worcester  railroad,  196. 

Worsted,  the  manufacture  of,  301 ;  zephyr,  308. 

Worthington's  steam  pump,  260,  263. 

Wright,  L.  W.,  solid-head  pin  machine  of,  890. 

Wyatt's  patent  for  spinning  cotton,  108. 

Tale,  Linus,  Sr.  and  Jr.,  burglar-proof  locks  of,  398. 

Yarn,  cotton,  prices  of,  110;  grades  of,  288;  decline  in  cost  of, 

290. 

Young,  Arthur,  labors  of,  99. 
Young  Denton,  short-horn  bull,  48. 


INDEX  TO  COMMENDATIONS. 


No.  1. 
Hon.  Josiah  Quincy. 

No.  2. 
President  E.  Hitchcock,  Amherst  College. 

No.  3. 
President  J.  Cummings,  Wesleyan  University. 

No.  4. 
President  Girard  College. 

No.  5. 
President  Genesee  College. 

No.  6. 
President  Cambridge  University. 

No.  7. 
President  of  Marietta  College. 

No.  8. 
President  University  of  Rochester. 

No.  9. 
President  of  Brown  University. 

No.  10. 
President  University  of  Wisconsin. 

No.   11. 
President  Columbia  College,  New  Tork. 

No.  12. 
President  of  Tufts  College. 

No.   13. 
President  of  Dartmouth  College. 

No.   14. 
Chancellor  Tappan,  Michigan  University. 

No.   15. 
President  Vermont  University. 

No.   16. 
President  of  Williams'  College. 

No.  17. 
President  Trinity  College. 


No.  18. 
President  Woolsey,  Tale  College. 

No.  19. 
John  McLean,  Princeton  College. 

No.  20. 
Professor  Johnson,  Tale  College. 

No.  21. 
Professor  H.  Smith,  Lane  Theological  Seminary. 

No.  22. 
Professor  W.  C.  Fowler,  Amherst  College. 

No.  23. 
Professor  B.  Silliman,  Tale  College. 

No.  24. 
New  Tork  Times. 

No.  25. 
New  Tork  Examiner. 

No.  26. 
New  Tork  Observer. 

No.  27. 
Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine. 

No.  28. 
Secretary  Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

No.  29. 
Secretary  Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

No.  30. 
New  Englauder. 

No.  31. 
Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

No.  32. 
Boston  Transcript. 

No.  33. 
New  Tork  Herald. 

No.  34, 
Boston  Post. 


INDEX   TO    COMMENDATIONS. 


No.    35. 
Principal  American  Asylum. 

No.   36. 

John  D.  Philbrick,  Superintendent  Massachusetts 
Schools. 

No.  37. 
Boston  Journal. 

No.  38. 
Philadelphia  Evening  Journal 

No.  39. 
The  Homestead. 

No.  40. 
Phila.  Daily  Evening  Bulletin. 

No.  41. 

Secretary  Board  of  Education,  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

No.  42. 
8.  S.  Randall,  Superintendent,  New  York. 

No.  43. 
New  England  Farmer. 

No.  44 
Prank  Leslie. 

No.  45. 
E.  G.  Dana,  Mercantile  Agency.  New  York, 

No.  46. 
Evening  Post,  New  York. 


No.  47. 


Benson  J.  Lossing. 

No.  48. 
New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 

No.  49. 
W.  H.  "Wells,  Chicago. 

No.  50. 
Harvey  P.  Peet,  Superintendent,  New  York. 

No.   51. 

Boston  Cultivator. 

No.  52. 
American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 

No.  53. 
Springfield  Republican. 

No.  54. 
Isaac  Ferris,  Chancellor  University,  New  York. 

No.  55. 

J.   M.    Mathews,    Chancellor    University,    New 
York. 

No.  56. 
Professor  E.  "W".  Horsford,  Cambridge  University. 

No.  57. 
President  Hobart  College,  Geneva. 

No.  58. 
President  Indiana  State  XJniversity 


EXTRACTS  FROM  COMMENDATIONS, 


No.  1. 

Prom  HON.  JOSIAH  QUINCY,  former  President  of  Cambridg 
University. 

L.  STEBBINS,  ESQ.:  Sir, — I  have  received  th 
"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  am 
have  examined  it,  not  with  that  attention  which  it 
nature,  novelty,  curiosity,  and  general  apparent  ac 
curacy  naturally  claim,  but  with  that  degree  of  ex 
animation,  which  at  the  age  of  ninety,  was  compati 
ble  with  an  eyesight  dimmed  by  years,  and  system 
atically  avoiding  all  labors  of  supererogation 
With  this  deduction  from  the  value  of  my  judgment, 
I  readily  express  to  you  my  opinion  of  the  work. 
It  seems  to  me  of  extraordinary  merit,  and  consider- 
ing the  number,  variety,  and  importance  of  the  sub- 
jects it  embraces,  of  surprising  accuracy  and  reliable- 
ness for  information.  The  names  of  the  authors  of 
the  respective  subjects  being  given,  and  their 
established  adequacy  and  talent  being  known,  gives 
uncommon  accuracy  to  their  statements,  and  an 
authenticity  to  the  work  seldom  attained  in  publica- 
tions of  such  a  general  character.  No  expense, 
apparently,  has  been  spared  to  render  it  worthy  of 
public  confidence  and  patronage,  which  I  cordially 
wish  you :  both  of  which  I  regard  it  as  eminently 
deserving. 

Respectfully,  I  am  yours, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 
BOSTON, 


No.  2. 

From  Pres.  HITCHCOCK,  late  of  Amherst  College. 

I  have  examined  the  work  entitled  "Eighty  Years'' 
Progress  of  the  United  States,"  sufficiently  to  satisfy 
myself  that  it  is  a  work  of  superior  merit.  Acquaint- 
ed as  I  am  with  several  of  the  authors,  I  know  that 
they  would  never  suffer  productions  of  this  sort  to 
go  forth  over  their  names,  unless  they  possess  high 
merit.  The  work  contains  a  vast  amount  of  infor- 
mation, which  every  intelligent  man  can  hardly  do 
without,  and  which,  by  the  aid  of  numerous  draw- 
ings, is  here  presented  in  an  attractive  form.  With 
the  aid  of  this  work,  any  one  can  well  understand 
the  present  advanced  state  of  all  the  great  industrial 
and  economical  arts  in  our  country,  and  be  able  to 
see  how  they  have  grown  up  from  their  early  and 
rude  beginnings.  I  know  not  where  else,  save  by 
almost  infinite  labor,  this  knowledge  can  be  obtained. 
EDWARD  HITCHCOCK. 


No.  3. 

From  the  President  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown, 
Conn. 

I  have  examined,  with  much  pleasure  and  profit, 
the  work  entitled  "  Eighty  Tears'  Progress."    It 


contains  a  great  amount  and  variety  of  information, 
printed  in  an  attractive  style,  on  subjects  of  the 
highest  importance.  It  is  eminently  a  practical  work, 
and  brings  within  the  reach  of  all,  stores  of  knowl- 
edge heretofore  inaccessible  to  most  readers.  The 
novelty  of  the  title,  the  great  truths  illustrated  and 
established,  give  it  increased  attractiveness  and 
usefulness.  The  patriot  and  the  philanthropist  will 
be  encouraged  by  its  perusal  and  stimulated  to 
greater  exertions  to  secure  further  progress  in  all 
good  things  in  our  country  and  throughout  the 
world. 

The  enterprising  publisher  has  not  spared  expense 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  work.  The  printing  and 
the  abundant  illustrations  are  in  the  highest  style 
of  rt.  One  of  the  best  illustrations  of  "  Eighty 
Years'  Progress,"  would  be  found  in  the  comparison 
of  the  mechanical  execution  of  this  work  with  that 
of  any  work  issued  eighty  years  ago. 

JOSEPH  CUMMINGS, 
President  of  Wesleyan  University. 


No.  4. 
From  President  of  Girard  College,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dear  Sir,— I  have  been  interested  and  instructed 
by  the  perusal  of  your  national  work,  entitled  "Eighty 
Years'  Progress"  for  a  copy  of  which  I  am  indebted 
to  your  courtesy. 

An  illustrated  history  of  the  various  branches  of 
ndustry  and  art  in  the  United  States,  prepared  with 
the  ability  and  truthfulness  which  characterizes  this 
work,  will  be  highly  acceptable  to  all  classes  of 
readers.  In  its  artistic  and  mechanical  execution, 
nothing  has  been  left  to  be  desired.  I  am  not  ac- 
quainted with  any  work  in  which  so  much  reliable 
nformation  on  so  great  variety  of  subjects  may  be 
bund  in  so  small  a  compass.  It  is  emphatically  a 
book  for  the  people. 

Yours  respectfully, 

WILLIAM  H.  ALLEN. 


No.  5. 

From  the  President  of  <Jene«ee  College. 
LIMA,  November  6, 

With  as  much  care  as  my  time  would  allow,  I 
ave  examined  the  work  of  Mr.  Stebbins,  entitled 

Eighty  Years'  Progress."  It  contains  a  large 
mount  of  valuable  information,  in  just  the  form  to 
e  circulated  widely  among  the  people.  It  is  in  fact 

brief  and  interesting  history  of  our  progress  as  a 
ation,  in  both  science  and  the  arts.  I  am  willing 


COMMENDATIONS. 


that    my  name 
circulation. 


and  influence    should  aid  in  its 
J.  MORRISON  REED. 


I  fully  concur  in  the  above. 

JAMES  L.  ALVISON, 
Professor  in  Genesee  College. 


No.  G. 
Prom  the  President  of  Cambridge  University. 

CAMBRIDGE,  Oct.  31, 

Dear  Sir, — I  have  examined  the  work  called 
"Eighty  Years1  Progress,"  with  such  attention  as  I 
could  give  it.  I  am  not  competent  to  verify  the 
statements  of  many  parts,  but  the  names  of  the 
gentlemen  who  contributed  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant portions  seems  to  be  a  sufficient  guaranty 
of  their  accuracy.  I  have  no  doubt  the  volumes 
contain  much  valuable  information  on  the  practical 
arts  and  industrial  interests  of  the  country. 

C.  C.  FELTON. 


No.  7. 
From  the  President  of  Marietta  College,  Ohio. 

Dear  Sir,— The  work  on  the  "  Eighty  Tears1  Pro- 
gress of  the  United  States1'  was  received  by  mail  a  few 
days  since.  I  have  given  what  attention  I  could  to 
it,  and  write  you  now,  as  I  am  expecting  to  be  ab- 
sent from  home  for  some  days. 

The  examination  of  this  work  has  given  me  much 
pleasure.  The  idea  of  furnishing  this  most  valuable 
knowledge  hi  a  comparatively  small  compass,  was 
a  most  happy  one.  As  a  people  we  want  informa- 
tion— reliable  information.  We  need  to  know  our 
own  history,  in  art  and  science,  as  well  as  in  govern- 
ment. The  people  of  one  section  should  know  how 
those  of  others  live — the  progress  of  one  should  be 
made  known  to  all. 

The  idea  of  the  work  you  have  undertaken  seems 
to  have  been  well  carried  out,  as  well  as  happily 
conceived.  On  a  great  variety  of  topics,  in  which 
all  the  people  are  interested,  you  have  furnished  a 
large  amount  of  valuable  information.  All,  except 
those  of  the  lowest  grade  of  intelligence,  will  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  secure  this  vol- 
ume, and,  unlike  many  books,  the  more  it  is  exam- 
ined the  more  valuable  will  it  seem.  I  anticipate 
for  it  a  wide  circulation. 

I  feel  great  interest  in  the  character  of  the  books 
distributed  through  the  country.  We  teach  our 
young  people,  at  great  cost,  to  read.  Many,  having 
acquired  the  art,  have  no  disposition  to  use  it ;  and 
others  read  nothing  that  has  any  value.  Good 
books,  books — not  newspapers,  they  will  take  care 
of  themselves — should  be  in  every  house.  Hence, 
I  favor  school  libraries,  as  an  easy  and  cheap  method 
of  putting  good  books  into  the  hands  of  the  young. 
For  a  like  reason  I  rejoice  in  the  purchase,  by  fami- 
lies, of  all  good  works. 

This  work  on  the  Progress  of  the  United  States, 
will  serve  a  most  excellent  purpose  in  two  ways. 


It  may  be  taken  up  at  any  time  to  employ  a  few 
leisure  moments,  and  it  serves  as  an  encyclopaedia 
for  reference.  , 

Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  volume,  and 
my  best  wishes  for  its  wide-spread  distribution. 
Tours  truly,  J.  W.  ANDREWS. 

L.  STEBBINS,  Esq.,  Worcester,  Mass. 


From  the  President  of  the  University  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

I  have  looked  over,  somewhat  hastily,  the  work 
entitled  "  Eighty  Years'  Progress."  The  plan  seems 
to  me  excellent,  the  idea  of  presenting  in  a  short 
compilation  the  present  state  and  rate  of  progress 
of  the  various  industrial  arts  is  one  which  can  not 
fail  to  be  thought  worthy.  In  general,  the  work 
seems  ;to  be  successfully  and  correctly  done.  In 
such  a  work  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  errors,  and 
the  prejudices  and  interests  of  the  different  com- 
pilers may  be  occasionally  seen.  Notwithstanding 
this,  the  work  seems  to  me  well  worthy  the  patron- 
age of  the  public. 

M.  B.  ANDERSON, 
Pres.  University  of  Rochester. 


No.  9. 

From  the  President  of  Brown  University,  Providence,  E.  I. 

I  have  examined  those  parts  of  the  "  Eighty  Years' 
Progress  of  the  United  States"  on  which  my  studies 
and  observation  have  enabled  me  to  form  an  intelli- 
gent judgment,  and  find,  compressed  within  a  small 
compass,  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  information, 
well  selected  and  well  arranged.  It  furnishes  am- 
ple means  of  comparison  on  the  subjects  of  which 
it  treats,  and  will,  I  think,  prove  to  be  a  valuable 
book  of  reference. 

Very  respectfully,  your  ob't  serv't, 

B.  SEARS. 


No.  10. 
From  President  BEAD,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

I  have  examined,  with  a  pleasure  I  can  hardly 
express  in  too  strong  terms,  your  "  Eighty  Years' 
Progress  of  the  United  States."  During  the  few 
days  the  work  has  been  on  my  table  it  has  saved 
me,  in  the  examination  of  facts,  labor  worth  many 
times  the  cost  of  the  volume.  For  the  school  library 
the  business  man,  the  scholar,  or  the  intelligent 
family,  it  will  be  found  a  cyclopedia  presenting,  in 
a  most  interesting  form,  the  progress  of  the  various 
arts  of  civilized  life  during  the  period  of  our  nation- 
al existence.  I  most  heartily  recommend  the  work. 
Very  truly  yours, 

DANIEL  READ. 


No.  11. 

From  the  President  of  Columbia  College,  N.  Y. 

Sir, — I  thank  you  for  the  copy  of  "Eighty 
Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  published 
by  you. 


COMMENDATIONS. 


It  seems  to  me  of  great  value  as  containing  in- 
formation of  interest,  more  or  less,  to  all,  and  not 
easily  accessible,  except  to  varied  labor  and  re- 
search. 

The  idea,  too,  of  illustrating  national  progress, 
not  by  war,  nor  annexation,  nor  diplomatic  legerde- 
main, but  by  the  advance  in  the  institutions  of 
learning,  in  useful  inventions,  in  the  growth  of 
manufactures,  agriculture,  and  commerce,  in  all  the 
arts  of  peace,  in  morals  and  civilization,  in  the 
inner  life,  so  to  speak,  of  the  people  themselves, 
seems  to  me  both  original  and  founded  in  the  true 
notion  of  progress. 

I  trust  you  will  derive  abundant  reward  for  your 
praiseworthy  adventure. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

CH.  KING, 
Pres.  of  Columbia  College. 

Mr.  STEBBINS. 


No.  12. 
From  the  President  of  Tufts  College. 

January  27, 

MR.  STEBBINS  :  Dear  Sir, —  I  was  led  to  expect 
much  from  the  title  of  your  work,  called  "  Eighty 
Years'  Progress,"  and  resolved  to  give  it  a  careful 
examination.  I  have  been  richly  repaid  for  the 
time  thus  spent,  in  the  great  pleasure  and  profit  I 
have  derived  from  its  perusal.  Heartily  thanking 
you  for  this  generous  contribution  to  generous 
knowledge,  I  trust  you  may  reap  a  rich  reward  for 
your  efforts.  JOHN  P.  MARSHALL. 


No.  13. 

From  the  President  of  Dartmouth  College. 
January  20, 

L.  STEBBINS,  ESQ.  :  Dear  Sir, — I  received  some 
days  ago  your  very  handsome  work,  "Eighty 
Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  but  have 
found  leisure  only  within  a  day  or  two  to  examine 
its  contents.  Those  persons  who  have  been  long- 
est on  the  stage  can  best  appreciate  the  amazing 
contrasts  in  the  state  of  the  country  which  you 
describe,  but  one  who,  like  myself,  can  recognize 
the  history  of  half  the  period,  can  testify  to  the 
faithfulness  and  fullness  of  your  exhibition  of  the 
growth  and  power  of  this  great  country. 

Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  work,  and  the 
opinion  that  on  the  subjects  treated  it  will  be 
found  an  invaluable  authority  by  all  who  study  its 
pages.  I  trust  it  may  have  an  extensive  distribu- 
tion. Very  respectfully  yours, 

0.  P.  HUBBARD. 


No.  14. 
From  Chancellor  TAPPAN,  State  University  of  Michigan. 

January  25, 

MR.   STEBBINS:  Sir, — T  have  the  honor  to  ac- 
vjnowledge  the  receipt  of  a  copy  of  the  work  re- 


cently published  by  you,  entitled  "  Eighty '  Years' 
Progress,"  for  which  please  accept  my  hearty 
thanks. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  this  work  could  be 
made  to  contain  an  adequate  view  of  the  progress 
of  our  country  during  eighty  years.     But  you  have 
presented  the  public  with  this  large  work,  filled 
with  interesting  and  valuable  matter  on  this  sub- 
ject, as  much,  perhaps,  as  could  be  compressed  into 
it.    I  hope  this  work  will  find  a  wide  circulation, 
and  thus  become  a  public  benefit  in  a  literal  sense. 
I  am  very  respectfully  yours,  etc., 
HENRY  P.  TAPPAN. 


No.  15. 

From  the  President  of  the  Vermont  University,  Burlington. 

I  have  only  had  time  to  dip  into  your  "  Eighty 
Years1  Progress"  here  and  there.  But  I  have  been 
pleased  and  instructed,  and  am  sure  the  book  must 
be  very  valuable.  My  children  are  very  much  in- 
terested in  it.  Yours  very  truly, 

CALVIN  PEASE. 


No.  16. 
From  the  President  of  "Williams'  College. 

Dear  Sir, — I  have  no  hesitation  hi  saying  that 
the  work  proposed  to  be  done  in  the  "Eighty 
Tears'  Progress"  has  been  well  done.  For  those 
who  wish  a  book  of  the  kind,  yours  cannot  fail  to 
be  the  book.  •  Respectfully  yours, 

MARK  HOPKINS. 

Mr.  L.  STEBBINS. 


.,'-    , 

No.   17. 

From  President  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Dear  Sir, — I  have  to  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  your 
work  on  the  Progress  of  the  United  States.  It 
treats  of  some  matters  with  which  I  am  familiar, 
and  of  some  with  which  I  am  not  familiar ;  but  I  think 
I  can  honestly  say,  with  regard  to  both,  that  they  are 
so  presented  as  to  be  at  once  interesting  and  instruct- 
ive to  the  general  reader. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

SAMUEL  ELIOT. 
HARTFORD,  October  4, 


No.  18. 
From  Pres.  "WOOLSEY,  Tale  College,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  Nov.  15, 

MR.  L.  STEBBINS:  Dear  Sir, — Your  book  is  a 
good  and  useful  one,  but  it  is  not  my  practice  to 
recommend  books. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

T.  D.  "WOOLSEY. 


COMMENDATIONS. 


No.  19. 

COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JEBSEY,  ) 
PEINCETON,  Jan.  28,  ) 

Dear  Sir, —  Tour  "  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of 
the  United  States."  I  regard  as  a  valuable  publica- 
tion, richly  meriting  the  attention  of  the  general 
reader,  as  well  as  the  more  careful  examination  of 
the  student  interested  in  observing  the  advance- 
ment of  our  country  in  the  useful  arts  and  learning. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  MCLEAN. 
L.  STEBBINS,  Esq. 


No.  20. 
From  Prof.  JOHNSON,  Tale  College,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

L.  STEBBINS,  ESQ.:  Dear  Sir, — I  have  examined 
"Eighty  Years'  Progress,"  with  interest,  especially 
the  excellent  chapter  on  agriculture.  In  my  opinion, 
the  work  is  one  of  much  value,  and  deserves  a 
wide  circulation.  Yours,  etc., 

S.  "W.  JOHNSON, 

Prof,  of  Analytical  and  Agricultural 
Chemistry  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School  of  Yale  College. 


No.  21. 

From  Eev.  Dr.  SMITH,  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  Ohio. 
MR.  L.  STEBBINS  :  My  Dear  Sir, — I  have  run  my 
eyes  with  great  interest  over  your  beautiful  work, 
"•Eighty  Years1  Progress,"  It  contains,  in  a  condensed 
yet  attractive  form,  a  mass  of  information  touching 
the  progress  and  present  condition  of  our  country. 
It  is,  moreover,  information  of  which  every  man, 
at  some  time,  feels  the  need ;  and  it  would  be  a 
grand  contribution  both  to  the  intelligence  and 
patriotism  of  our  whole  population,  if  you  could 
succeed  in  placing  a  copy  of  it  in  every  family  of 
the  land.  I  shall  place  your  book  on  my  table  for 
constant  reference. 

Wishing  you  all  success  in  your  enterprise, 
I  am  very  truly  yours, 

HENKY  SMITH, 
Prof.  Ch.,  Hist,  and  Sac.  Rhetoric. 


No.  22. 

From  Professor  FOWLEB,  of  Amherst  College,  Editor  of  the 
University  Edition  of  Webster's  Dictionary,  Series  of  Clas- 
sical Books,  etc. 

The  work  which  you  placed  in  my  hands,  entitled 
"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  I 
have  taken  time  to  examine,  in  order  that  I  might 
learn  its  intrinsic  value.  I  find  that  the  subjects 
selected  are  such,  and  the  manner  of  treatment  such, 
an  to  supply  a  felt  want  in  the  public  mind,  which, 
in  its  own  progress,  was  demanding  higher  and 
better  help  than  it  enjoyed  before  the  publication 
of  your  work.  This  might  be  inferred  from  the 
bare  mention  of  the  subjects  and  the  authors.  These 
subjects  are  treated  by  these  writers  with  that  cor- 
rectness of  the  statement  of  the  general  principles, 


and  with  that  fullness  of  detail  which  make  the  work 
just  what  it  ought  to  be  as  a  guide  to  the  people. 
Every  young  man  who  wishes  to  elevate  his  mind 
by  self-culture,  ought  to  read  this  work  carefully. 
Yours  respectfully, 

WILLIAM  C.  FOWLER. 


No.  23. 
From  Prof.  B.  SILLIMAN,  Tale  College,  New  Haven,  Ct. 

I  have  carefully  looked  through  your  rich  and 
faithful  work,  observing  the  copious  tables  of  con- 
tents, glancing  at  every  page  of  the  work,  and  at  all 
the  numerous  illustrations,  with  occasional  reading 
of  paragraphs.  A  more  thorough  examination  it 
has  not  been  hitherto  in  my  power  to  make ;  but 
even  this  general  survey  has  left  on  my  mind  the 
decided  conviction  that  you  have  performed  an  im- 
portant service  to  your  country  in  thus  mapping 
out  and  condensing  and  explaining  the  wonderful 
progress  made  in  this  country,  during  four-fifths  of 
a  century,  in  all  the  most  important  arts  of  life.  My 
own  recollections — my  years  having  been  coeval 
with  the  entire  period  covered  by  your  work — sus- 
tain your  statements  regarding  the  extreme  simpli- 
city of  our  early  domestic  arts — cheap  in  mechanical 
aids  but  prodigal  of  time.  Now  productive  industry, 
aided  by  successful  inventions,  fills  all  our  regions 
where  free  labor  has  full  scope  for  action,  with  in- 
numerable results  which  are  fully  equal  to  our  wants, 
even  in  the  present  crisis,  leaving  also  a  large  redun- 
dancy of  articles  for  export,  especially  in  the  depart- 
ment of  agriculture,  and  in  not  a  few  important  me- 
chanical arts. 

Your  work  of  closely  printed  pages  of  double  col- 
umns, with  a  fair  paper  and  a  clear  and  distinct  type, 
with  its  numerous  engravings,  defended  also  by  a 
strong  and  neat  binding,  presents  a  valuable  book 
of  reference ;  a  manual  to  be  consulted  by  the  agri- 
culturist and  artist,  as  well  as  by  the  man  of  science 
and  the  historian  of  progress.  Wishing  to  yourself 
and  your  worthy  coadjutors  full  success, 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours  very  respectfully 

B.  SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVBN,  October  8, 


No.  24. 

From  the  New  Tork  Times. 

"  Eighty  Tears'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — If 
at  all  inclined  to  doubt  that  a  great  deal  of  useful  in- 
formation may  be  bound  up  in  a  comparatively  small 
compass  by  a  judicious  compiler,  in  the  very  hand- 
some work  before  us,  we  should  find  sufficient  logic 
to  make  us  devout  believers.  The  writers  have 
ranged  through  the  wild  fields  of  agriculture,  com- 
merce, and  trade ;  very  little  that  develops  the  ma- 
terial prosperity  of  a  country,  and  marks  its  growth, 
has  escaped  their  industrious  research.  Undoubt- 
edly, minute  criticism  might  detect  slight  errors,  but 
in  a  work  of  so  comprehensive  a  character,  strict 
accuracy  would  seem  almost  unattainable.  The 
statistics  given  are  full  and  clearly  arranged ;  the 
grouping  of  the  subjects,  and  the  evident  method 
which  the  authors  have  observed  in  the  accomplish- 


COMMENDATIONS. 


ment  of  their  not  inconsiderable  task,  are  worthy 
of  all  praise.  The  work  is  one  which  we  particu- 
larly need,  as  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  few  people 
are  so  deficient  in  general  knowledge  of  facts  rela- 
tive to  growth  and  development  of  their  native 
country,  as  ours.  The  Englishman  generally  has 
an  arsenal  of  statistics  at  his  fingers'  ends ;  he  can 
tell  you  when  the  first  shaft  was  sunk  in  the  first 
mine ;  when  the  first  loom  was  erected  in  Manches- 
ter. The  panoply  of  facts  in  which  he  is  arrayed 
makes  him  rather  a  ponderous  and  far  from  spright- 
ly companion,  at  times ;  but  then  he  always  proves 
formidable  as  an  adversary.  Germans,  too,  have 
nearly  every  thing  by  rote  that  relates  to  their  own 
country.  Frenchmen  are  quick  to  learn,  but  they 
have  not  very  retentive  memories  generally,  and 
are  very  apt  to  forget  all,  and  more,  than  they  once 
knew.  It  may  be  urged  in  extenuation  of  our  na- 
tional delinquency,  as  regards  a  knowledge  of  our 
own  country,  that  our  country  grows  too  fast  for 
our  memories  to  keep  pace  with  it,  and  that  a  Yan- 
kee can  arrive  by  guessing  at  what  others,  less  fa- 
vored in  this  respect,  can  only  reach  by  delving  in 
authorities ;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  is  better  to  trust  to 
actual  knowledge  of  facts,  and  under  any  circum- 
stances such  books  as  these  are  good  things  to  have 
in  the  library. 


No.  25. 
From  the  New  York  Examiner. 

"Eighty  Year?  Progress  of  the  United  States"  by 
eminent  literary  men,  who  have  made  the  subjects 
of  which  they  have  written  their  special  study. 

The  citizen  who  desires  to  comprehend  fully  how 
the  country  in  wiiich  we  live  has,  under  the  foster- 
ing influences  of  a  good  government,  the  enterprise 
of  an  energetic  people,  and  above  all,  the  blessing 
of  God,  grown  from  a  handful  of  people  to  one  of 
the  leading  powers  in  the  world,  should  purchase 
and  read  carefully  this  work.  It  is  no  catchpenny 
affair.  The  men  who  have  prepared  the  narratives 
of  progress  in  the  various  departments  of  agricul- 
ture and  horticulture,  commerce,  manufactures, 
banking,  education,  science,  art,  and  the  matters 
which  go  to  make  "  home"  so  emphatically  an 
American  word,  are  not  novices,  penny-a-liners,  who 
write  on  any  or  ah1  subjects,  with  or  without  an  un- 
derstanding of  them,  for  the  sake  of  their  daily  bread 
— but  men  of  high  reputation,  who  have  made  the 
subjects  they  discuss  the  topics  of  a  life's  study. 
Every  subject  which  will  admit  of  it  is  finely  illus- 
trated, and  tables  of  statistics,  carefully  prepared 
from  the  latest  sources,  show  the  present  condition 
of  each  department,  and  demonstrate,  as  only  figures 
can,  how  great  the  advance  which  has  been  made 
in  each.  As  a  work  of  reference,  not  less  than  as  a 
deeply  interesting  book  for  family  reading,  it  will 
be  a  treasure  to  any  household  that  may  obtain  it. 


No.  26. 
From  the  New  York  Observer. 

"Eighty  Tears'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — the 
above  rather  formidable  title-page  is  quite  a  full  ex- 
position of  the  contents  of  this  large  work,  which 


contain  a  vast  amount  of  scientific,  historical,  and 
statistical  matter,  and  which  constitute  a  valuable 
encyclopaedia,  as  well  as  history  of  the  progress  of 
the  country,  during  the  last  eighty  years.  Many 
of  the  most  extended  articles  are  by  eminent  scien- 
tific and  practical  men,  who  have  devoted  themselves 
largely  to  the  subjects  on  which  they  have  written. 
The  subjects  are  not  treated  briefly,  but  in  detail, 
rendering  the  work  valuable  as  a  book  of  reference 
as  well  as  for  general  reading.  Such  a  retiew  as 
we  have  in  this  work  may  well  excite  wonder, 
gratitude,  and  hope.  The  history  of  no  other  coun- 
try can  furnish  a  parallel. 


No.  27. 

From  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  edited  by  I.  SMITH  Ho- 
MANS,  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State 
of  New  York. 

"Eighty  Tears'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — The 
first  eighty  years  of  the  national  existence  were 
illustrated  by  no  brilliant  military  exploits,  such  as 
for  the  most  part  make  up  the  history  of  most  coun- 
tries of  the  Old  World,  but  the  American  people  did 
not  the  less  on  that  account  assume  a  marked 
character,  and  a  first  rank  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Their  success  in  ship-building  and  commerce 
at  once  placed  them  on  a  level  with  the  greatest 
maritime  nations.  The  inventive  genius  and  untir- 
ing industry  of  the  people  soon  revolutionized  the 
manufacturing  industry  of  the  world,  by  the  ready 
applicatioa  of  new  mechanical  powers  to  industrial 
arts ;  and  if  the  extent  and  cheapness  of  land  for  a 
time  supplied  the  scarcity  of  labor  in  agricultural 
departments,  it  did  not  prevent  the  multiplication 
of  inventions,  which  have  not  only  added  immensely 
to  home  production,  but  have  greatly  aided  that  of 
European  countries.  The  development  of  these  in- 
dustries forms  the  true  history  of  American  great- 
ness, and  the  work  of  Mr.  Stebbins  has  given  a 
world  of  information  upon  each  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject, in  a  most  authentic  and  attractive  form.  The 
chapters  on  ship-building,  commerce,  and  internal 
transportation,  present  to  the  reader  a  mass  of  val- 
uable information  as  astonishing  for  the  magnitude 
of  the  results  produced  as  interesting  in  the  narra- 
tive. "We  know  of  no  other  work  which,  in  the 
compass  of  two  handsome  volumes,  contains  such 
varied  and  comprehensive  instruction  of  a  perfectly 
reliable  character.  They  form  almost  a  complete 
library  in  themselves. 


No.  28. 

From  the  Secretary  of  Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 
L.  STEBBINS,  ESQ.  :  Dear  Sir, — I  examined  with 
interest  the  volumes  published  by  you,  entitled 
"Eighty  Tears1  Progress,"  and  found  them  partic- 
ularly valuable.  The  design  struck  me  very  favor- 
ably, and  the  execution  of  the  several  parts  could 
not  have  been  intrusted  to  more  competent  hands. 
The  last  eighty  years  of  the  history  of  the  United 
States  has  been  one  of  unexampled  progress,  and  it 
is  now  more  than  ever  important  to  bring  in  review 
before  the  people  of  every  section  the  leading  facts 
of  this  marvellous  progress. 

Yery  respectfully  yours, 

LORIN  BLODQKT. 


COMMENDATIONS. 


No.   29. 
From  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

My  Dear  Sir, — My  many  cares  just  now  have 
prevented  me  from  a  comparison  of  the  statistical 
matter  contained  in  the  "  Eighty  Years'  Progress,'' 
with  official  tables  hi  my  possession,  as  wel 
as  an  examination  of  some  other  things,  concerning 
which  authorities  differ,  but  I  have  found  time  to 
acquaint  myself  with  the  general  topics  and  object; 
of  the  work,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  ] 
have  not  read  more  interesting  pages  for  years.  In- 
deed, the  best  informed  among  us,  cannot,  as  ii 
seems  to  me,  fail  to  find  much  that  is  new,  while  to 
the  young  and  to  those  who  lack  the  means  of  re- 
search, so  authentic  and  well-digested  account  of 
our  country's  "  Progress,"  will  be  of  immense  ser- 
vice. We  all  boast  of  our  wonderful  march  in  com- 
merce, in  manufactures,  in  mechanics,  and  in  the 
arts;  and  here  we  have  it,  step  by  step,  in  "facts 
and  figures, "  and  in  brief  and  pithy  narrative. 

With  all  my  heart,  I  hope  that  the  sale  will  be 
extensive,  and  that  you  may  be  well  rewarded  for 
your  outlay  of  time  and  capital. 

Yery  truly,  your  friend, 

LORENZO  SABINE. 

L.  STBBBINS,  Esq.,  Hartford,  Conn. 


No.  30. 
From  the  New  Englander,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

"Eighty  Years' Progress  of  the  United  States." — In 
this  very  large  octavo  work  there  is  presented  hi  a 
compact  and  easily  accessible  form  an  amount  of 
valuable  information  with  regard  to  the  progress 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  made 
in  all  the  various  channels  of  industry  since  the 
days  when  they  were  British  colonists,  which  is  not 
to  be  found  in  any  other  single  work  with  which 
we  are  acquainted.  Each  one  of  these  subjects  is 
amply  illustrated  with  engravings.  The  different 
chapters  have  been  prepared  by  well-known  liter- 
ary men  who  have  each  made  the  subjects  about 
which  they  have  written  the  study  of  years.  We 
have  examined  the  work  repeatedly  and  with  much 
care  during  the  past  three  months,  and  each  time 
have  been  impressed  anew  with  its  value.  There 
is  not  an  intelligent  family  in  the  nation  who  would 
not  be  interested  and  instructed  by  it,  and  find  it  a 
most  convenient  book  of  reference  with  regard  to 
every  thing  pertaining  to  the  industrial  interests  of 
the  country. 


No.  31. 
From  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

"Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — To 
any  one  desiring  at  a  glance  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  various  channels  of  educational  industry  in 
commerce,  manufactures,  agriculture,  statistics,  etc., 
they  are  invaluable.  They  are  profusely  illus- 
trated with  elegant  engravings  in  the  highest  style 
of  artistic  merit.  The  volumes  redound  with  sta- 
tistical and  miscellaneous  information  of  a  standard 
character  and  permanent  value.  The  expense  of 
publishing  a  work  of  thia  character  must  have  been 


very  large,  but  we  feel  confident  that  a  discrimi- 
nating public  have  not  been  overestimated. 

There  are  among  the  peculiar  characteristics  of 
our  people,  wide- spread  opinions  prevailing,  that 
books  sold  by  subscription  are  of  a  necessity  more 
expensive  than  when  purchased  in  a  general  way 
at  the  counter  of  a  publishing  house.  This  is  evi- 
dently an  error  that  could  easily  be  subverted  by 
a  little  demonstration,  and  the  publishers'  remarks 
in  the  preface  are  to  the  point,  and  effective.  We 
know  of  hardly  any  book  or  books  which  are  with- 
in the  reach  of  every-day  life,  that  we  would  sooner 
advise  a  friend  to  purchase.  Its  value  will  be  un- 
impaired for  a  lifetime. 


No.  32. 
From  the  Boston  Transcript 

"Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — 
This  work  is  the  result  of  much  careful  research, 
exercised  by  many  minds  on  a  variety  of  important 
subjects.  They  show  the  industrial  and  educational 
steps  by  which  the  people  of  the  United  States 
have  risen  from  their  colonial  condition  to  their 
present  position  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 
They  give,  in  a  historical  form,  the  progress  of  the 
country  in  agriculture,  commerce,  trade,  banking, 
manufactures,  machinery,  modes  of  travel  and  trans- 
portation, and  the  work  is  intended  to  be  sold  by 
subscription,  and  will  \ioubtless  have  a  large  circu- 
lation. It  ought  to  be  in  every  house  in  the  land. 
It  is  more  important  than  ordinary  histories  of  the 
country,  as  it  exhibits  all  the  triumphs  of  the  prac- 
tical mind  and  energy  of  the  nation,  in  every  de- 
partment of  science,  art,  and  benevolence.  It  is  a 
storehouse  of  important  and  stimulating  facts,  and 
its  interest  can  hardly  be  exhausted  by  the  most 
persistent  reader. 


No.  33. 

From  the  N.  T.  Herald. 

"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  by 
eminent  literary  men. — The  object  of  this  work, 
as  set  forth  in  its  preface,  is  to  show  the  various 
channels  of  industry  through  which  the  people  of 
the  United  States  have  arisen  from  a  British  colony 
to  their  present  national  importance.  This  ia  done 
by  treating  separately  the  improvements  effected  in 
agriculture,  commerce,  trade,  manufactures,  ma- 
chinery, modes  of  travel,  transportation,  etc.  The 
preparation  of  these  different  articles  has  been  in- 
trusted to  writers  whose  pursuits  qualified  them 
to  handle  them  exhaustively,  and  the  result  is  the 
assemblage  of  a  vast  amount  of  statistical  and 
other  information  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
same  collective  and  condensed  form  in  any  other 
work  extant 


No.  34 
From  the  Boston  Post 

"  Eighty    Years'   Progress  of    tJie    United   States, 
showing  the  various  channels  of  industry  through 


COMMENDATIONS. 


which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  arisen 
from  a  British  colony  to  their  present  National 
Importance,"  is  the  title  of  a  new  and  exceedingly 
valuable  work.  The  work  gives  in  a  historical  form 
the  vast  improvements  made  in  agriculture,  com- 
merce, trade,  manufacturing,  etc.,  together  with  a 
large  amount  of  statistical  and  other  information. 
It  is  illustrated  with  numerous  engravings,  and  al- 
together forms  a  most  valuable  and  instructive  com- 
panion to  the  writer,  the  business  man,  or  the 
student. 


No.  35. 

From  WM.  "W.  TURNER,  Principal  of  the  American  Asylum 
for  Deaf  and  Dumb,  Hartford,  Conn. 

I  have  examined  your  new  national  work  entitled 
"Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States," 
and  find  that  the  information  it  contains  on  the  wide 
range  of  subjects  treated  of  must  make  it  exceeding- 
ly valuable  as  a  standard  book  of  reference.  The 
names  of  the  writers  of  the  different  articles  afford 
a  sufficient  guaranty  that  the  facts  and  statements 
may  be  relied  on  as  correct.  I  consider  the  work  a 
very  important  accession  to  this  department  of 
literature,  and  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  2nd  its  way 
into  the  library  of  every  private  gentleman  and 
every  public  institution. 

Yery  truly  yours, 

WM.  "W.  TUENEE. 


No.  36. 

From    JOHN    D.     PHILBRICK,     Superintendent    Common 
Schools,  Massachusetts. 

I  have  examined  the  "Eighty  Tears'1  Progress"  with 
great  satisfaction.  I  consider  it  a  work  of  great 
value,  and  it  is  one  which  I  should  be  very  unwill- 
ing to  spare  from  my  library.  It  is  not  only  such 
a  book  as  the  literary  or  professional  man  would 
like  to  possess,  but  it  is  a  book  for  every  household, 
and  for  every  school  library. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 


No.  37. 

From  the  Boston  Journal. 

"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — In 
this  elaborate  and  valuable  work  the  progress  of  the 
United  States  is  illustrated  by  historical  sketches 
of  the  rise  and  development  of  agriculture,  commerce, 
trade,  manufactures,  modes  of  travel  and  transporta- 
tion. The  authors  will  be  recognized  as  fully  com- 
petent to  treat  upon  the  above  subjects,  and  their 
sketches  have  great  interest  and  value,  as  well  for  the 
facts  which  they  present,  as  in  illustrating  the  rapid 
progress  of  the  United  States  in  all  that  conduces 
to  material  wealth  and  national  prosperity.  The 
work  abounds  in  valuable  statistical  information, 
and  is  interesting  for  perusal,  and  useful  for  refer- 
ence. 


No.  38. 

From  the  Philadelphia  Evening  Journal. 
"  Eighty  Tears1  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  by 
eminent  literary  men. — The  work  treats  of  the  va- 
rious channels  of  industry  through  which  the  people 
of  the  United  States  have  arisen  from  a  British 
colony  to  their  present  national  importance.  It 
treats  of  the  vast  improvements  made  in  agriculture, 
commerce,  trade,  manufacturing,  machinery,  modes 
of  travel  and  transportation,  etc.,  etc. 


No.  39. 

From  the  Homestead,  Agricultural  Journal,  Hartford,  Ct 
"Eighty  Tears1  Progress  of  the  United  States." — The 
title  conveys  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  great  amount 
of  information  contained  in  these  volumes,  and  no 
cursory  glance  can  more  than  convince  the  reader 
that  they  possess  great  value  as  an  encyclopaedia 
of  arts  and  progress  in  civilization.  The  names 
of  the  authors  of  the  more  important  articles,  sev- 
eral of  whom  are  known  to  us  personally  and  high- 
ly respected,  are  a  guaranty  that  their  work  is  well 
done,  and  statements  reliable.  Our  limited  space 
forbids  an  extended  notice,  but  before  noticing  es- 
pecially the  agricultural  departments,  we  must  add, 
that  to  every  one  who  takes  it  up  it  is  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  of  books,  a  most  remarkable  qual- 
ity in  a  book  so  statistical  in  its  character. 

The  article  of  progress  in  Agriculture  is  by  Chas. 
L.  Flint,  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of 
Agriculture,  and  is  a  most  able  and  interesting  col- 
lection of  facts  in  regard  to  the  remarkable  pro- 
gress of  this  country  since  the  Kevolution. 


No.  40. 

From  the  Philadelphia  Daily  Evening  Bulletin. 
ME.  L.  STEBBINS, — After  carefully  examining  your 
valuable  publication,  "Eighty  Tears'  Progress  of 
the  United  States,"  and  having  on  various  occasions, 
in  our  professional  business,  tested  its  accuracy  as 
a  work  of  reference,  we  are  able  to  bear  testimony  to 
its  character.  No  work  that  we  have  ever  seen  gives 
such  spirited,  comprehensive,  and  correct  views  of 
the  progress  of  our  country  in  political  strength,  in 
commerce,  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  all  branch- 
es of  industry  and  art.  The  work  has  been  pre- 
pared with  extreme  care ;  the  various  subjects  are 
treated  with  intelligence,  and  the  style  of  composi- 
tion proves  that  the  writers  are  men  of  education, 
who  have  thoroughly  informed  themselves  on  the 
subjects  they  discuss.  The  illustrations  and  the 
typography  add  much  to  the  attractions  of  a  work 
that  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  who  take  an  in- 
terest in  the  growth  of  our  country,  and  feel  a 
patriotic  pride  in  its  prosperity. 

"We  are  very  respectfully,  your  ob't  serv'ts, 
PEACOCK,  CHAMBERS  &  Co. 


No.  41. 

From  the  Secretary  of  Board  of  Education. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Sept.  6, 

Dear  Sir, — I  beg  leave  to  thank  you  for  your  no- 
ble work  entitled  "Eighty  Years'  Progress." 


COMMENDATIONS. 


After  such  an  examination  as  I  have  been  able  to 
give,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  a  work  of 
unusual  interest  and  value. 

As  a  depository  of  facts  illustrative  of  the  pro- 
gress of  our  country  in  the  departments  of  industry, 
it  is  invaluable. 

Its  wide  circulation,  at  this  eventful  period,  can- 
not fail  to  arouse  and  deepen  that  patriotic  love  of 
our  institutions  which  is  the  pressing  demand  of 
the  hour.  Respectfully  yours, 

J.  WHITE. 

L.  STEBBINS,  Esq. 


No.  42. 

From  8.  8.  RANDALL,  City  Superintendent  Public  Schools, 
New  York. 

ME.  L.  STEBBINS  :  Dear  Sir, — The  great  pressure 
of  official  engagements  has  hitherto  prevented  my 
acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  the  very  beauti- 
ful and  interesting  work  published  by  you — "  Eighty 
Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States."  I  have  not 
had  time  to  peruse  them  thoroughly,  but  take  great 
pleasure  in  stating  that,  so  far  as  I  have  looked  into 
them,  the  plan  and  general  execution  of  the  work 
seem  to  me  to  be  admirable,  and  well  adapted  to 
the  wants,  as  well  of  the  rising  generation,  as  of 
our  fellow-citizens  generally.  I  cheerfully  recom- 
mend it  to  the  favorable  regard  of  school  officers, 
parents,  teachers,  and  others,  as  a  very  valuable 
compend  of  scientific  and  historical  knowledge,  and 
as  a  work  well  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  school 
or  private  library. 


No.  43. 

From  the  New  England  Farmer,  Boston. 

"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — 
This  volume  contains  an  immense  amount  of  valuable 
and  interesting  information  concerning  the  rise  and 
development  of  agriculture,  commerce,  trade,  man- 
ufactures, travel  and  transportation,  the  arts,  and 
other  prominent  interests  of  this  country.  This 
information  is  contained  in  a  series  of  essays  by 
gentlemen,  either  and  all  of  whom  will  be  recog- 
nized as  competent  to  illustrate  the  subject  upon 
which  he  writes. 


No.  44. 
From  Frank  Leslie. 

After  copying  the  entire  title-page,  the  notice  pro- 
ceeds thus  : 

Such  is  the  comprehensive  title  of  an  elegantly 
printed  work  which  covers  a  very  wide  range  of 
subjects  of  special  American  interest  The  work 
is,  in  fact,  an  industrial  and  statistical  history  of 
the  country  since  its  independence,  encyclopaedic 
in  character  and  arrangement,  but  yet  suffi- 
ciently complete  for  every  practical  purpose.  It 
may  be  regarded  as  an  epitome  of  the  publication 
of  the  Census  and  the  Patent  Office,,  and  of  the 
proceedings  of  our  Industrial  Societies,  compact  in 
form,  convenient  for  reference,  and  deserving  a 
place  in  the  hands  of  every  reading  and  reflecting 
man  in  the  country. 


No.  45. 

From  E.  G.  DANA,  Mercantile  Agency,  New  York, 
From  a  cursory  glance  at  its  contents  I  feel  war- 
ranted in  saying  it  possesses  information  of  much 
value  and  usefulness  to  all  classes. 

Very  respectfully,        R.  Gr.  DANA. 


No.  46. 
From  the  Evening  Post,  New  York. 

"Eighty  Years' Progress  of  the  United  States." — The 
range  of  subjects  treated  in  this  work  is  very  full  ; 
the  writers  upon  them  are  well  selected  with  regard 
to  specialties,  and  their  manner  of  handling  is  al- 
ways interesting,  frequently  thorough.  The  sys- 
tem pursued  is  not  encyclopaedic,  but  historical, 
and,  so  far  as  possible,  exhaustive.  The  growth  of 
our  agricultural  prosperity,  with  particular  regard 
to  improvements  made  in  breeds  and  machinery, 
and  the  dissemination  of  scientific  knowledge  among 
farmers,  is  well  recited,  and  this  department  forms 
one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  book. 


No.  47. 
From  B.  J.  LOSSING,  the  Historian. 

Sir, — I  have  examined,  with  great  satisfaction, 
your  work  entitled  "Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the 
United  States."  It  is  a  work  of  inestimable  value  to 
those  who  desire  to  know,  in  minute  detail,  some- 
thing more  of  the  history  of  the  country  than  the 
events  of  its  political  and  industrial  life  as  exhibit- 
ed in  the  politician's  manual,  and  the  bold  state- 
ments of  the  census ;  especially  at  this  time,  when 
the  civilized  world  is  eagerly  asking  what  we  are 
and  what  we  have  been,  that  the  old  governments 
may  attempt  to  solve  the  more  important  question, 
to  them,  what  we  will  be.  Your  work,  in  fact  and 
logical  prophecy,  furnishes  an  answer  of  which  any 
people  may  be  justly  proud.  Surely,  no  nation  of 
the  earth  has  ever  experienced  such  bounding 
progress  as  this ;  and  in  the  last  eighty  years,  as 
exhibited  in  your  work,  we  see  ample  prophecies 
of  the  future,  of  strength,  influence,  leadership 
among  the  nations,  such  as  the  eye  of  faith  employ- 
ed by  the  fathers,  dimly  saw.  No  American  can 
peruse  your  pages  without  feeling  grateful  for  the 
privilege  of  being  an  American  citizen. 

I  wall  use  a  very  trite  phrase  and  say,  with  aH 
sincerity,  I  wish  your  work  could  go  "  into  every 
family  in  our  land,"  to  increase  their  knowledge 
and  to  strengthen  their  patriotism. 

Yours  respectfully, 

BENSON  J.  LOSSING. 


No.  48. 

From  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 
"  Eighty  Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States." — 
The  plan  is  extensive,  and  appears  to  be  judiciously 
carried  out.  The  work  is  divided  into  departments, 
to  each  of  which  has  been  devoted  his  laborious 
attention,  producing  a  readable,  and  at  the  same 
time  valuable  and  instructive,  summary  of  the  ad- 
vances made.  This  plan  necessarily  comprises  a 


COMMENDATIONS. 


very  complete  history  of  the  arts  and  sciences  for 
the  past  century.  In  many  of  them  it  covers  the 
whole  period  from  the  earliest  time  at  which  they 
were  known  to  man,  for  the  century  has  been  pro- 
ductive of  new  arts,  and  has  furnished  mankind 
with  not  a  few  totally  new  inventions.  To  digest 
the  contents  of  the  book  so  as  to  give  a  reader  even 
a  hint  of  its  comprehensiveness  would  be  impos- 
sible. 

The  book  is  well  fitted  for  the  family  reading, 
and  valuable  as  a  source  of  interest  and  instruction 
to  the  young,  while  in  the  business  office  and 
counting-room  of  every  merchant,  banker,  and  pro- 
fessional man  it  would  answer  a  thousand  daily 
questions. 


No.  49. 

Office  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools,  Chicago. 
"Eighty  Tears'  Progress" — The  work  which  you 
have  prepared  with  so  much  care  and  labor,  pre- 
senting the  progress  of  our  country  during  the  last 
eighty  years,  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  gratify  and 
instruct  all  classes  of  citizens.     No  work  could  be 
offered  to  the  public  at  the  present  time  more  wor- 
thy of  a  place  in  family  libraries,  and  school  libra- 
ries, than  the  one  which  you  now  present. 
Yours  truly, 

W.  H.  WELLS, 

Sup.  of  Public  Schools. 


No.  50. 

From  the  Superintendent  of  the  Institution  of  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb,  New  York. 

It  is  only  recently  that  I  could  find  time,  from 
the  pressure  of  official  duties,  to  examine  the  splen- 
did national  work,  "  Eighty  Years'  Progress."  By 
the  way,  I  observe  that,  as  you  give  much  infor- 
mation concerning  early  colonial  times,  you  have  in 
fact  given  over  two  and  a  half  centuries  of  progress. 
The  work  strikes  me  as  a  production  of  great  valuo 
and  universal  interest.  While  the  statesman  will 
find  a  mass  of  statistical  information,  which,  by  its 
arrangement  and  the  able  commentary  accompany- 
ing it,  will  assist  very  materially  hi  the  correct  so- 
lution of  many  politico-economical  problems,  men 
actively  engaged  in  almost  any  pursuit,  agricultural, 
commercial,  mining,  education,  the  arts  of  design, 
the  mechanic  arts,  etc.,  will  each  find  much  infor- 
mation, both  curious  and  useful 

Hoping  for  your  undertaking  all  the  success  it 
deserves,  I  remain,  very  respectfully  yours, 

HAEVEY  P.  PEET. 


No.  51. 
From  the  Boston  Cultivator. 

"  Eighty  Tears'  Progress." — There  is  a  work  which 
has  been  published  recently,  having  the  above  title, 
and  which,  because  of  these  magnificent  words,  of 
course,  arrests  the  attention  of  every  wise  man. 
Eighty  years'  progress  ?  Eighty  years  of  progress 
in  the  life  of  an  individual  would  make  a  rare  rec- 
ord, pregnant  with  the  most  practical  and  important 
considerations ;  but  the  eighty  years'  progress  of 


which  we  speak,  are  the  years  of  a  nation,  or  the 
progress  of  many  millions  of  individuals,  and  hence 
how  widely  shall  we  have  to  open  our  eyes,  if  it  be 
faithfully  written,  and  we  would  take  it  all  hi  so  as 
to  recognize  the  details  of  advancement  made  by  a 
mighty  people.  The  people,  whose  brilliant  destiny 
is  indicated  in  the  above  title,  are  those  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  though  we  are  among  and  of  them, 
unless  by  long  and  constant  and  vigorous  pursuit 
of  the  special  end,  we,  ourselves,  can  have  no  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  real  extent  of  our  progress,  unless 
it  be  summed  up  from  the  material,  as  well  as  the 
political  history  of  the  period  about  which  we  in- 
quire, in  some  work  or  works  combining  the  knowl- 
edge of  many  whose  observation  and  reading  are 
large  in  opportunities  and  hi  improvement. 

We,  as  a  people,  are  noted  hi  Christendom  as  hav- 
ing an  undue  proportion  of  self-esteem,  and  an  im- 
modest desire  to  express  it  as  often  as  we  may  find 
an  audience.  The  Americans,  we  confess,  are,  in 
much,  superficial,  and  their  real  and  unparalleled 
rapidity  of  progress  is  too  much  and  too  frequently 
taken  for  granted  as  the  basis  of  adulatory  discourse ; 
and  because  of  this,  the  old  European,  familiar  from 
his  youth  with  the  fixed  sources  of  his  power,  and 
with  ease  and  grace  weighing  or  rejecting  questions 
he  knows  from  the  outset  are  or  are  not  determin- 
able,  naturally  looks  with  discredit  upon  the  live 
Yankee  who  "  guesses"  everything,  and  when  urged 
to  state  the  real  ground  of  his  boasting,  only  covers 
Ms  superficial  knowledge  of  his  own  country  and 
history  by  his  agility  in  bombast  and  fleeing  the 
point  in  new  gratulation  and  a  keen  thrust  which 
forces  an  adverse  judgment.  And  the  ignorance 
which  leads  Americans  to  a  substitution  of  their 
wit,  also  leads  those  of  other  nations  to  suspect  the 
foundation  of  their  boasted  power  and  national  re- 
sources and  importance. 

There  is  but  one  way  to  cure  this,  and  that  is 
eminently  practical  and  desirable.  It  is  for  the 
people  of  our  country  to  study  their  own  history 
more  thoroughly,  and  not  their  political  history 
only,  but  the  history  of  their  material  progress. 
There  are  few  good  books  in  which  to  find  this ;  but 
there  is  one  which  has  been  put  forth  by  L.  Steb- 
bins,  which  is  especially  adapted  to  this  object ;  and 
a  more  instructive,  interesting,  and  popular  work 
is  rarely  found. 


No.  52. 

From  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  New 
Haven,  Conn. 

"Eighty  Tears1  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  by 
eminent  literary  men. — This  compendium  of  nation- 
al statistics  forms  a  valuable  handbook  of  reference, 
to  which  all  who  possess  it  will  have  frequent  oc- 
casion to  turn  for  information  in  respect  to  the  pro- 
gress and  condition  of  the  great  elements  of  growth 
and  development  in  the  history  of  the  United  States 
during  eighty  years  past.  The  value  of  the  book  as 
a  work  of  reference  would  have  been  much  enhan- 
ced by  a  more  frequent  reference  to  authorities  and 
original  sources  of  information.  But  taken  as  it  is, 
it  supplies  a  great  desideratum,  and  its  pains-taking 
publisher,  Mr.  Stebbins,  deserves  our  thanks  for  so 
valuable  a  contribution  to  our  resources  in  this  de- 
partment of  statistics. 


COMMENDATIONS. 


No.  53. 

From  the  Springfield  Republican. 
Our  citizens  are  offered  a  large  and  expensive 
work,  giving  the  industrial  progress  of  the  United 
States  during  the  eighty  years  of  their  national  ex- 
istence. It  is  embellished  by  numerous  engrav- 
ings, and  the  letter-press  is  prepared  by  writers  of 
eminence  in  the  various  departments  of  which,  it 
treats.  It  is  sold  to  subscribers  only. 


No.  54 

From  ISAAC  FERRIS,  T>.  D.,  Chancellor  of  the  University  in 
New  York. 

I  have  looked  into  the  work  entitled  "Eighty 
Years'  Progress  of  the  United  States,"  and  am 
happy  to  unite  with  the  worthy  men  who  have  ex- 
amined it,  in  commending  it  to  my  friends. 

NEW  YORK.  ISAAC  FERRIS. 


No.  65. 

From  J.  M.  MATHEWS,  D.  D.,  Ex-Chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity in  New  York. 

The  object  of  the  work  is  highly  commendable  ; 
and,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  examine  it,  has  been 
executed  with  ability  and  fidelity.  I  freely  com- 
mend it  to  public  patronage. 

NEW  YORK.  J.  M.  MATHEWS. 


No.  56. 

From  Prof.  E.  W.  HOSFOED,  of  Cambridge  University. 

It  is  a  work  of  very  great  value  for  popular  ref- 
erence. The  articles  having  been  prepared  by 
writers  who  have  made  specialties  of  the  subjects 
upon  which  they  have  written,  are,  as  a  con- 
sequence, eminently  attractive.  I  find  them  an 
unfailing  source  of  valuable  information  and  im- 
portant suggestion. 

In  the  way  of  illustrations  what  could  be  more 
significant  than  the  group  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments of  1790,  contrasted  with  the  mowing,  reap- 
ing, raking,  and  threshing  machines  of  1860;  or 


than  the  Franklin  printing  press  as  compared  with 
the  Hoe  printing  press  ? 

The  author  of  the  article  on  Steam  and  Steam- 
boats, renders  a  most  acceptable  service,  in  placing 
on  record  the  just  claims  of  John  Fitch  and  Oliver 
Evans. 

Let  me  congratulate  you  on  having  found  so 
many  able  contributors,  and  in  having  procured  so 
valuable  a  work. 


No.  61. 

From  A.  JACKSON,  D.  D.,  President  Hobart  College,  Geneva. 
I  have  examined,  as  far  as  time  would  allow,  your 
new  work,  entitled  "Eighty  Years  of  Progress." 
I  think  it  a  very  convenient  book  of  reference,  and 
a  valuable  addition  to  our  statistical  knowledge.  I 
have  already  found  it  a  very  useful  work  to  con- 
sult, and  I  gladly  add  it  to  our  College  Library, 
where  it  well  deserves  a  place. 


No.  58. 

From  C.  Nurr,  D.  D.,  President  of  the  Indiana  State  Uni- 
versity, Bloomington,  Ind. 

I  have  examined  your  recently  published  work 
entitled  "  Eighty  Years'  Progress;"  and  from  the 
examination  I  have  been  able  to  give  it,  I  believe 
that  it  merits  richly  the  highest  commendation. 
The  great  variety  and  importance  of  the  subjects, 
the  felicitous  style  in  which  they  are  clothed,  and 
their  numerous  and  beautiful  illustrations,  render 
this  work  peculiarly  attractive.  They  embrace 
subjects  of  great  and  universal  utility,  and  deeply 
interesting  to  all  classes  of  community.  Every 
profession  and  calling  in  life  is  here  exhibited,  with 
the  latest  improvements  in  every  department  of 
industry  and  art.  The  advancement  made  during 
eighty  years,  in  the  American  republic,  is  unparal- 
leled in  the  history  of  the  world ;  and  will  remain 
a  proof  to  all  coming  generations,  of  the  blessings 
of  free  institutions,  and  the  capability  of  man,  un- 
der a  system  of  self-government,  for  an  almost  in- 
definite progress  in  civilization.  This  work  should 
be  in  every  library,  public  and  private,  and  in  the 
hands  of  every  citizen. 


AGENTS   WANTED 

To  sell  this  valuable  Standard  National  work  in  every  unoccupied 
Town,  City,  and  Village  in  the  United  States.  Every  family,  every 
young  man  should  have  a  copy.  It  is  a  perfect  storehouse  of  in- 
formation, a  library  in  itself,  every  page  containing  valuable  infor- 
mation for  all  classes.  It  is  the  only  work  of  the  kind  published  in 
the  country.  Treats  of  subjects  which  all  are  inclined  to  boast  of, 
and  of  which  we  may  be  proud  of  having  historically  described 
and  embodied  in  a  permanent  form.  Its  value  as  a  family  book  can 
not  be  over-estimated.  It  will  take  a  place  among  the  standard 
works  of  the  country  like  Webster's  Dictionary,  Bancroft's  History, 
and  the  New  American  Encyclopedia.  The  second  canvass  will,  in 
many  cases,  be  more  profitable  than  the  first,  as  there  are  but  few 
books  of  any  kind  sold  the  first  time  over  the  ground  in  proportion 
to  the  population ;  only  just  enough  to  give  valuable  works  a  good 
reputation,  and  create  a  desire  to  buy  them.  "We  hope  some  resi- 
dent of  each  place  where  the  book  has  been  sold,  will  take  up  the 
second  canvass  and  supply  every  family  who  was  not  furnished  the 
first  time  over  the  ground.  Our  terms  are  extra  liberal.  For  partic- 
ulars, territory,  &c., 

Address  L.  STEBBINS, 

Hartford,  Ct. 


